Die Is Cast

T&T Dies was a tool and die shop that created custom tools and custom presses as commissioned by other manufacturers.

There is the possibility that the company still exists, but I have been unable to find any proof of continued existence. The T&T building in Boardman, Ohio appears to be in disrepair. Calls to the company phone number return a disconnected message. Business research databases that have records of other small businesses with dossiers on the Free Shirt Archive do not have any records of this company. There is no public-facing website; the only other current mentions on the Web are on sites that monetize phone number listings.

I am not happy to have to practically conclude that the company is gone. Individuals that I do not know would have had to deal with uncertainty and possibly unemployment. Less people with jobs means a less vibrant community. Furthermore, one less business will make the market less competitive which will lead to higher prices and fewer choices.

Do Or Die

Donor Chet* gave me this shirt after an inside joke of feigning sympathy over the “fact” that of the death of T&T had developed. Whoever was told of the death would fake crying. We were young then; life seemed like it would go on forever.

…And then this shirt was ripped during a spat of horseplay.

Chet rightly called me out in the year 2006. In the initial versions of the /links this shirt was wrongly not included. At the time, I could not reason including a shirt that I no longer had. I realize the folly of attempting the project without being as inclusive as my memory allows. Now, while we are still alive, is the time to prove that I never forgot about this shirt to the reader.