|
| |
| |
|
|
| Paul Wirt began manufacturing fountain pens in the
town of Bloomsburg Pennsylvania in the early 1880's. He was probably the
most prolific pen maker of those early years. However, it is likely that
the Waterman Pen Company may have matched or even beat his production
levels in the 1890s. Production ceased at the Wirt factory in the 1920s.
Although the pens made before 1900 were all eyedropper fill pens,
Paul worked on many different filling systems throughout the early part
of the 1900s. In the end, he decided to produce only lever fill pens.
Fountain pens were not Paul’s only field of interest. He also held
patents for many other items ranging from tubeless tires & fishing
hooks to suspenders and back scratchers. He even manufactured the
suspenders at his Bloomsburg pen factory. Paul sold the company to
friends after the death of his son who had been managing the business
for some time.
Paul Wirt wore many hats in his long life - lawyer, world class
industrialist, inventor, but most of all he dedicated his life to making
his small corner of the world just a little better than he found it. In
our modern world filled with the lost children of the "me"
generation, it is hard to imagine a man spending most of his life
worrying about the fate of his fellow man. However, Paul Wirt was the
product of two fine families, both of which believed in improving the
lives of the people around them.
|
|
|
|
Postcard showing Paul Wirt Mansion as it appeared at the turn of the
last century.
|
| Although he was not born in Bloomsburg, Mr. Wirt
emerged as one of the leading men of the town. He made sure that that
when he left this life his beloved Bloomsburg would be a much better
place than it had been when he moved there. Because he helped to
engineer the prosperity that Bloomsburg still enjoys, his impact on the
town is felt even today.
Not only did he put Bloomsburg on the world map through the sales
of his fountain pens but he also brought much needed industry to the
area & improved the life of the common man. He helped create jobs
with his pen factory and by bringing a silk mill into the area. Even his
choice of employees was at times based on the personal needs of the
applicant. He donated his time, money & resources to local
institutions. He made sure that the area had a clean dependable water
supply, was the personal benefactor of his church and, for 44 years, he
was a trustee of the Bloomsburg State Normal School - later to become
Bloomsburg University. During that time, he never accepted as much as
one penny for his tireless efforts. He did make himself a wealthy man in
the late 1800s, but he also improved the life of everyone around him. In
today’s world & by modern standards many might well regard him as
an eccentric or a lunatic. However, upon studying his life, it is easy
to see that Paul Wirt was an outstanding American and not just a name on
a fountain pen. |
|
|
