Coming Out

I'm going to admit something you that may not know about me....  I like love musicals.  I'm not sure when this enjoyment obsession began, but it's goes back as far as I can remember.  The first musical I remember watching over and over was Annie.  You know the one from the 80's.  I'm pretty sure my parents rented that movie just about every weekend for months.  Finally they broke down and bought a copy.  I still enjoy watching Annie on occasion and my daughter enjoys it as well (she doesn't walk around the house singing the songs like I do though).

Of course I enjoy musicals such as Grease, Dirty Dancing, Sound of Music, etc. but one of my favorites is a movie most people haven't even heard of.  Fans of Christian Bale may know the movie I'm talking about... Newsies.

As the title would lead you to expect, it's a movie about newsboys growing up in the early 1900's.  It delves into the lives of the newsboys and how, many of them were orphaned (do you see a theme here) and how they were newsies just to survive.  The producers did a wonderful job of bringing in time period props such as a very old treadle printing press.  You know the kind where they had to hand place each letter and pump their foot to make it move all while manually changing the printed piece of paper for a fresh piece of paper. 

One of the things that interests me about the movie now as an adult is that it was based on true events.  A few years ago my brother got me the collectors edition of the DVD and it has a special feature that lets you in on some of the history behind the movie and it is very interesting.

I think that's why when we were given an opportunity to tour a modern day printing press I jumped at the opportunity.  In fact, I was probably more excited than my kids.  It was so interesting for me to be able to compare a modern day paper printing press with a press from 100 years ago.  It was also fun to see my kids asking questions and learning how things work.

Part of the machine that inserts the sales flyers into the paper.

They keep enough paper on hand to run the paper for 28 days.  This is just some of the rolls they have on hand. 

 

 

There are actually 2 presses side-by-side.  They are both 2+ stories each.

So high above you it's hard to tell where each page starts and ends.

The paper winds through the press like it's going through a maze.

All the kids who were on the trip with us.  Such a great time!

What's next?  Getting my kids to watch the Newsies with me  :-)