Editor’s note: This is the final part of a three-part series.

DAYTON — A team can only function well with good leadership, and TB Writers Plus in Dayton is no different.

Owner Trevor Brumfield — who started the typewriter repair store more than a year ago when he bought one online, repaired it, and started using it — is doing his best to help his part-time crew find their way.

“Each works a little differently than their coworkers and has their own skill set,” he said. “Tyler is really good at detail-oriented work. Keenan’s strength is getting a lot of work done quickly. Torii is still finding her place in the shop. She’s helped us with inventory ideas and graphic design and handles other odds and ends around the shop.”

Brumfield’s interests and skills are well-suited, and he clearly enjoys this work. But what he likes most about the job is the people.

“All of our customers treat my shop like a safe haven. I’m not sure why, but people drop their guard when they walk in here,” he said. “We’ve heard some crazy stories from people, war stories, childhood traumas, business plans, just about anything you can think of. We have customers that will leave work in the middle of the day just to come here to vent because they are having a bad day. Next thing you know, they’ve been here for three hours, and their boss is calling.”

Brumfield’s modesty won’t allow for his own kindness and personability as reason enough for people to gravitate to him and his family.

“I don’t know what it is about this place that makes people feel so at home, but I don’t think it is just me — or any one person here. But as soon as they walk in, they get this look like they just had a weight removed from their shoulders,” he said.

Brumfield’s customers are an eclectic mix of artists, collectors, and business people from all over the country. Greg Parker, for example, is from Urbana and has purchased three typewriters from the shop. The 40-year-old, married Army veteran has been collecting typewriters for about 10 years. He currently has seven, including two Royals, an Underwood, and an Olympia. He explained his interest in the machines is mainly about the experience.

“I grew up with typewriters and used them when I was young,” Parker said. “But I really like the aesthetics.”

Parker is not a writer or artist but a welder by trade.

“I do some journaling, and I have some memoir stories I’d like to put down on paper someday,” he said. “But I feel like I was born too late, like in another time. I enjoy the mechanics of the machines. The sound and the feel are very different from a computer. When you type something on paper, it’s like you really created it yourself.”

Creativity and the personal connection with a simpler time is common throughout the typewriter community. For example, on Sunday, Oct. 27, TB Writers Plus is hosting a costumed “type-in” event, encouraging people to come dressed in the same era as the typewriters they bring. Type-ins are most easily explained as cruise-ins for typewriter enthusiasts. Scattered around the country, these predominantly social events provide the opportunity for aficionados to talk typewriters, socialize, and even do some typing.

Meanwhile, back at the dinner table, the boys — Clayton, 6, and Sam, 5 — are no longer interested in their meals and require some encouragement. Brumfield digs into his food as he and his wife, Becca, talk about their day. Eventually, they would like TB Writers Plus to be independently sustainable as a full-time career. For now, they, their crew, and, of course, Clayton and Sam, are enjoying the work and the people who share in the simplicity and resurrection of a by-gone era.

To learn more, visit www.tbwritersplus.com.