Arlene Holmes
Some people, approaching retirement, look enthusiastically to the days when the trusty alarm clock can be decommissioned and life can begin to feel like one long holiday.
Arlene Holmes isn’t one of them.
“[Working] keeps me out of trouble,” said the nearly 90-year-old owner of Holmes-O.K. Lettershop.
Holmes has been at the helm of the Lemoyne design and print shop ever since her husband Bob died 57 years ago.
“Bob owned the business and worked at United Telephone, and I decided to help him, and we ended up getting married,” she said, with a smile.
And if you’re wondering how they landed on the name “Holmes-O.K. Lettershop,” it’s not that they do mediocre work. Instead, it’s a stipulation that was added to the sales contract to keep the shop’s legacy alive, as the original name was O.K. Lettershop.
Originally, the shop was located on Walnut Street in Harrisburg across from the former Dauphin County jail. One day, her husband saw the business go up for sale and decided to purchase it. The rest, as they say, is history.
Those who pass by the Lettershop might see the oversized mailbox on the porch out front, or may, in the summer, be pulled in by the striking and unusual flowers that Arlene grows called “Red Hot Pokers.” Upon first impression, it may appear that the house, which dates back to the 1920s, is diminutive, but it is actually deep on the inside, with several large rooms leading back to what was once a yard.
Holmes raised three children in the family house in New Cumberland. After her kids were out of college, she moved above the shop.
“It’s convenient just to head downstairs for work,” she said.
Willing to Learn
Over the years, the business changed with the times.
Equipment, once standard, became obsolete, such as mimeographs and graphotypes, which embossed metal plates. Later came offset printing, where the inked image is transferred to a plate. This soon gave way to a cut-and-paste method and eventually to computer design and laser printing.
One might wonder how Holmes kept up with the dizzying pace of changes in the printing industry. She credits her former years as a teacher.
“I taught school for six years, two years in Hamburg and four years at William Penn, and I now teach Sunday school at the United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg,” she said. “These jobs taught me that you have to be willing to learn, change and try different things or you aren’t going to survive.”
Over the years, she’s also had to employ fewer people to get the same amount of work done. What was once a team of eight dwindled down to two, with Holmes being one of them, along with her loyal employee of 30 years, Andrea Leach.
Andrea, who lives in Lemoyne and studied commercial art at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, said that she enjoys her job working on newsletters, letterheads and other projects.
“Arlene is fun to work with, and I like the variety,” she said. “You never know what challenges you’re going to have.”
Holmes’ clients read like a “Who’s Who” of area civic clubs, like the Kiwanis, the West Shore Lions and the Distinguished Daughters of PA, to name a few. The business also completes tasks that club secretaries or members don’t often have time to do, like collating newsletters, then folding them and stuffing them into envelopes and driving them to the post office.
Sheri Goff, who is a member of the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club, said that her club has been using Holmes-O.K. Lettershop for many years.
“They print our annual yearbook, which is a 70-page publication, and they also print our newsletter, advertising flyers for fundraisers, our tickets and our club brochures,” Goff said. “If we’re in a bind, they always accommodate us for last-minute things, and their prices are more than fair.”
Likewise, Holmes said that she enjoys working with the public and doesn’t intend to retire anytime soon.
“Why would I?” she asked.
And the question is left hanging there. Indeed, why should she?
“I’m surprised at so many people who don’t want to work,” she said as she climbed the steps to her apartment upstairs, satisfied at the end of her day with a job well done.
Holmes-O.K. Lettershop is located at 409 Market St., Lemoyne. For more information, call 717-761-0864 or visit their Facebook page.
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