Across a century, print shop remains

Rebuilding Cloquet after the 1918 fire spurred not just growth of the wood products industries, including paper production, but also what are known as "spin-off" developments. The Northern Printery, established in 1923 by Parker Childs, remains as one of those businesses.

Rick Luke, the current owner, has spent the better part of his life working in the original building at 206 Avenue C.

"I started here in 1969 as a trainee for high school my senior year," Luke said. "It was called vocational training and I got out of school for half the day to go to work."

After graduation he recalled that many of his classmates found employment in the local mills, but he landed a summer job on Madeline Island. When he returned in the fall, he went to visit the guys at the shop. "Bob Lundell offered me a job and that's when I started, October 1970," Luke said.

Over the years Brad Waller, Gary Southerton and Luke operated Northern Printery as partners. Waller retired first, then Southerton, leaving Luke as the sole proprietor.

Northwest Paper Company, now Sappi, was one of Northern Printery's largest customers even though they had their own print shop in the basement of their general office building across the street. Many locals may remember the calendars and notepads graced with the trademark pictures of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The printery did not print the calendars, but they produced the notepads.

"It was a steady job," Luke said. "We did thousands of them." Northwest Paper supplied all the paper and the Mountie pictures for the cover. "They would supply the press sheets and we'd cut them up," he said. The printery had a machine that glued the tablets. The Mountie pictures were copies of prints supplied by Arnold Friberg, one of the most famous artists commissioned to paint

the logos for the paper company.

Stepping into the office of Northern Printery offers a glimpse into the history of the relationship between the shop and Northwest Paper Company. A large framed picture of a Mountie hangs on one wall. Luke said the entire office was covered with wallpaper depicting the Mounties, and he saved and framed that particular one when they remodeled. He said, "I'm sure they got that (the wallpaper) from across the street."

A small display case holds other artifacts saved from the past. There are stacks of the Northwest Paper notepads dating back to 1943. One of the oldest shows the Mountie with a dogsled team and the cover says, "Out of the Great Northwest-Victory Paper for War and Peacetime Needs," along with a list of many of the company's paper products. Another tablet says "Buy More Bonds" on the cover. "People like to come and look through these," Luke said.

The display case also holds copies of "The Right Hand," a monthly booklet that the Northern Printery published as an advertising medium. "It was just facts and that kind of stuff," Luke said. "It was before my time, but we just found some old copies." There are other memorabilia Luke displays in the case offering a sample of the history of the business.

Reflecting on his years at Northern Printery, Luke said, "One of the first things I had to learn when I came down here was how to set type. I've still got a letter press back there with handset type. I still use it once in a while." That machine is not efficient these days for most jobs, but Luke said he does still use the regular printing press. He said, "There's an amount you can run on the copy machine and after that it gets too expensive. Ink is expensive."

Naturally, Luke has seen changes at Northern Printery over the years. At one time the shop provided a living for three families. However, local businesses and government offices keep him busy now, and he is always willing to print special items for those of us who are not savvy enough to order from a website on the internet.

"It's just not what it used to be. They want a paperless world. I don't know if we'll ever see that," Luke said. "It's been good to me."