posted 12-06-2006 06:42 AM               

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Paul Fisher is best known for inventing the space pen - that handy device writes upside down and made him a millionaire - but the entrepreneur also ran for president of the United States, twice.

Fisher died several weeks ago at the age of 93 in his adopted hometown of Boulder City, Nev., but for more than 20 years this innovative man housed his Fisher Space Pen Co. in the former Roos building here in Forest Park. From 1953 to 1976 Fisher manufactured a host of writing instruments here in the village that changed the industry, one of which is literally out of this world.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fisher at several space related events and gatherings held in the mid-1990s. After our first introduction, there were two things I could always expect from Paul: a warm greeting every subsequent time we would meet and a new Fisher Space Pen in hand. Paul would have pens coming out of every pocket, and he was always interested in showing you his latest innovation to its design.

My first Fisher Space Pen was a "bullet" model purchased at Space Camp at age 11. That pen lasted me for at least 5 years — always in my pocket (sometimes even while the pants were in the wash) and it never failed. In the years since, I've owned many different space pens — from the replica A7L that mimicked the type carried by the astronauts to a flown example carried aboard Skylab.

posted 12-07-2006 10:21 AM               

R.I.P.

- Zee