Held’s Angels

John Held, Jr. January 10, 1889 to March 2, 1958, Image courtesy Wikipedia.

and also from Wikipedia,

Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr, March 17, 1911 to February 18, 2001

The book was published by Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York in 1952.,

This book had a dust cover with, I believe, bio and other information on the authors. However, since I was given this book in 1954, that cover has gone away.

So, from various sources on the Internet, we have information on both. Frank Bunker Gilbreth, Jr. was a journalist and novelist. He is probably best known for the book co-authored with his sister, Cheaper by the Dozen. Our book, Held’s Angels, has a story by Gilbert, interspersed with the cartoons. However, since I am interested in visual humor, let us move on to the cartoonist, John Held, Jr.

From Wikipedia,  on John Held, Jr. we have the following:

Due to his sense of humor and keen observation of his surroundings, Held was praised for his cartoon depictions of the cultural paradigm shift in the 1920s. The drawings depicted the flapper era in a way that both satirized and influenced the styles and mores of the time, and his images have continued to define the Jazz Age for subsequent generations.

And from the Utah Artists Project, we have this:

John Held, Jr. was born in Utah in 1889. He chronicled the spirit of the 1920s, the “Jazz Age,” with his cartoons of the flapper Betty Co-ed, and her friend, Joe College. Held died in New Jersey in 1958.

I have heard the expression, ‘Joe College’, but never ‘flapper Betty Co-ed’. Learn something new everyday.

More information on Flappers.

So, let us look at college life.

Which segues into garters. We know that socks stay up when we pull them on, courtesy of elastic, but in Held’s day, they were held up by garters. Or garter belts, but mostly for the young set, just plain garters.

Dancing was synonymous with flappes, so we swing into dancing.

For a videos showing black bottom danceing, see Youtube.

Black bottom dance, solo:

Black bottom dance, solo and couple:

Also the charleston, and swing. Swing seems to have evolved from the black bottom dance-  the actual dance starts at 39 second mark.

Courtesy of the Encyclopedia Britannica, we have the following excerpt:

Charleston music is in quick 4/4 time with syncopated rhythms. In the basic step the knees are bent, then straightened, as the feet pivot in and out. Weight is shifted from one leg to another, the free leg being kicked out from the body at an oblique angle. The basic step is often interspersed with strenuous movements, such as forward and backward kicks while traveling forward.

I don’t know which came first, Charleston or Black Bottom Dance and I do not want to get into esoteric discussions about those two dances.

Moving right along.

Well, maybe not everyone was tuned into dancing.

Dance marathons, seemed to be a way for desperate people to make money. At least that is what I got from the book, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They. (See below)

Video of dance marathon and an article about it.

There was a 1936 novel by Horace McCoy   about marathon dancing. And a 1969 movie based on the book. Interestingly enough, and according to IMDB.com,

 This film was shot in  continuity. So, when the actors start to stumble around, it is because they have been doing it almost nonstop.

Prohibition in the twenties and thirties was a misguided effort by people with a narrow agenda and outsize political power to to keep people from drinking. All it did was drive more people to drink, which led to organized crime meeting their needs. By the time the idiocy was ended, organized crime was well funded and established. I will now climb down from my soap box, being careful to not get into Federal Marijuana prohibition, (it is legal in my state), and the dark history of civil forfeiture as noted in the Harvard Law Review.

Here is John Held’s take on prohibition, alcohol, not marijuana.

The above requires a bit of explanation. Today, our household insecticides usually come in an aerosol container. Back in the day, it came in liquid form in bottles or cans. The liquid was poured into a reservoir of a hand pumped sprayer.  As pictured below.

Flit Gun courtesy of google images.

How about some casual observations of life around him.

We close with a Christmas message.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Ted

References on John Held, Jr.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Held_Jr.

https://www.lib.utah.edu/collections/utah-artists/UAP-John-Held.php (favorite color: Plaid.)

http://www.ushistory.org/us/46d.asp

References for Gilbreth:

http://gilbrethnetwork.tripod.com/dozen.html

http://gilbrethnetwork.tripod.com/dozen.html

https://www.geni.com/people/Frank-Gilbreth-Jr/6000000015670069239

https://www.bookologymagazine.com/resources/authors-emeritus/gilbreth-frank-b-jr/

 

Tohby Riddle

1965 – Still going strong

Author photo courtesy of google images.

I found this book at Berkelouw Books, Paddington, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

According to Wikipedia: Tohby Riddle is an Australian creator of picture books and illustrated books …

I am not certain what the difference is between a picture book and an illustrated book. So, here we have a definitive discussion of the two types of books.

Insert picture vs illustrated book

The above is courtesy of The Singapore Book Council Academy,

And now you know.

Also, accordion to Wikipedia, he has 24 books. Their list is long, but here is the first one, Careful With that Ball, Eugene! (1989, US 1991, UK 1991) and the latest,Nobody Owns the Moon (2019, 10th anniversary reissue) I guess he actually, has 23 original books, as the last one is a reprint. Our book sits in the middle of this list as it was published in 2003. And since it is now 2019, there are probably more published works.

You can learn more about him in this biograph, courtesy of JRank which is an interesting search engine. Give them a peek.  However, I was not able to set up an account. Still and all, an interesting site.

He has his own blog, and a facebook page 

Both his blog and facebook sites go into detail on his other books.

His web page, seems to be under construction (May 2019).

From the back cover of this book, we have the following:

For some years now, Tohby Riddle has been drawing a little box on a trusty piece of paper and putting an idea – sometime funny, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes just curious – into it. This book is a selection of those ideas.

And from information in this book we are told that it is ‘Tohby’s first collection of cartoons’.

So, on to the cartoons. Some have only captions, some only dialogue and a few with neither.

I’ll start off with the one that I really like.

Then on to the dialogue free offerings.

I think I would consider the next one as a category of lets never invite them over again.

And on to relationships.

Oh, well. How about a little self improvement.

The next two are for all of us who like to write. We like to think that we all have a book in us. But…

And of course, along with the joys of putting pen to paper (keyboard to computer?) come the drawbacks.

The Environment is always a good topic.

Which brings us to the workplace.

And a kind of business related cartoon.

And the ever present motivational poster in the lunch room.

I tried to think up a rousing caption for the above cartoon, ‘be a self starter’, ‘work is its own reward’, etc. I gave up. I am certain that those of you who have these types of posters staring down on you can come up with a suitable caption á la Dilbert^©.

I assume that the next cartoon is for the obligatory formal dinner after work.

Let us finally leave work and pursue happiness.

Or, a little Biology 100.

Which brings us to the end.

Hope you enjoyed them.

Ted.

PS, I didn’t put the one in, that in this day and age would get the pitch forks and flaming touches out. I thought it was funny. If you get the book it is the last cartoon.

T

Charles (Chuck Waggin) Amesbury

..

Charles (Chuck Waggin) S. Amesbury

1914 – 1993

and his Light-Harted Look At The Desert

T

So, why is Charles Amesbury called ‘Chuck Waggin?’ Good question. My answer, is that on Cattle Drives the cook drove a wagon from which he prepared meas on the drive. And, since this was Tucson in the fifties, it seemed a good play on words. Here is a photo of a Chuck Wagon, courtesy of Texas Rancher Girl, and for which I thank her, them, or whomever.  And, while on the discussion of Chuck Wagons, you can usually find them slinging grub at a Cowboy Jamboree, during cook off contests. They also race the Chuck Wagons. Here is a clip from 1916 courtesy of  youtube. YeeHaw!  Oh, and the actual racing is at about two minutes into the video.

So, for whatever reason, Charles Amnesbury called himself  ‘Chuck Waggin’.  So let us learn a bit more about him.

There is a social security death index For Charles Amesbury, which indicates he was born 13 May 1914, and died 24 June 1993. I assumed that record belonged to our cartoonist.

Other information comes from public trees on Ancestry.com. Many times those trees are poorly or not at all sourced, however I feel confident that the photo at the end of this post is that of our ‘Chuck Waggin’.

I grew up in Tucson, in the early 50’s, and left in 1957. I do not remember the cartoon show, but do remember a teacher complaining about how a local TV station answered the phone. The station call letters were KOLD, and in the middle of the summer they would answer the phone with, ‘it’s cold in Tucson’. Mind you the temps were usually well past the century mark.

Chuck obviously had a long association with the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and while we are on the subject of heat and the museum, I took a photo of a urine chart conveniently posted in the bathroom, but now can not find it. However just so you might know ahead of time, do a search for ‘color chart dehydration urine’ and keep an eye on your pee when hot and thirsty.

And a reference, to his show on the Tucson Channel. Cartoon Corral KVOA, Tucson.

From the Arizon Daily Citizen (Tucson) 17 Feb 1958, page 19, the show was rated ‘fair’.   Danny Thomas was excellent…

Different strokes for different folks.

The Television Station had an article about their Station manager, Gordon E. ‘Doc’ Hamilton, from which we have the following excerpt: Recognizing the impish humor and tremendous talents of the KVOA-TV art director, Chuck Waggin (the late Charles Amesbury), Doc kept him busy all the time with promotion and other station projects.

What is the old saying, never play cards with a man named ‘Doc’….*

Back to our cartoonist. He has two books on Amazon, one about Roadrunners, and this book.

And, from this book, we have the following information on the cartoonist,

 

He dedicates the book to his wife.

 

Also from this book, two pages of information.

 

Finally, we get to the cartoons and the texts accompanying them.

When my Daughter was in Middle School, or maybe High School, I ended up caring for the class Tarantula. One day I looked in the aquarium and there the critter was. Lifeless, and on its back. I was going to flush it, but thought I had best wait and break the news to my daughter. An hour later I looked in the cage, and there was a bright and shiny Tarantula stomping about. Thus I learned that Tarantulas molt. Good thing I did not flush it down the drain.

Chuck Waggin 14

Here is a little information on that  National Monument– Pay special attention to the following excerpt from the National Park Service park brochure for that National Monument.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a safe place to visit. However, illegal border crossings and activities, including drug smuggling, occur daily. It is unlikely that you will encounter any illegal border activity, but you should be aware that such a situation is possible. Many safety precautions are in existence as a means to protect you and to continue preserving this national treasure.

Remember that cell phone service is usually out of range within monument boundaries.
Observe the following for a safe trip:

• Know where you are at all times, follow good safety procedures and use common sense when making decisions.
• Do not pickup hitchhikers.
• Keep valuables, including spare change, out of sight and lock your vehicle.
• Avoid traveling in well-used but unofficial trails.
• People in distress may ask for food, water or other assistance. It is recommended that you do not make contact. Report the location of the distressed people to park staff or the Border Patrol.
• Report ANY suspicious behavior to park staff or Border Patrol. Please do not contact suspicious persons.

Just makes you want to run right down there. Best to stay here and enjoy Chuck’s drawings in safety and comfort.

For Petrified Wood, see also the USNPS brochure,  Many years ago I was a National Park Ranger, and had a friend stationed at that place.  He lived in a condemned trailer, at least I would have condemned it, as the door would not shut, and the floor had some questionable spots.  He pointed out where he would lurk so that he could jump out and cite folks for picking up Petrified Wood (illegal in the park).  One day, he heard shouting and cries for help, and leaped out of hiding to find someone had left their baby in a car seat on the car, and forgot to place said baby in the car when driving off.

Turned out the baby was fine, and a testament to car seats.  Everybody was happy that the Park Ranger and swooped in to help, a hero, and all that.  He glossed over how he had just happened to be there.

I like that the park is its own post office:

1 Park Road, #2217 
Petrified Forest, AZ 86028

Well, here we are at the end of the post. I will close with a photo of our cartoonist, unknown date, but obviously late in his life.

and a copy of his memorial service program.

Thanks for reading.

Ted

 

 

 

*“Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom’s. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.” That’s the famous quote — the “three rules of life” — from the 1956 novel “A Walk on the Wild Side,” by Nelson Algren.

Douglas Simonson (Peppo)

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Peppo refers to the Peppo Vision Group. And now you know as much as I about the name.

I found this book at St Vinnies,  on one of their 50% off all books day.

It caught my attention because it was cartoons, but also because I lived in Hawaii from the late 50’s to the mid 60’s.

When I got home I realized that the sales slip from the original purchase was in the book. I think someone made an impulse purchase, then just put it aside until it got donated to St. Vinnies. The sales slip is instructive, and a good indication of how much information people can glean from going through your trash.

This book was bought at the Kona Costco (not Kailu-Kona, Oahu, but Kona on the big island) for $6.29, along with Women’s Brief’s for $9.99, and something called: KS HC CR 4PK FOR $5.39. The cardholder is a business member using an American Express card. This all took place at 5:52 pm on the 16^th of August, 2002.

As I mentioned, the sales slip was in the book, adjacent to the printing history.

I think that whoever bought this, probably thought (s)he could wow them back home by dropping pidgin slang into conversations. They probably ignored the following notice from the book.

Once home, I imagine the idea of sprinkling pidgin into conversations got round filed, as the effort to explain the expressions was not worth the aggravation. Also, they might end up looking like a jerk, trying to insert their Hawaiian vacation into other conversations.

All that said, when I lived in Hawaii, (when it was still a Territory), pidgin was not used that much by my friends, and fellow students. Don Ho probably used it in his act, but his price range was beyond my budget.

So, let us peek at a the introduction and then a few of the cartoons, and then spend some time learning about the cartoonist.

Oh, yeah. Haloe is slang for a white person. When I lived there we also had happa haloe, or mixed race, white and one other race. Guess that would not be PC today. But, today is today and that was then.

 

Ah, yes. The friendly natives.

Which leads us to Peppo and his avocation.

This book is still in publication, according to the publisher, 

Pidgin To Da Max  12.95

Ken Sakata, Douglas Simonson

paperback, 7.5″ x 9.25″ 112 pp

 

Wonder what happened to Pat Sasaki? He is listed as a collaborator in my copy, which I assume was published in 2002.

I had left Hawaii before they started publishing.

A lot of information on author, courtesy of Amazon:

and an excerpt: About Douglas Simonson

Douglas Simonson is one of the world’s best-known interpreters of the male figure. His work hangs in collections in over 80 countries on 6 continents.
Born and raised in the dry, dusty cattle country of the western U.S., Simonson was encouraged in his art by his mother, also an artist. When he was 19, Simonson left his home town of Thedford, Nebraska to move to Honolulu, Hawaii.
In Honolulu, Simonson studied art at the University of Hawaii and the Honolulu Academy of Art. He also drew, painted and studied voraciously on his own, absorbing the influence of such diverse masters as Velázquez, Vermeer, Rubens, Sorolla, Sargent, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso.
Simonson also found time for an amazing diversity of experiences and careers, from sign-painting to typesetting to writing radio and television commercials. Then, in 1981, with the help of two close friends, Simonson wrote, illustrated and published a book called Pidgin to da Max, which went on to become one of the best-selling books ever published in Hawaii. Since then, Simonson has created or co-created 14 books, which have been published in 3 countries and in 5 languages, with a total of over 350,000 copies in print.
At around the same time as the success of Pidgin to da Max, Simonson began experimenting with fine art again — something he had not done for several years. Although he’d been fascinated by the male figure for most of his life, his own fears and insecurities had kept him from exploring it in his art. But around 1980, Simonson put aside his fears and began focusing on the male nude as his primary subject matter.
At first he was concerned that the male figure might be too narrow a focus, that it might limit his growth as an artist. But the opposite proved to be true. For the first time, Simonson felt that he was painting what he had always been meant to paint. He found the male figure to be a continuous source of inspiration, and he began producing art–paintings, drawings, prints–with an energy and enthusiasm that he had never felt before.
Today Simonson is as committed to, and inspired by, the male figure as he was then. In the interim he has shared his art with hundreds of thousands of admirers, been interviewed in dozens of newspapers and magazines and on television and radio, has shown his work in many venues, and built a worldwide reputation.
One of the most unusual aspects of the career of this unusual artist is the fact that galleries are not his primary means of reaching collectors. For the first 15 years of his career, Simonson communicated with most of his clientele by mail, sending color slides, and sometimes printed flyers, to interested collectors. In this way the artist built a global following.
Thus Simonson was uniquely positioned to benefit from the advent of the Internet. He built his first website in 1995 and within a few months his art was selling briskly online. Millions of visitors later, his website is his primary gallery, showcasing thousands of his works, and offering a broad range of Simonson art-related items, like posters, limited-edition prints, calendars, cards, books, e-books and more. You can also read Simonson’s Artist’s Blog (a WordPress blog also accessible through the Simonson website) to get an entertaining and profusely illustrated insight into the artist’s creative process.
In 2010 the artist added a new website for admirers of his photographs, Simonson On Location. This subscription site showcases uncensored photographs from Simonson’s photo shoots in Hawaii, California, Brazil and other beautiful parts of the world.
Douglas Simonson keeps a studio and office in Lincoln, Nebraska, while living and working in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. You can contact the artist directly at douglas@douglassimonson.com, or by postal mail at: Douglas Simonson, PO Box 22278, Lincoln NE 68542, USA. Phone: (808) 779-7934 or (308) 221-1360

He also has a blog.

The artwork on the blog contains general and mature items.

And that is the end of the post, or as the cartoon states, pau hana.

Ted.

 

 

 

Will Robertson

 

 

 

I found this book at Robert’s Books, in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Front of Roberts Books (look for the nose of an airplane sticking out of the side of the building.

Inside Roberts Books general shot of the stacks.

The cartoon section.

If you find yourself in Lincoln City, on the Oregon Coast, this place is right on the main drag, (3412 SE Highway 101 Lincoln City OR 97367) and well worth a two or three hour visit.

They also have a facebook page, with a way better photo of the front of the store. I was there on a Sunday in August and there was absolutely no way that I was going to stand in the middle of Highway 101 for a decent shot. I don’t do speed bump…

Well, back to Casey and Kyle.

Kids nowadays know all about ‘inside voice’. Don’t remember that from my formative years, but then those years were several decades ago.

We see that his mom is a sly one.

Casey learns well, about strangers.

Ah, yes. The old count to three routine (now up dated). Worked, this time.

Uh, You see, Uh, well, forget it

Good point.

I was going to say something about Helicopter parents, but then I remembered reading about a neighbor calling 911 because a girl was walking her dog in front of the girl’s home. The the girl’s mother could see the child, but the call got a police response and subsequent entanglement with Children’s services.

Well, let’s wrap with Casey and Kyle interacting.

 

We see that there is another way to view these kids.

A few references, for you to peruse for more information on Robertson and his strip.

A blog post about him and his strip.  And, Just another wordpress site, or so it says.

A newspaper article from Albany (Oregon) paper about him and his drawings, and another article this time from the Oregonian (Portland OR).

Also, a video about Will talking about his strip.

As I read through this book, I can’t keep from thinking about Dennis Ketchum. You know him as the kid in Dennis the Menace. His father featured him in a single panel strip, and that strip made him (the father, not Dennis) a millionaire. From a People Magazine article, from 1993, we learn that at that time, The father was working on his third wife, and was a millionaire several times over. He and this wife lived in Pebble Beach, where he worked on his golf game at a near by golf course. His son, Dennis, from his first wife was living in a trailer park in Ohio and working as a tire retread-er.

There was no love lost between father and son. Another article, a blog, actually has the following: Dennis Ketcham served in Vietnam and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. He and his father reportedly had little contact prior to the elder Ketcham’s death in 2001.
Somewhere, I believer it is now behind a pay wall, I read that the elder Ketcham said the only time he heard from his son was when Dennis wanted money. If this is an accurate quote, then it is quite cold, as Dennis provided him with more than a few bucks.

So, as I read the strips based on Casey and his antics, I get an uncomfortable feeling-Where will Casey end up after he is old enough and famous enough to see that possibly his every move had been shared with the world.

At least Casey seems to have a stable home life, as opposed to Dennis who lost his mother to death and his father to fame.

Also, Casey is more of a regional strip, and probably not well known outside of the west coast of the USA.

Stay tuned.

Ted

 

Robert Jan Schinkel

August 2018, The Dalles Oregon, USA.  Robert Jan discusses two of his books..

 

 

 

 

And the second,

 

 

The first book, Kleine Boek Der Grote Twavonturen, was illustrated by Peter van de Wiel and others. The second, De K(r)oning Te Rijk, only by Peter.

In March of 2015 I had an opportunity to interview Peter via email exchanges. We talked about his career, philosophy, and many other things.

Recently, I had a chance to visit with Robert Jan Schinkel in person and asked him to discuss these two books.

I sat him down in my neat and orderly office (not) and recorded him as he discussed the two books. We had planned on doing two sessions, first in English, then in Dutch. Unfortunately, technical problems (I screw up) truncated the Dutch interview.

Robert Jan is now back home, but I have great hope that he can replicate the interview in Dutch, and forward it to me.

So, what follows is Robert Jan talking about the two books.

THE INTERVIEW

Hope you enjoyed the interview.

If you have questions for Robert Jan, let me know and I will forward them.

Ted

PS

Robert Jan sent along some photos, and here they are.  Some look to be bookmarks, so print them out, and (book)mark away.

T

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug Savage and his Savage Chickens

I found this book at Book Warehouse, located in an Outlet Mall, in Troutdale, OR.

After reading it, I came up with the thought that Doug Savage is Canada’s answer to Scott Adams. Although I am not quite certain just what the question was…

The cartoonist has a website, from which we find:

Self portrait

When I was a kid, I wanted more than anything to be a cartoonist. My favourite TV show was Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings, a cartoon about a boy whose drawings came to life. I read the local library’s entire collection of Peanuts cartoons, and every other comic strip I could get my hands on. I started drawing my own comics in the squares of old out-of-date calendars. I loved drawing and I loved making up jokes.

Like a lot of people do, I lost track of that childhood dream somewhere along the way, and I found myself working in an office instead, doing decidedly uncreative things. Under the glaring fluorescents, my penmanship deteriorated and I forgot how to draw. A few more years passed, and I started getting migraines.

The chickens come to life

Lucky for me, creativity is a bit like a stubborn weed that won’t die: the roots run deep enough that it will keep growing back under the right conditions. One day, when I was sick of working overtime and I’d had one migraine too many, I drew two chickens on a sticky note.  Quickly I learned how important it is to have a creative outlet in life. I haven’t had a migraine since 2006 (knock wood) and I’ve got the best work-life balance I’ve ever had. And hey, look at that. It turns out I’m a cartoonist, after all.

I love drawing Savage Chickens. Besides the cartoons, I’m exploring all kinds of other creative things, like animation, sculpting, and painting. I’m trying new things all the time and loving every minute of it. So I guess my motto is, start now, you never know where it will lead.

---

Yeah, I admit it.  I’m a lazy bugger.  Let’s hear it for copy and paste…

He has a Youtube channel.

Also,  Google has a bunch of his cartoons.

And GoComics, which run his daily strips.

There are also several other sites on the internet devoted to this strip.

However,  I am more interested in the cartoons in this book.

This cartoon introduces Prod3000, a robot. Now you know from whence he/she/it comes, so that hopefully it will explain the robot’s place in later cartoons.

Of course, not everyone works in a cubicle at work.

There are a lot of self help suggestions in the book,

Good tips on getting ahead in the workplace.

How about decorating your cubicle?

Flow charts for the oblivious.

Some life coach tips.

How to make your work more fun. Note: The acronym ‘PLO’ stands for Please Leave On, and not for the political organization.

More fun at work.

How many of us have suffered through the latest shiny thing in the field of team building?

How about we close with a name tag.

So, now that you have a few cartoons from the book, why not point your browser to any of the many sites showcasing his work?

But first, please note that the lower right corner or the book doubles as a flip book animation of a worker drone slowly dropping off to sleep at his computer.

Now off you go to the internet.

Enjoy.

Ted.

PS-I forgot to mention that he also has a book, Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy,

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28954366-laser-moose-and-rabbit-boy

or

http://www.lasermooseandrabbitboy.com

Be sure to scroll down to the story.

T

 

Chuck Sharman (1922-1995)

I found these books, and others, at Robert’s Books, Highway 101 in Lincoln City, Oregon.

 

 

 

 

 

PS-check out the side parking lot, interesting things to see.

Salt Chuck is supposedly derived from the Chinook language of the Pacific North West Chinook Indians, and is variously described as being, The sea, or an inlet of the sea which flows into a lake or river. It is also described as the Ocean or any body of salt water.

Chuck Sharman was in the Navy in WWII, really in the Navy as he was on board the USS California when Japan set it to the bottom at Pearl Harbor. The battleship was later raised and fought in other actions in the Pacific.

From the books, Leonard and Reva Brooks: Artists in Exile in San Miguel de Allende  

Copyright Date: 2001 Published by: McGill-Queen’s University Press Pages: 488

And, Analecta: Seclected Reflections on a Cartoonist’s life. Jim Whiting    Trafford Publishing, 2001.

We learn that after the war he, along with many other GI’s, took advantage of the GI Bill to attend school. Sharman attended Cartoonist’s and Illustratiors School in New York City. (I believe it is now called School of Visual Arts)

Later he studied at in Mexico. There is a reference from above to a headline in Life Magazine, Jan 5 1948 which reads something like this:

GI Paradise

Veterans go to Mexico to study Art.  Live Cheap and have a good time.

Also their $65 a month would go much further south of the border…

He seems to have bounced around the country, but always coming back to his native Washington state. He was married, and there is a reference to her in Analectc. Her name was Bunny.

While drawing, he worked as an Art Director for a small Florida magazine, and in radio as a ‘morning man’.

Eventually he returned to Washington state. He used a Friday Harbor address for his copyright notice.

His books were self syndicated, which may explain why they are not found on places such as “Go Comics”, or other web publishers of cartoon strips. The two books I have are both autographed to the same person. One book has the inscription, “Boat Show ’86-good to see you again.”

The facebook page, Cartoonists Northwest, lists their Guest speakers over the years. Nov-83 Chuck Sharman Sells syndicated “Salt Chuck” strip, was included in the list.

(Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cartoonistsnw/posts/there-are-many-famous-names/1043711342334589/ )

Salt Chuck Ups Anchor, was published in 1984, and Salt Chuck..Cruisin’ an’ Cussin’ was published in 1985. There is a third book, published in 1983, which I do not have, called either Salt Chuck on the Rocks, or A Boaters Book of Chuckles Salt Chuck on the Rocks.

He illustrated two books by Jack Pickett. The first in the 70’s , called Charley.

Courtesy of Easy Chair Books, Lexington, MO, US, by way of AbeBooks.com we have a photo of the cover which features a Bull. That book and a 1983 sequel, Charley II, were published by California Farmer, out of San Francisco, so I guess both books are about a Bull.

As for my two books, Salt Chuck is the captain of an unnamed boat. His crew is Ace. Most scenes are of Salt sitting on the dock, interacting with a also unnamed neighbor kid, or a sweet young thing (also unnamed), who asks nautical questions to which Salt gives nonsensical answers. There is a Greek chorus who we see every so often in the form of a Seagull or two, a bucket of clams and sometimes a dog. Occasionally, we see Salt at sea. Some panels have what seems to be a cartoonist name along the edge but actually are homonyms, or a play on the sound of the words and refer to the subject matter of the cartoon.

So, let us look at some of the cartoons from the two books.

We’ll start with the sweet young thing who sets up the gags.

And on to the neighbor kid.

And while we are still on land, and for your fund of useless knowledge:

Planing Hulls. This fishing boat is either flat-bottomed or V-shaped in front and flatter toward the back. It is designed to lift the front part of the boat out of the water as it speeds up, letting the boat skim across the water. … Most small, power-driven boats have planing hulls.

Definition found at: https://www.takemefishing.org/boating/choose-your-boat/types-of-hulls/

Gollywobbler – A full, quadrilateral sail used in light air on schooners. It is flown high, between the fore and main mast, and is also known as a fisherman’s staysail.
Courtesy of: Glossary of Sailing Terms– Provided by Bosun Michael so’s all you lubbers’ll know what us Salts is talkin’ about: (Note: If you can’t find it here, check out the BIG GLOSSARY) (And if you can´t find it there, try the Nautical Dictionary, Glossary and Terms Directory– put together by Mike MacKenzie)

http://www.sailinglinks.com/glossary.htm

Baggywrinkle  is a soft covering for cables (or any other obstructions) to reduce sail chafe. There are many points in the rig of a large sailing ship where the sails come into contact with the standing rigging; unprotected sails would soon develop holes at the points of contact.

Baggywrinkle – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baggywrinkle

Okay, enough of that, how about we just look around the dock and environs.

I did mention the boat has no name.

Don’t have to be at sea for a sea story.

And while we are ashore, how about some libation.

Sharman tosses in a few PSA’s, maybe a nod to his broadcasting background.

Well, let’s cast off.

Some of Salt’s navigation is suspect.

Did I mention his navigation?

 

I think she is in three cartoons in the third book. Maybe Sharman was developing a relationship for Salt…

Back in port.

Final cartoon.

And there you have it.

Boat safe.

Ted.

 

 

St. Vinnie’s

More properly known as

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul

Just a short blog today to give a shout out to all the thrift stores around the country. I always try to check out bookstores when in other towns, but sometimes overlook the thrift stores.

Here in The Dalles, I walk past St Vinnie’s most every day and happened to notice a sign proclaiming all books half off.

Of course, I could not pass that up.

I left a while later with the following titles.

 

For those who do not get enough cats on facebook…

The following is a new one to me.

 

It will be hard to scan the pages due to the binding, so will probably let it pass as a blog post.

So, what did these three books cost?

 

I thought I had misheard the amount. But the clerk pointed out that they were all half off. I gave her three dollar bills, and she gave me back three quarters and two pennies. I left the pennies.

St Vinnie’s has done a lot to spruce up the store and keep inventory fresh. Perhaps it is competition from Goodwill and their new purpose built store. I trend to avoid that outfit as I don’t think that I should be supporting a CEO salary of (in 2014) $882,288 for a nonprofit . (Source, Portland Business Journal, October 8, 2015.)

Anyway, St. Vinnie’s usually has a good collection of books. Well, lots of other stuff, also.

I was driving through Klamath Falls a year or so ago, and stumbled on a church run thrift store. It was an adventure, navigating the shelves, but I did score a book or two.

Lest you think I only cruise thrift stores in Oregon, I also found a local cartoon book in an Edinburgh, Scotland thrift store. I do not remember the title, but do remember how the volunteers running the store had trouble making the sale. They were helpful, but the equipment was not.

So, always try to ferret out the little and not so little thrift stores on your trips. Who knows? You might be rewarded with a real find or two.

Ted

BIG NATE

Lincoln Peirce October 23, 1963 – still going strong

Here is a quick author bio from the book.

 

I don’t know if it is a coincidence, but both Peirce and Stephen King live in Maine. Wonder if one influences the other. Or not.

I came across this book at a library book sale. The price was most certainly right, as they were closing and did not want to box it back up. “Take it”, they said. And I did.

Big Nate is carried in my local newspaper. Kind of. The paper publishes, they say, Tuesday through Saturday. However, the Saturday issue usually shows up Sunday morning. This shortened publishing cycle would not be much of a problem, but since the gags usually run for a week, or sometimes two weeks. And the set up is always on Monday, by the time the paper rolls around on Tuesday, it is not always clear just what is going on.

Luckily, I can usually find the strip on line, and see what the set up gag was.

Another problem with the local paper is the censorship of questionable items. Questionable that is to the editor. The following cartoon, was replaced by Blondie. This happens quite often, so I wonder just what the editor finds offensive.

CENSORED STRIP

I do know that an article on a woman golfer who mentioned that her coach told her to keep her girls together had that reference cut.

My town is interesting in that it lies on the dividing line between urban liberal and rural conservative. We have an adult store, and Recreational Marijuana dispensaries, but seem to tend Republican in local and National Elections. A proposed Wall Mart is being fought tooth and nail.

Anyway, you are not interested in my town, rather Lincoln Peirce and his strip, Big Nate.

The strip debuted in 1991.

Oh, and the censored cartoon is about School Picture Guy. A recurring figure, who pops up as a DJ, Videographer, and many other things. I believe he lives in his mother’s basement, which he calls his bachelor pad…

There is an excellent Wikipedia article on the strip. . I suggest you link on over for all the background on the strip and the characters. Wikipedia has a rather snarky comment about the information as being too long or excessively detailed. I, however, appreciate the detail. Give it a look.

The Washington Post March 6, 2015, has a nice question and answer session with Michael Cauna and Peirce. In that article we learn that Big Nate has been going for twenty or so years. Probably more important is that Peirce acknowledges that comics are now found in more than newspapers and comic books.

MC: Is there anything newspapers and features editors can do in 2015 to lure more kids to the comics page? Or are we past some evolutionary — or de-evolutionary — point?

LP: Well, they can do away with readers’ comics polls, for one thing. You can’t lure kids to the comics page by selecting your content based on the feedback of elderly adults. And they could spend a few extra bucks to make the Sunday comics “destination reading” again. How about adding pages to the Sunday section, increasing the size of the strips and putting the comics front and center, instead of burying them with all the reams of drugstore coupons?

That wouldn’t necessarily make kids drop their iPhones and pick up the Sunday funnies. But it would make reading the comics a far more enjoyable experience. When something’s fun to do, it at least stands a chance of creating new fans.

Interesting comment.

There is also a Wikipedia article about Peirce, himself, in which we learn that he cartooned in school, and was for a time a school teacher.

Here is a link to a video, in which he talks about Mrs. Godfrey.

The video, is followed by other videos by/on Peirce. All I can say is that I am glad I never had a Mrs. Godfrey as a teacher. This video, and the ones that follow it, are quite instructive about the cartoonist in his natural environment.

You can also experience Peirce at his blog, a veritable cornucopia of things Big Nate and Peirce. For one thing, you can catch the cartoon that was censored by your local paper.

So, on to the book I scored from the Library.

Let us start off with his father. The father is divorced, and has the kids, and that is all we know. The ex never pops up, and is never mentioned. Since many of the items in the strip are based on Peirce’s childhood, I wonder if he was raised by a single father. In any case, Here we see the family at Christmas. The older sister has not been around much in the strips, but maybe she was earlier.

The old man is a terrible golfer.

But quick enough on beating Nate to the report card.

Yo Mama, Trash Talking, Smack Down, et. al.

 

And speaking of basketball, Nate decided to let Fates in the form of a basketball decide his love life.

It’s hard to be cool in the sixth grade. So, off to the expert you go.

I don’t know how Nate got roped into being a Book Buddy, especially for a kid whose IQ is up in the stratosphere, but here he is doing his best.

Nate has a favorite super hero comic, Femme Fatality.

And the next one, that just works on so many levels.

Some teachers Nate can work with ease.

And then there is Mrs. Godfrey

She does however have her good side.

For a short time.

Mr Rosa, the long suffering Art Teacher.

Mr Rosa has to work at an ice cream parlor in the summer to make ends meet.

At the top of the heap is the Principal. Nate can work him, also.

And let us close with Nate’s famous locker.

Check out Peirce’s blog, and the other articles.

Oh, yes. I almost forgot. google, as usual, has a whole lot of Big Nate cartoons.

Thanks for reading.

Ted