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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Young writer finds Underwood owned by Spokesman-Review legend Dorothy Powers

Even though typewriters have largely passed from the scene, one typewriter holds special value for a 7-year-old Spokane girl.

Sofie Boures fashions herself as a future news sleuth much like her favorite 1930s movie character, Kit Kittredge. The little girl estimates she’s watched “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” at least 25 times, reveling in Kit’s success at earning an unlikely spot in the news at age 10.

Wanting to be like Kit, Sofie asked her parents for a typewriter for Christmas.

So she and her father went to the Teen Challenge Thrift Store at 1919 E. Sprague Ave.; what they found there was as much of a surprise as the ending of the movie.

They purchased a 1938 Underwood Champion portable typewriter in good working condition for $40. A tag attached to the carrying case shows the name of Dorothy Powers, a longtime news reporter and columnist for The Spokesman-Review who died in October at age 93.

“I think journalists are cool,” Sofie said as she showed off her prized possession last week.

From the looks of the typewriter, it appears that Powers was careful with it, keeping it clean and undamaged.

Sofie and her mom, Andrea Boures, replaced the old ribbon, and Sofie now uses the machine to write her own stories.

Andrea Boures said her daughter’s interest in Kit Kittredge and now in Dorothy Powers has been a good learning experience.

A student at First Presbyterian Christian School, Sofie has been researching Powers’ career. She found out that Powers, who joined The Spokesman-Review in 1943, had reported on the vagabond lifestyle by visiting hobo camps. For Powers, it was one of a series of groundbreaking stories that elevated her to the status of Spokane newspaper legend.

“I think she is fascinating,” Sofie said of Powers.

In the movie, Kit goes to a nearby hobo camp where she befriends two hobos who were suspected of stealing her mother’s treasures. The movie is set during the Great Depression, the period when Powers grew up. Kit identifies the real crooks, earning her a spot in the Cincinnati newspaper and status of local heroine.

Andrea Boures said the Kit Kittredge character is teaching Sofie about history and is encouraging her to develop her writing skills.

“She is very creative,” Andrea Boures said of her daughter. “I want to support that any way I can.”

Sofie, who owns her own Kit Kittredge doll and the DVD of the movie, is learning to be a photographer. She has her own camera.

But nothing beats the typewriter.

“I was like, oh, wow,” Sofie said of her reaction when she learned who Powers was. “This is awesome. I started freaking out.”