This Day in Drabble History: November 26th

1979, 1985, 2002 (Charles M. Schulz birthday!)

Hi everybody! I hope you’re weekend is going well!

We’ll start with our three Drabble strips from this date.

November 26, 1979

November 26, 1985

November 26, 2002

In case you haven’t heard, today is the 100th birthday of Charles M. Schulz. It’s hard to imagine. I got to know him in his sixties and seventies, but be still had youthful outlook. He loved to visit with friends and hang out at his ice rink. I remember him commenting that people have forgotten how much fun it is to just hang out together.

Many cartoonists drew their strips today with a Schulz theme. You can see almost 100 of them at the Schulz Museum website: https://schulzmuseum.org/tribute/. You can also see mine at the go comics website: https://www.gocomics.com/drabble/2022/11/26. It might also be in your local paper.

I have often said that I can’t think of another single person who has contributed more to our culture in terms of recognizable phrases and visual images. Of course there are are Walt Disney and George Lucas, but they had artists and writers who help bring forth their ideas. Schulz did it while working alone in is studio. An amazing accomplishment. His visual images include Snoopy on top of the doghouse, Lucy in her psychiatry booth, Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, Linus with his security blanket… the list goes on and on. In today’s drabble strip which appears on the websites above, I tried to list as many terms and phrases associated with PEANUTS as I could cram into a limited space. I hope you’ll be able to check it out today.

My wife is the photographer of the family, and one day we’ll share many of our pictures with Sparky. Here are just a couple that I took.

At the front door of his studio with my family, around 1996.

At an ice cream shop with my wife Cristi in San Antonio in 1999. We were there for the Reuben Awards.

I also found a fun memory in my studio last week. An information sheet regarding the ceremony for Schulz receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Guests met at Knott’s Berry Farm (home of Camp Snoopy). took a bus to Hollywood for the ceremony, and returned to Knott’s for lunch and unlimited access to the park.

On the Walk of Fame, Sparky’s star is right next to Walt Disney’s, which I feel is appropriate.

Finally, when we arrived at our daughter’s house in Minnesota for Thanksgiving dinner this week, we were greeted by this sign.

Thanks for reading!

— Kevin Fagan