On a forested lot across from Washington's capitol building sits a tiny cottage with something inside that beats with the pulse of this place.
"It's a beautiful machine," said owner Jami Heinricher, describing the Heidelberg windmill press that's been keeping a steady rhythm for decades. The press, nicknamed Heidi, has been churning out printed material since the 1950s -- boxes in the attic of the cottage attest to the press' productivity -- they're crammed with everything from birth announcements, to letterhead, to funeral programs.
When Jocelyn Dohm opened The Sherwood Press in 1940, she got attention, but not much respect from the Seattle Times. The article states: "Olympia girls start business with old press...it's a funny venture for girls".
That funny venture became the heartbeat of the community -- everything that happened here ran through this machine.
Jami Heinricher volunteered in 1989, becoming fast friends with Jocelyn. She hasn't left since.
"She was a very intelligent woman, she had incredible integrity, as a business person and as a community leader. She and her partner Marjorie were very,very active in the community," said Heinricher.
Jocelyn died in 2003. She and Marjorie rest together at the foot of a fir tree on the property -- guarded by the tags of the press's many shop dogs.
Today, Jami owns and operates The Sherwood Press, and feels that the original owner still looks over her shoulder:
"Most of the equipment is equipment she used for 63 years and so she's really here in every detail of the press," explained Heinricher.
But The Sherwood Press is showing its age, so last year Heinricher launched an Indiegogo campaign and Olympia rallied, raising more than 17 thousand dollars to help preserve the press.
"It was amazing and overwhelming," said Heinricher, describing the community response.
Now, along with keeping Heidi printing, Heinricher is fixing the quirky place that houses the press -- a cottage designed by Jocelyn Dohm's sister, and built by her father.
A wall where an old window rotted out will get a brand new one soon -- it's being built up the road by custom woodshop Eco Woodworks.
And a big Douglas fir that's less than an inch from the cottage will be removed as well. Heinricher agonized about the tree removal, but realized that the tree could easily obliterate the press if it came down during one of Olympia's frequent windstorms.
And this historic place has one new addition -- a string of copper tags, each one etched with a donor's name.
Another physical reminder that in this digital world, words you can touch have power.
"I think what most people would say about letterpress is it's tactile, you can actually feel the impression of the form onto the paper. And I think people respond to that," said Heinricher, as she inspected the embossed pamphlets for a community event she, and Heidi, just created together.
