For the First Day of School

Any stationery store is a magnet for me, from the former Hallmark sections to aisles at Office Depot, Michael’s, Barnes & Noble, and The Paper Store.

Paper, stationery sets, pens, blank books, notebooks lure me to touch, dream, and buy.

Like school supplies for the first day of school.

In my time, pre-computer, we hoped for our favorite character lunch box with matching thermos, but what tickled my fingers were boxes of new crayons (24-count Crayola…only Christmas or birthdays brought out the enormous boxes with the built-in sharpener), #2 pencils, pink erasers, binder, lined notebook paper, and maybe a bookbag.

In elementary school, supplies were kept in our desks, and only our notebook went back and forth.

In my early school years, three-ring binders were blue canvas. By the mid 70’s, Trapper Keepers (Mead Corporation) were available, tested in Wichita, Kansas, and put on the market when they were sold out. In 2007, the Velcro strap was replaced by a magnetic closure.

Henry Sisson (American) invented the first binder in 1859 with a spring and tube to hold papers, but the familiar ring binder was developed in 1886 in Germany by Friedrich Soennecken, along with a paper/hole punch.

And lined notebook paper?

A machine capable of making lined paper was invented in 1770, and by the 1800’s the lines were blue to guide handwriting. Red vertical lines were added later to identify margins. Some sources reported that margins were created to keep mice from nibbling your work, since they rarely chewed past the outside edges. Really.

Crayola crayons (the only kind to buy) were invented by Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith in 1902 of paraffin wax and nontoxic pigments. Mr. Binney’s wife Alice named them “Crayola” from the French words “craie” (chalk) and “ola” (oily). My sets had the peach/pink “flesh” crayon for years.

We all remember the communal classroom pencil sharpener, and the sound of school shoes tapping across the room, followed by the grinding sounds. By high school and college, mechanical pencils were required, created by Sampson Mordan and John Hawkins (Britains) in 1822. It was imperative to keep tubes of lead available since tips snapped off.

Backpacks. A knapsack (with external metal frame) was invented by Henry Merriam in 1878 for the US Army. By 1938, backpacks were used for hiking and camping, and satchels, closed with buckles and wrapped with a belt, hauled books to school. Gerry Outdoors claims the first nylon packs, now a school requirement.

My grandson enters second grade this year, and his school supply list included the standards: 1” 3-ring binder, composition notebooks, plastic pocket folders, scissors, colored pencils, wipes, yellow highlighters, computer headphones, dry erase markers, erasers, copy paper, index cards, and storage bags. A few staples haven’t changed.

Even shopping for pencils and notebooks brings out that tingle of stationery delight for me. No, it's not letter paper, blank journals, or scrumptious pens, but any writing tool is a toy for a storywriter.

And nothing stirs the creative spark like a new box of crayons or colored pencils, a pad of paper, and markers.

Oh, and if you happen to have one of these rare lunchboxes, it’s time to dust it off and cash in—1955 Lone Ranger ($1,250), 1968 Star Trek ($1,500), 1966 Beatles ($1,550), 1959 Knights in Armor ($1,750), or 1954 Howdy Doody ($1,787).

Me? None. We carried a red plaid lunchbox and matching thermos--$60 on eBay.