At the General Conference in 1889 Uriah Smith was telling of his memories of the early publishing days. Of the primitive equipment of our first printing office, he told the Conference: "I often think of the time when J. N. Loughborough, myself, and a few others, in Rochester, New York, under the direction of James White, were preparing the first tracts to be sent out to our people. The instruments we had to use were a bradawl, a straightedge, and a penknife. Brother Loughborough, with the awl, would perforate the back for stitching, the sister would stitch them; and then I, with the straightedge and knife, would trim the rough edges on the top, front, and bottom. We blistered our hands in the operation, and often the tracts in form were not half so true and square as the doctrines they taught." (General Conference Bulletin, October 29, 1889)