ITEMS of interest

Decades ago, newspaper composing rooms were noisy, bustling places that smelled of cigarette smoke and molten lead. Linotype operators set type in lead, and makeup people arranged chunks of type to fit on a single page. Proofreaders read the finished product to make sure everything was in place.

Today, most newspapers don't even have composing rooms. Typesetting is done on computers. The once-powerful International Typographical Union, based in Colorado Springs and founder of the Union Printers Home, dwindled in membership. Eventually it merged with the Communication Workers of America (CWA), based in Washington, DC. An era was gone.