The Terrible Catsafterme

At left is a photo that I snapped (instead of having the good sense to actually get into) of several members of the Springfield Towed in a Hole Tent of the Sons of the Desert surrounding Laurel and Hardy co-star Virginia Karns Patterson in the Fall of 1986. Clockwise from the kneeling girl, we see Carla Degar, Ron Weber, George Willeman, Larry Smith, Virginia, and finally Jim Harwood. These guys sort of represented the new generation of tent members as literally all of them began coming to the meetings in 1986, just as I was coming out of my shell and breaking forth into the ‘world’ of Laurel and Hardy. Read the rest of this entry »

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In addition to the autograph request I sent to Shirley Temple on February 25, 1986, I also sent letters to three additional celebrities. Clint Eastwood responded by having his secretary sign a couple of photos for me which came back on March 31. I had the wrong address for Art Carney – which I didn’t find out until my Honeymooners photo arrived back at my house nearly ten months later (I thought I had lost it for sure this time). And finally, I sent a request to Mr. Jerry Mathers (as “The Beaver”). Read the rest of this entry »

My one and only visit to date to the central section of our country occurred during our Spring Break from school, which lasted from March 22 – 30, 1986. My Mom, Denise, and I took advantage of our Spring break from school and flew out to Colorado to visit my aunt Darlene and uncle Bob for a few days at the end of the week. Although Dad was living back home again, he didn’t come with us. Most likely we had had the plans arranged before my parents reconciled. Darlene and Bob had lived in Colorado Springs for about two-and-a-half years at this point, Bob having been located there during his Army stint. I had always been very fond of Darlene and was really looking forward to the trip. Read the rest of this entry »