I hope you will forgive this rather self indulgent thread, I was just looking thru the October issue of Railroad Model Craftsmen when I saw an ad from LifeLike for cartoon character boxcars. My first thought was how lame, but then I realized the cartoons offered were all very familiar, they were all ones by King Features. Then I saw in the ad that they were indeed King Features characters. My father worked for King Features. While I can't say just exactly what his responsibilities were, as we never spoke of it, he did bring me to work with him when I was about age 8, when my mother was in the hospital and no one was available to watch me. I remember most the large vat of molten lead, used to prepare the reverse image for printing the cartoons. His job was to get in early, around 5 I guess, and light the flame used to melt the lead. He maintained the equipment there. I thought it was really neat. He used to pour molten lead into forms he got for soldiers and give them to me. I don't have any, I wish I did. Around age 13 I gave them to younger kids, who really appreciated them, so I don't feel too bad now, although I wish I had kept one. He also used to bring home comics before they appeared in the papers. Prince Valient was my favorite. Thinking of my Dad brought a tear to my eye and I am considering actually buying the four car set. It doesn't look very good so doesn't even make a nice display, I sure don't want to run them! But I thought I could leave them to my son, now 25. He would care less now, as I did about the lead soldiers. But he may cherish them 30 years from now. I don't know, what do you think? He met my father just once, tho he can't remember as he was an infant. I went to Florida, where my Mom and Dad moved for health reasons, shortly after he was born. I remember him commenting " I never changed you" when he saw me change his diaper. I thought "gee, thanks!" But things were different then. On a side note, when I went to visit him in a VA hospital just before his death, a male nurse came in and asked him if he would like to be changed, as he had made a mess. He replied, very sarcastically, "no, I like it". Unfotunately, I remember him as a bitter, sarcastic man. Now I'm sorry he couldn't have been happier.
Unfortunately, I have little to remember him by. He had had a minor stroke and divorced my Mom, remarried. There were two items I had hoped to keep of his, I never saw either again. His sister had married Jimmy Green, pen name Ward Green. He wrote novels among other things. He wrote Death in the Deep South, the only title I remember now tho it shouldn't be hard to search for others. The biggie tho was Lady and the Tramp, which he sold to Disney and of course became an animated classic. We had (the family had) a copy of Lady and the Tramp signed by Walt Disney, and also a, I don't know the proper term, a layered photo of Thumper, where the blades of grass and the rabbit and such were seperate layers of acetate, also signed by Disney. My dad's new wife got these when he passed and I never heard from her again.
All this passed thru my mind in much less time than it has taken to type it! As I went I thought this is silly but I've decided to share it anyway. You never know what might trip strong memories!
Gary
Unfortunately, I have little to remember him by. He had had a minor stroke and divorced my Mom, remarried. There were two items I had hoped to keep of his, I never saw either again. His sister had married Jimmy Green, pen name Ward Green. He wrote novels among other things. He wrote Death in the Deep South, the only title I remember now tho it shouldn't be hard to search for others. The biggie tho was Lady and the Tramp, which he sold to Disney and of course became an animated classic. We had (the family had) a copy of Lady and the Tramp signed by Walt Disney, and also a, I don't know the proper term, a layered photo of Thumper, where the blades of grass and the rabbit and such were seperate layers of acetate, also signed by Disney. My dad's new wife got these when he passed and I never heard from her again.
All this passed thru my mind in much less time than it has taken to type it! As I went I thought this is silly but I've decided to share it anyway. You never know what might trip strong memories!
Gary
