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I grew up in Janesville Wisconsin back in the 1950s. Parker was a big employer in that town along with a GM plant, both are now long gone. When in high school I worked for a pharmacy delivering prescriptions. Several times I got to go into the old Parker plant which was still in use. Very cool lobby, they had actual framed original paintings by Norman Rockwell which he had done for Parker ad campaigns in the 1930s or 1940s. Also even delivered to the original George Parker mansion too. It was this old rambling Victorian whereas I recall his elderly wife still lived. It was really like a step back in time!
The nuns in my Catholic grade school all "carried" the Parker 51 fountain pen and matching pencil on their "utility belt" which they wore around their waist. It was a little leather pouch, so cool! Penmanship was right up there with religion...ugh! I believe it was religion, followed by penmanship, grammar, then arithmetic ( modern math happened in 7th grade...to this day I have absolutely NO idea what that was about). Needles to say science was relegated to a minor role of importance, it just made one think about too many annoying questions that conflicted with the whole religious dogma thing they had going. Of course, being left-handed myself I think they thought I was in league with the devil right out of the gate. Never was able to totally master that beautiful Chancery Cursive they so highly prized.
I actually brought an old Parker Duofold at an action back in the 1970s, and tested their lifetime guarantee by returning it to the factory for "free" repairs. I got it back with a letter explaining that they no longer had the required parts to repair such a pen but enclosed a replacement current model ballpoint. It was a piece of crap! A rather ignominious end to a great brand name.
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