It all started innocently enough: Shane Byrne, owner of Clickety Clack Typewriters in Rolla, serviced a typewriter for a customer in St. Louis.
That customer turned out to be someone who knows Tom Hanks.
"He told me I should write to Tom and invite him to Rolla," Byrne said.
So he did. Byrne and his wife, Amanda, typed a letter to Hanks, who in addition to being a world-famous actor is also a manual typewriter aficionado and collector who even wrote a book about the beloved machines.
"I thanked him for all he did for the typewriter community, told him how much I enjoyed his movies and invited him to Rolla," Byrne said.
Byrne didn't think much of it after that, but then, one day, a package arrived from Santa Monica, California, from Playtone Productions. It was a 1935 Remington Noiseless 77 manual typewriter in perfect condition. Included was a letter typed on that typewriter, signed by Tom Hanks.
"Shane and Amanda …
My Underwood noiseless 77 bids you a HOWDY…
Many thanks for your gifts and kind words, and for opening a hometown Clickey Clack joint. They are coming back, these machines, I vow this. So let's stick together and visit the likes of Rolla, MO. Holy Rolla! Right??? Throw deep and look for me when I Roll-a through your state, then, Show me, the Clicks and clack…
(signed)
Tom Hanks"
Byrne said he never expected a gift of a typewriter in return, but it is now the shining star of his collection and the ultimate intersection of pop culture and the typewriter community.
"It's definitely a pinnacle. It's rewarding to be recognized (by Hanks), but also other typewriter folks within the community have really acknowledged and reached out, congratulating us," he said.
Byrne was also touched by the letter.
"I think he was actually mispronouncing Rolla by saying 'Holy Rolla', but I love the play on words, and I like how personal the letter was itself," Byrne said. "It's very cool."
Byrne knows it's a long shot that Hanks would ever come to Rolla, but if he does, Byrne will be ready to "nerd out" over typewriters and show him the shop and the collection.
In the meantime, Hanks' gifted typewriter and letter is on display at Clickety Clack Typewriters in Rolla.
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