The Funnies

I started reading daily and weekly newspapers before I could hold the pages open.
So, I had to spread the broadsheet on the floor and sit on it to 'read' the news, and the funnies!'
The Halifax Chronicle-Herald, along with the Sydney Post Record -- later to be renamed the Cape Breton Post -- were the two dailies available in the early 1950s (but then, I'm dating myself!). There was a small local weekly, the Richmond Record, which was published from Arichat, and we also had a subscription to two national weeklies, the Family Herald, and the Farmer's Advocate,which were mostly about farming and other topics of interest to rural readers.
We were well equipped, Dear Reader, for getting the news, supplemented by the local radio stations, in the days before we could watch the news on TV.
At first, of course, the words on the headlines and stories didn't mean much, but I learned by looking at the pictures. The war in Korea was getting heavy attention, and there were lots of great ads for cars.
Somehow, every day there seemed to be a picture of our Premier, the beloved Angus L. Macdonald, who then was spearheading the building of the Canso Causeway, while other politicians received less coverage.
I learned how to spell a lot of names from the headlines, after asking my Mom or Dad for the correct pronunciation, and I started to make connections between what I 'read’ in the newspapers and heard on radio.
The best part was the comics --- a.k.a., the funnies. Here was a gold mine of titles and black-and-white drawings, which presented a short gag in three little drawings!
Now, Dear Reader, we are going to begin listing a few major characters in the funnies:
-- Archie: with his friends: Jughead, Veronica, Betty, Reggie; along with Miss Grundy, and Mr. Wetherbee. This comic strip is still going (in books and on TV); Archie has been attending Riverdale High School since 1941, but has not yet graduated!
-- Blondie: and her husband, Dagwood Bumstead; son, Alexander, and daughter Cookie; Daisy, the dog; along with his neighbour, Herb Woodley, and his tyrannical boss, Mr. Dithers. Dagwood gave multi-layered sandwiches a good name; today, he no longer has to run to catch the streetcar because he is in a carpool, but his exits usually include bumping into the postman. Blondie and Tootsie Woodley now operate a catering business.
-- Mutt and Jeff: about a very tall man and a very short man, respectively. This comic strip was a bit different, especially in book collections, as there were no ‘running' stories: all strips were made up of only a three-drawing gag. The only other characters I remember were Mutt's son, Cicero, and Cicero's cat!
-- Bringing Up Father: usually called ‘Maggie and Jiggs,' was about a man who had once been penniless, but had won a million in the sweepstakes. He kept many of his working-class habits but his wife pursued more lofty goals, nearly always frustrated, to bring them up to upper class standards. He used to sneak out to ‘Dinty Moore's,' a working-class tavern which featured corned beef and cabbage -- hence the name for that tasty dish hereabouts: 'Jiggs Dinner.'
Maggie's song lyrics were legendary: 'He wasn't a lawyer, but he was always at the bar!' Some other friends had clever names, such as: Count Meout. This strip, by King Features Syndicate ran from 1913 to 2000, 87 years!
-- Popeye: What can we add to the hundreds of cartoons and films about this character? He was a rough-and-tumble sailor, who like to ‘eat me spinach right out of the can; was always drawn with huge arms, which were very effective in defending himself against bad guys; had a perennial girlfriend, Olive Oyl; had a particular mooching friend: J. Wellington Wimpy, whose favourite line was: ‘I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.’ That's why British hamburger joints are called ''Wimpy's.' Popeye had a toddler-nephew, named 'Swee'pea,' but we never learned much about him.
-- The Katzenjammer Kids, renamed: The Captain and the Kids. This pair of impish youngsters were always getting into trouble, despite the continual warnings by the Capt. and his Missus.
This list could go on and on -- and IT WILL, with your help, Dear Reader -- I'm just getting started! It would be great to hear about some of your favourites.
If you don't believe that comics enjoyed great popularity especially among young folk, consider this: During the New York City newspaper strike of the 1930s, Mayor LaGuardia would regularly appear on newsreels (then shown only in movie houses before the main feature), reading the comics from out-of-town newspapers to the children.
He knew how to court fledgling voters!