One of the last typewriter repair shops in the state is closing this month.

Mark Soderbeck, owner of Vale Typewriter Company in Richfield, is retiring.

“Some of the stuff you can’t fix if you don’t have a part and I’ve run out of… parts for certain models,” Soderbeck said.

Soderbeck remembers a time when typewriters ruled the office and home, but by the mid-90s, the computer age moved in and typewriters quickly became out of date.

“The business almost went away,” Soderbeck said. “We lost 80% of the business in 3 years. It just plummeted.”

These days, Soderbeck only repairs a handful of typewriters a week mostly for collectors. Soderbeck even received a typewriter from actor Tom Hanks, a big typewriter collector.

“It’s at home now,” Soderbeck said. “It’s got his signature on it. My kids and grandkids will get it, that will never go anyplace.”