Steno notebook?

United States
September 12, 2008 11:13am CST
Is anyone familiar with a type of notepad/notebook called a STENO notebook? I had never see these before until I took a job scouting cotton fields after I got out of high school. We used them because the were smaller and easier to handle than regular size notebook, yet they had a more room on the pages than the little pocket notepads. I have continued buying them over the years because they are convenient to keep in the truck to write stuff on. They are spiral-bound and have covers just like regular notebooks, so the pages don't blow all over the place if you do a lot of driving with the windows down as I do. I usually buy them in packs of threes at Wal-mart. There is one thing about them that I have never figured out, though, and I was hoping that someone here should shed some light on this for me. The pages in these notebooks have lines on them just like regular notebook paper, but they also have a line right down the middle of the page, dividing the page into two columns. The pages in the one I have here are 6x9 inches. The cover says "GREGG RULE" on it too. I assume this has something to do with the line going down the middle of the page? The lines on the page are spaced about like "wide ruled" notebook paper, so does the "GREGG RULE" indicate that the pages are divided into the two columns? I have always wondered why those pages where divided like that. Is it for some specific job function for a certain career field, or just for general convenience? I can't seem to find any reason for it. I even googled it. Does anyone know? It isn't really important I guess. It is just something I have wondered over the years as I have used this pads...does anyone know?
2 responses
chameleonsdream
@chameleonsdream (1230)
• United States
14 Sep 08
I started using steno books for writing poetry in high school just because of that little red line down the middle. I could easily fit two poems on a page, or a poem on one side and comments about it and edits on the other. In addition, I love them because of the extra stiff notebook back which makes it easy to write without a table or desk. And of course, I love that the spirals on top doesn't dig into my arm when I'm writing on the back side of a sheet of paper. This was like a blast from the past for me, though - because it reminded me of something else I used to do in high school with these notebooks. Our school store sold them with plain brown cardboard fronts and backs, with just a box on the front to write in the dates the steno book covered. I used to customize my notebooks by using cross-stitch embroidery with three strands of embroidery thread and a carpet needle to create border designs and decorations. Thanks for the reminder!
Robin55
@Robin55 (225)
• United States
15 Sep 08
That's a really cool idea! The embroidery, I mean. I'll bet they were really pretty when you were done with them! That would make a nice journal. Thanks for the idea! Steno notebooks really are nice and come in handy for a variety of reasons. I have about five of them right now. I am a stationary junky, as my friends call me! LOL. Whenever anyone needs something to write with or write on, I'm the one they come to.
Robin55
@Robin55 (225)
• United States
13 Sep 08
Steno notebooks are a notebook that has a long history. They were originally used primarily by secretaries when taking dictation from their boss. The pages are split in half because the secretaries used shorthand and they could get two pages on one by filling up the first side before the red line and then the next one on the far side of the paper. Over the years they have stll continued being used by secretaries but also by many people for all kinds of things. Hope that helps with that part of it. As for the Gregg rule, Gregg is the most popular writing handbook in the world and while I'm not quite sure, I think it has something to do with Gregg setting the rules for shorthand and other writing rules, such as grammar, punctuation and spelling.