| |
Our History |
| Conway Print Shop |
 |
| |
|
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the "dime" novel was among the
most popular forms of entertainment. For the Conway brothers and their
neighbors in the coal-mining town of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, the
publication of one of these novels launched a global enterprise
that has been a fixture in the local economy since 1903.
|
| |
|
"Murder at Hickory Ridge" was a fictionalized account of an unsolved
murder in the Shamokin area, written by William A. Conway and printed
by his two brothers, Alphonsus E. and John J., in the garage that served
as the Conway Print Shop.
|
| |
|
With the profits from the sale of the novel, the Conway brothers started
the Black Diamond Publishing Company in 1905 to disseminate news of the
anthracite coal region through the printing of Black Diamond Magazine.
|
| |
| Business Grows |
|
At the same time, the movies had made their way to the area. Alphonsus
rigged an existing press to print continuous roll tickets, enabling the
company to expand its operations to serve the new theater industry.
|
| |
|
One of the first large volume orders for the fledgling company came
from the Hazleton Baseball Club, which requested that its tickets be
printed on green paper. Having no such paper and no cash to buy it,
the Conway's turned to Nicholas R. Ludes, a successful Shamokin clothing
merchant. Ludes bankrolled the purchase of the paper stock, and the
company was on its way.
|
| |
|
In 1907, the three Conway brothers and Ludes became equal partners
in the incorporation of National Ticket Company.
|
| |
| Difficult Years |
|
To remain in business as long as it has, National Ticket Company has had to
endure the same trials as any long established business: cataclysmic events
and economic hard times. The company has survived two world
wars, the Great Depression, and a devastating fire.
|
| |
|
To this day, the company is still owned solely by the Conway and Ludes
families, with each family holding fifty percent of the stock.
|
| |
| |
| First Production Building |
 |
|
National Ticket Company's first production facility, built in 1911 at the
corner of Pearl and Webster Streets. A 1942 fire gutted the plant, although
the brick shell still stands.
|
| |
 |
| |
| |
| Second Production Building |
 |
|
Wartime shortages prevented the company from building a new facility for
eight years after the fire. This building at Pearl Street and Ticket Avenue
was completed in 1950 and served as company headquarters for forty-two years.
|
| |
| Looking Ahead |
|
Within the last decade, National Ticket Company’s services have broken
the boundaries of the US, and are now used worldwide..
|
| |
|
The company has grown and prospered through the 20th century because
of the strength of its ownership, the stability of its work force, and
the versatility of its product. As it continues to employ modern
management techniques and the latest printing and computer technology,
National Ticket Company is poised to succeed into a second century of
service to its vast array of customers.
|
| |
