Why the commander of a modern Canadian navy ship keeps a vintage typewriter on board

When Cmdr. Jon Nicholson took command of the Arctic offshore patrol vessel HMCS Harry DeWolf in Halifax in January, his grandfather's typewriter went aboard with him.

The vessel is one of the most modern in Canada's fleet.

The venerable 1955 Smith-Corona Skyriter was also with him aboard his previous ships — HMCS St. John's and HMCS Halifax.

Nicholson, who lives in Halifax but was raised in P.E.I., says the typewriter represents a connection to his grandfather, a fellow sailor. It also serves a practical purpose.

He says as part of naval tradition, officers are required to write personal letters of introduction to new superior or commanding officers. They also give personal notes to shipmates celebrating milestones.

Tradition dictates that such correspondence be written with a fountain pen, but, being left-handed, Nicholson says he tended to smear the ink.

Nicholson says the solution to this problem came after he saw the 2016 documentary California Typewriter, which features Tom Hanks, an actor and filmmaker he admires.

"It popped in my head maybe I don't need to use fountain pens and be embarrassed of my handwriting skills ... maybe I could use a typewriter," he said.

'When I mentioned that to my mother, lo and behold, there was a 1955 typewriter in the attic that hadn't been used in 30-40 years."

The typewriter, he says, was in remarkable condition for 70 years old. Everything worked.

Although he wasn't aware of the typewriter's existence until a few years ago, it originally belonged to his grandfather.

Nicholson says his grandfather was a specialist diver with the Italian navy in the early 1900s before migrating to P.E.I.

He says he and his grandfather looked a lot alike and shared common interests.

According to Nicholson, having the typewriter with him is like having a piece of his grandfather accompanying him on his missions to the Arctic and elsewhere.

Today, Nicholson says the typewriter has pride of place on a desk in his captain's cabin near his computer and monitor that he uses for everyday administrative duties.

"I don't use it all the time, but it does catch attention when I use it," he says. "People often comment on it."

Nicholson wanted to get the typewriter freshened up if he could find someone to do it. While heading to Toronto with the ship, he looked online to see if there were any repair shops in the city. He discovered Toronto Typewriters.

He made an appointment. During some free time on their stopover, Nicholson and a junior officer took the typewriter into the shop.

Toronto Typewriter owner Chris Edmondson says he's used to out-of-towners coming to the store, often on tight schedules.

What he wasn't prepared for was seeing Nicholson arrive in full military dress.

Edmondson says he asked Nicholson why he was so well dressed and he explained that he was in town with his warship and crew on a recruitment exercise.

According to Edmondson, the 1955 Skyriter is a lightweight and portable machine built with a level of craftsmanship that shows the Smith-Corona Company was "at the top of its game."

He says it was serviced and cleaned and a fresh ribbon was installed. When the time came for them to pick up the restored machine, Nicholson gave him an HMCS Harry DeWolf hat.

'Beautiful, beautiful sentiment'

After the two agreed, Edmondson posted photos of their visit on the store's Instagram page.

Edmondson says he finds it touching that the machine has a family naval connection.

"That's just such a beautiful, beautiful sentiment and such an interesting way of carrying his grandfather's memory with him," he said.

"You wouldn't do that with a cellphone. But because the typewriter is a machine, it's a tool that still holds importance and significance and can be used for what it was originally designed for."

Nicholson says he expects his newly restored typewriter to remain a constant companion on his voyages.

"It's a part of my life now, and although I'm still in the infancy of my adventures with this typewriter, hopefully, they continue."