Alabama Typewriter Company
Alabama Typewriter Company was a typewriter sales and repair shop located at 2203 6th Avenue South in Downtown Birmingham.
The business was founded as a local office of the Victor Adding Machine Company in 1922 and became independent in the 1930s or 1940s. In the 1950s and 1960s it was owned by W. R. Hudson and located at 1821 5th Avenue North.
In 1986 Billy Hagood, who trained as an Air Force technician during the Korean War, purchased the business. As most businesses transitioned away from typewriters to desktop computers, Hagood increasingly worked on the restoration of antique typewriters along with basic servicing of computers, printers and fax machines.
Hagood had planned to retire in January 2007, hoping to sell the business, but never found a buyer. On September 1, 2017 a man fleeing from a fender-bender drove his pick-up truck into the front of the shop, trapping Hagood inside for more than two hours as crews worked to clear the wreckage. Hagood told reporters that the incident would mark "the end of an era."
References
- Williams, Roy L. (July 9, 2006) "Letter perfect fix." The Birmingham News
- Swant, Martin (April 14, 2011) "Five Questions: Billy Hagood of Alabama Typewriter Co. in Birmingham." The Birmingham News
- Martinez, Marlei (September 1, 2017) "Truck crashes into typewriter repair shop in downtown Birmingham." wvtm13.com