Charlie Brown heaven!

News Clippings
and
Press Releases



Charlie Brown (or at least a statue of him in Santa Rosa's Old Courthouse Square) finally gets some attention from a little red-haired girl, 6-year-old Sierra Riley, left, along with 4-year-old Cassidy Riley. (Christopher Chung/Santa Rosa Press Democrat photo)



These articles are arranged from the most recent down, so you'll always find the newest news about Charlie Brown and his friends toward the top; older articles will be located further down, or on previous pages.



Youre all over town, Charlie Brown!

Santa Rosa honors Charles Schulz and the Peanuts gang with a colorful public art celebration

August 19, 2005

By Derrick Bang
The Davis (California) Enterprise

I guess we can blame the Chicago cows.

In the summer of 1999, the city of Chicago was invaded by 330 large fiberglass cows, each decorated in a different fashion by artists who displayed both impressive creativity and, in many cases, a healthy sense of whimsy. (A bovine Marilyn Monroe? Really, now...) After they kept Chicagos citizens on the moo-ve during the hot summer months, scrambling to photograph -- and be photographed with -- as many cows as possible, the statues were gathered together and auctioned off that October, with the proceeds earmarked for more public art.

Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery -- and recognizing a perfect way to increase tourism, bolster civic pride and raise some bucks along the way -- cities and states across the country responded with similar displays of everything from moose (Toronto, the summer of 2000) and pigs (Seattle, the summer of 2001) to oil drums (El Dorado, Ark., the spring of 2000) and Mr. Potato Head (all of Rhode Island, the summer of 2000).

Which brings us to Santa Rosa, and this summers 55th anniversary tribute to Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz Its Your Town, Charlie Brown.

All summer, visitors to Santa Rosa can scramble throughout the city while trying to find 55 life-size statues of Schulzs favorite blockhead, good ol Charlie Brown. Although all the statues began life with assembly-line sameness as constructed by TivoliToo, a design and sculpture company in St. Paul, Minn. -- pure white, in a smiling, friendly pose, the right arm at his side, the left outstretched -- what emerged in late May is a colorful cornucopia of Chucks, each more charming than the last.

Every statue has a title and a theme some deliberately humorous, some unashamedly reflective of their sponsors businesses, some an affectionate nod to some aspect of Schulzs life and career, some simply bizarre.

Local businesses paid $5,000 to sponsor a statue, and an additional $2,000 if they wished to keep it.

The statues have been stationed throughout the entire city, from the way-way-way northern tip (Maestro Brown, en route to Santa Rosas Charles M. Schulz Airport) to the southern extremity (Jacksons Cousin Charlie, at the base of Santa Rosa Avenue). Many are isolated, a few quite difficult to find even with a map; others clump together for security ... although Linus familiar blue blanket is nowhere in sight.

Actually, Santa Rosa isnt the first city to jump on this particular bandwagon, although -- thanks to Schulzs longtime presence in this Northern California city, during the bulk of his professional career -- this summers celebration makes perfect sense.

The undisputed winner of citywide outdoor displays is St. Paul, Minn., which first honored native son Charles M. Schulz -- he resided in this state until the late 1950s -- during the summer of 2000, with Peanuts on Parade, a popular collection of 101 public art Snoopy statues displayed throughout the city. The following summer found 102 statues of the newspaper strips favorite blockhead in the Charlie Brown Around Town celebration, and ol Chucks football-pulling nemesis was featured when Looking for Lucy placed 103 statues throughout the city during the summer of 2002.

Lucys younger brother earned his spot in the limelight during the summer of 2003, when 91 statues popped up for the Linus Blankets St. Paul celebration, and the series concluded last summer -- so its claimed, anyway -- with 104 statues of Snoopy and Woodstock on his doghouse, during the Doghouse Days of Summer.

In each case, dozens of statues were gathered together at the end of the summer and auctioned off during spirited bidding sessions that raised all sorts of money for various causes. And no surprise If you had a spare $10,000-$20,000, how could you resist the opportunity to accent your garden with a life-size sculpture of, say, Lucy painted to resemble the Statue of Liberty?

Santa Rosas Summer of Charlie will conclude in similar fashion. On Sept. 15, all the statues will be moved to the central Old Courthouse Square, in anticipation of the daylong celebration on Sunday, Sept. 25. A Blockhead Party will take place from 1030 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day in the Old Courthouse Square, with food, music and crafts for visitors of all ages.

Starting at 4 p.m., a live auction of about 20 statues will take place at Snoopys Home Ice -- The Redwood Empire Ice Arena, at 1667 W. Steele Lane -- and the proceeds will go toward art scholarships and a permanent bronze figure at the Charles M. Schulz Airport.

Itll be a chip off the ol blockhead. *****

Although this wasnt the case with Chicago and those 330 cows, its quite reasonable to budget a single day for finding and photographing all 55 of Santa Rosas Charlie Brown statues. Yes, itll be a long day, and its likely to be something of a scramble, so plan ahead. Start your research with a visit to the official Web site at www.PeanutsOnParade.com, which will re-direct you to the city of Santa Rosas site for Its Your Town, Charlie Brown. In addition to background information, youll find a link to two maps -- greater Santa Rosa, with a close-up of the downtown area -- bearing numbered bullets that correspond to the statue locations.

However...

The map doesnt have anywhere near enough identified street references, so youll want a detailed standard map of the city, such as can be purchased at a bookstore ... or picked up at the Santa Rosa Visitors Center, in Railroad Square, adjacent to artist Stan Pawlowskis permanent bronze sculptures of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Youll also find copies of the Santa Rosa Press Democrats official statue brochure, which includes the two maps from the Web site, along with thumbnail sketches -- and street addresses -- of the statues.

However...

Some of them have been moved, due to the insufferable inevitability of vandalism. The first surfboard that accompanied Surf Chuck, at 309 D St., was stolen less than 48 hours after the statue went up. Smashed Peanuts on Gold Rush, the statue in front of the Sonoma County Museum, had to be replaced repeatedly. The diploma was taken from Charlie Brown Exchange Bank Doyle Scholar, in front of the Fourth Street Exchange Bank.

More recently, somebody ripped an arm off Dive On In, Charlie Brown and tipped him over.

A stethoscope was lifted from the neck of The Doctor Is In, in front of Richard Stein Medical Offices. Small plastic Charlie Brown and Snoopy figurines were taken from Full Spectrum Charlie, which prompted its move from Courthouse Square to a new spot in front of the police station. The sunglasses were removed from Aloha Charlie in Courthouse Square, so it was moved to the nearby Luther Burbank Gardens.

Up-to-the-minute information on statue relocation can be obtained from the Visitors Center; the moves are not shown at the Web site. And while the Doghouse Information Booth in Old Courthouse Square is the official source of information -- and souvenirs -- for this celebration, its hours (noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday) are not conducive to your need for an early-morning start. Youre better off trying the Visitors Center or Snoopys Home Ice. *****

OK, so youve properly researched this mission Youre well-armed with maps, addresses, cameras and rolls of extra film. Bundle lots of folks into a single large vehicle -- or caravan with several cars -- and toss plenty of bottled water, fruit juice and soda into some coolers. This suggestion to include the entire family is made with good reason Youll want plenty of eyes to help spot statues in some of the more obscure and out-of-the-way locations.

On our hunt, for example, our group never would have found Doing Well by Doing Good, had it not been for the timely intervention of two eagle-eyed teenage girls in another van that was making the rounds at roughly the same time. The actual address of this statue -- 3510 Unocal Place -- is little more than a glorified driveway, and Chuck is not visible from the street. But the aforementioned girls did spot it while briefly stopped in a parking lot on the hillside overlooking Unocal Place, after having found Charlie Bacchus Brown outside of Paradise Ridge Winery ... and they flagged us down as we drove past, and shared the news.

We began at 9 a.m. and went top to bottom on the map, starting with Maestro Brown and heading south, ticking off statues as we found them. That approach brought us to the downtown area just in time for lunch, which we enjoyed in the large Santa Rosa Plaza Mall ... also home to two of its own statues, Say Hey, Charlie Brown! and Youre a Good Shopper, Charlie Brown.

We then resumed our southward journey, suitably fortified for the rest of the day.

This plan will catch all statues except one Depending on the day, you might need to double back to Micheles Restaurant (521 Adams St.) during working hours, in order to see Chef Charlie. This statue has had a more exciting life than most; it was stolen June 4, and then returned -- under somewhat mysterious circumstances -- a few days later. Restaurant owner Bob Forsyth, taking no further chances, has moved his summer mascot indoors.

Alternatively, if you want a soul-satisfying big fix of statues all at once, youll find half a dozen in the complex that includes the Charles M. Schulz Museum, the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, and Snoopys Gallery and Gift Shop. The museum has three (two outside the main entrance, and one in the lobby), the skating rink has two (both outside the main entrance), and the gift shop has one (also just outside the main entrance).

One stop, and youve nailed 11 percent of the total. Thats gotta feel good.

You cant help being delighted by the entire process; theres just something irresistible about dozens of huge Charlie Browns, every one of them cheerfully waiting to be photographed while draped with various friends and family members.

And given the short-term loan required to finance a family outing to most theme parks, theres also a lot to be said for a rollicking adventure that wont cost a dime.

Youre a good man, Charlie Brown!


A Nutty Canine Contest

August 9, 2005

Editor and Publisher

NEW YORK -- The MuttsComics.com site is holding a contest asking people to guess the weight in Peanuts of cartoonist Patrick McDonnells real-life dog Earl.

Peanuts were chosen as a reference to the Peanuts strip. The contest celebrates the Top Dogs Comic Canines Before and After Snoopy exhibit thats running until Sept. 26 at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California.

McDonnell is curator of the show, whose many cartoon canines include the comic-strip version of Earl -- the co-star of Mutts. The contest, which ends Aug. 15, offers a grand prize of a signed limited-edition print and T-shirt commemorating the Schulz museum event. There are first and second prizes, too.

McDonnells Mutts is distributed by King Features Syndicate, and the late Schulzs Peanuts reruns are syndicated by United Media.


Its Plain They Love Peanuts

Youre a big draw, Charlie Brown -- especially in the city of Santa Rosa, where your Minnesota-born creator became a favorite son

August 8, 2005

By Jocelyn Y. Stewart
The Los Angeles Times

SANTA ROSA -- In tribute to Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, who lived and worked in this city for four decades, Santa Rosa has painted the town Brown.

Fifty-five large sculptures of Charlie Brown stand sentry throughout Santa Rosa, offering proof that although he was a loser in love, baseball and everything else, Charlie Brown wins the game of attracting tourists.

This June, after the installation of the statues, the number of people stopping in at the Santa Rosa Convention and Visitors Bureau increased by more than 50% to a record 6,660, said Mo Renfro, the bureaus executive director.

Many are looking for Charlie Brown.

Were getting visitors from all over, literally, said Santa Rosa City Councilwoman Janet Condron, who helped organize the Its Your Town Charlie Brown celebration, which also commemorates the comic strips 55th anniversary. The recognition of Charles Schulz and the Peanuts characters is international.

Just as artists decorated statues of cows in Chicago and angels in Los Angeles, artists in Santa Rosa were allowed to paint blank statues as they saw fit.

Like Snoopy imagining himself as a World War I flying ace, Charlie Brown was depicted in different personas Good Grief, Its Superman!, painted with a red cape, blue tights and black hair; Aloha Charlie, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses and a lei; and Surf Chuck, with suntan and surfboard.

But the summer celebration has had its good grief! moments.

In June, someone stole Charlie Brown, dressed as a chef, from his spot in front of Micheles Restaurant. He reappeared after co-owner Bob Forsyth offered a $2,500 reward. But vandals have forced the relocation and repair of other sculptures.

Hes inside the restaurant now, Forsyth said. I dont want him to disappear.

Fifty-five miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa is near 200 wineries, has its own symphony and boasts the famous Luther Burbank Home & Gardens.

Schulz spent the last 40 years of his life in the Sonoma County town, which dubbed him the most beloved resident of the 20th century. He is known locally as Sparky, the nickname given to him as an infant.

The man who gave the world Snoopy, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang also gave much to this community. In 1969, Schulz and his wife built the Redwood Empire Skating Arena -- also known as Snoopys Home Ice -- which once played host to an annual Christmas show with nationally known skaters.

Every child whos grown up in our community has been to there for lessons, birthdays, Condron said of the arena. Then the senior hockey tournament held here brought people from all over.

Next to the arena is the Warm Puppy Cafe, where Schulz ate breakfast most mornings before heading to his nearby studio to draw. In 2002, the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center opened, featuring more than 7,000 original strips, cartooning classes for children, and discussions with cartoonists.

Jim and Susan Green and their dog, Harry, recently stopped at the museum on their way to British Columbia from their home near Houston. They came because of the effect Schulz had on us individually and also on America, because of the Charlie Brown in each of us, and because of Schulzs message about the love between man and dog, they said.

Hanging on a wall in the museum is a strip that summarizes their view. Thats what it all boils down to You have a dog, be happy, Susan Green said, as if quoting a philosopher. Keep it simple. We have a lot to be grateful for.

Then the Greens headed out to find Charlie Brown. They planned to photograph Harry with the statues and e-mail the images to their grandchildren.

Santa Rosa isnt the only city that claims a special bond with the cartoonist. Schulz spent his childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. For six years it has held a Peanuts-themed statue celebration, beginning with Peanuts on Parade in 2000. That summer, 101 statues of Snoopy were stationed throughout the city. Each year, members of the Schulz family traveled to St. Paul for the event, which inspired Schulzs son Craig, a Santa Rosa resident, to suggest a similar event.

Artists in Santa Rosa spent four days painting the statues in a warehouse, with the public invited to watch. Each polyurethane statue is bolted to a concrete base. The combined statue and base weighs 500 pounds and stands 5 feet tall.

We let people be as free as they wanted to be, said Craig Schulz, the celebrations co-chairman who reviewed and approved all of the designs. His 16-year-old daughter, Lindsey, helped paint Holiday Special, a Charlie Brown statue covered with scenes from animated TV specials such as A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Photos of all 55 statues can be found under the visitors section of the citys Web site http//ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/.

Local business owners paid $5,000 to have a statue placed at their establishment, and $7,000 to own one. About 20 statues will be auctioned off in September after a Blockhead Party. The proceeds will fund art scholarships and help pay for a permanent bronze Peanuts statue at the countys airport, renamed Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport after his death in 2000.

In addition to attracting tourists, the statues have drawn locals out of their neighborhoods.

It has a tendency to bring people together, said Craig Schulz. Its what I call rediscovering Santa Rosa. Its been phenomenal so far.

Some of the statues have had a hard time. Vandals ripped the arm off Dive On In, Charlie Brown, and tipped him over. They crushed the gold leaf-covered Peanuts attached to Gold Rush, and stole the sunglasses off another statue.

As Charlie Brown might say Rats!

Like any other community, were experiencing some gang situations, Condron said.

Such harsh treatment isnt evident most days. What is more obvious are the families snapping photographs around Charlie Brown, each with a Peanuts story.

Janet and Tim Sandis of Mountain View recently visited Santa Rosa. Born and raised in Greece, Tim knew nothing about Charlie Brown until he met Janet, then 25 years old and a Peanuts lover. That love persisted through parenting, work, retirement and now illness. Multiple sclerosis has left Janet, now 60, in a wheelchair. It has robbed her of tennis and the symphony, things she once enjoyed.

So Tim, 75, brought her to Santa Rosa. He wheeled her through the museums halls and past the Charlie Brown statues. They purchased a T-shirt for their daughter, who recently graduated from art school.

The town was good for Janet Sandis.

Her spirits are still high from the trip, said Tim Sandis, days later. Shes really a fan.


Awesome Bill on his way back to Memphis

Elliott gets early start on Christmas with the Peanuts gang

August 8, 2005

The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)

INDIANAPOLIS -- In a collaboration revealed today during a media event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, United Media, the licensing and syndication company for Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz; Evernham Motorsports; driver Bill Elliott; Memphis Motorsports Park and Action Performance Companies Inc. unveiled a special No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge Charger featuring everybodys favorite blockhead, Charlie Brown, and his famous Christmas tree from the animated television special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Elliott is scheduled to drive the car during the upcoming NASCAR Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park on Oct. 22.

Today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Charlie Brown and Snoopy were on hand to help Elliott unveil the race car, which was created to honor the 40th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Action Performance Companies, the leader in licensed motorsports collectibles, designed the paint scheme featured on the No. 6 Hungry Drivers/A Charlie Brown Christmas Dodge Charger. Action also has a Web site devoted to the program at www.action-performance.com/charliebrown.

As we gear up for the 40th Anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas, a classic television special that people of all ages tune in to watch each and every year, theres no better way to commemorate the occasion than by partnering with a sporting event like a NASCAR race, which is equally adored by the public, said Christina Nix-Lynch, director of promotions for United Media. Everyone knows that Charlie Browns Christmas tree needs a little encouragement, and Im sure it will get just that as it races around the Memphis track on Bill Elliotts No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge Charger.

In addition to imagery from the 1965 holiday classic and an official 40th anniversary logo, the No. 6 Hungry Drivers Dodge features sponsorship identifiers from Hellmanns mayonnaise. This season, Unilever Foods signed on with Evernham Motorsports as the primary sponsor of the No. 6 Dodge Charger. Throughout the 2005 season, the car has appeared in NASCAR Busch Series races with different drivers at the wheel and rotating Unilever Foods brand sponsors on the hood. Additionally, the title sponsor of the race, Sams Town-Tunica, and their parent company Boyd Gaming will also be featured on the No. 6 car as an associate sponsor for this race.

Partnering with United Media on this special Peanuts program provided a wonderful opportunity to heighten awareness of our No. 6 Hungry Drivers NASCAR Busch Series team, explained Ray Evernham, the president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports. Having Bill Elliott in the drivers seat is an added bonus. I hope the fans at Memphis Motorsports Park enjoy seeing Charlie Brown and Snoopy at the racetrack. All of us at Evernham Motorsports are excited to be the team bringing the Peanuts back to NASCAR.

When Elliott, a fan-favorite with two Daytona 500 wins and 44 NASCAR Cup Series career victories, debuts the No. 6 Hungry Drivers/A Charlie Brown Christmas Dodge Charger at Memphis Motorsports Park, Snoopy and Charlie Brown again will join him for some fun. Both Snoopy and Charlie Brown will have special race-day duties, including a parade lap prior to the race and waving the green flag to signify the races start.

Just having Bill Elliott back at the racetrack is a draw for most NASCAR fans, said Fred Wagenhals, Action Performances chairman, president and CEO. Teaming Bill up with the Peanuts characters simply makes it an even more enriching experience. It is a union of two beloved American classics -- an extremely popular NASCAR champion and an enduring comic strip -- that still never fail to inspire their fans.

We are thrilled to have Awesome Bill back in Memphis for the second year in a row for our NASCAR Busch Series Sams Town 250, and honored to be a part of the 40 years that Charlie Brown has been a part of everyones Christmas season, said Jason Rittenberry, Memphis Motorsports Park Vice President and General Manager. What a treat for us and the fans to have not one but two remarkable characters in the same car when they come to Memphis on October 22.

For information about Evernham Motorsports team die-cast collectibles and other racing-inspired merchandise, please contact Actions standard distribution channels. To reach an Action Racing Collectables distributor, call the locator line at 1-800-411-8404 or use the ARC dealer locator tool online at www.action-performance.com. Racing Collectables Club of America, a members-only collector club, can be reached at 1-800-952-0708 or on the Web at goracing.com.

For information on tickets to the October 22 NASCAR Busch Series Sams Town 250, contact Memphis Motorsports Parks ticket office at 1-866-40-SPEED or visit memphismotorsportspark.com.


Wisdom of Peanuts boiled down

July 10, 2005

By Ina Hughs
The Knoxville [Kentucky] News-Sentinel

Keep looking up. Thats the secret of life.

Those words sound like passages from some long-standing sacred text, but actually it was our friend Snoopy who came up with them in one of Charles Schulzs cartoons. Snoopy doesnt look 50-plus years old on the shiny black cover of the newly released Peanuts Guide to Life (Running Press, $12.96) But he is, as are the famous beagles playmates, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and the rest.

I have a fair collection of Peanuts books, but this one is my favorite. Rather than being a book of selected cartoons, it is a collection of punch lines and other one-sentence words of wisdom gleaned from half a centurys worth of Schulzs work. One-frame line drawings of the witty character coming up with the quote illustrate each page.

It is impossible to be gloomy when youre sitting behind a marshmallow, says Lucy, the cutest pop psychologist ever to open a for-fee practice.

Poor Linus seems to learn all his lessons the hard way Never jump into a pile of leaves holding a wet sucker.

But its Snoopy who seems the most quotable. Hes the real philosopher in the group. Its better to live one day as a lion than a dozen years as a sheep, he waxes profoundly atop his house, the little bird sitting at his feet as if the pooch were Plato reincarnated. Which, who knows, he might be!

The Peanuts comic strip has been a regular feature in 2,300 newspapers and more than 1,400 books -- not to mention TV specials, Broadway productions, movies and greeting cards.

We learn from Bill Cosby in the books introduction that when shy little Sparky -- Charles Schulzs childhood nickname -- was 4 years old, someone gave him a blackboard that had a roll of paper on top and the alphabet spelled out. It became his favorite toy and the beginning of a legacy that still grows, even after Schulzs death more than five years ago.

One of the most interesting books to cross my desk in past weeks is Bradley Trevor Greives The Blue Day Book for Kids (Andrews McMeel, $9.95) -- a spin-off of his wildly successful (some 10 million copies sold worldwide) The Blue Day Book written for adults.

It would seem that someone who has written 10 books and is, according to his publisher, a former paratroop platoon commander, award-winning artist, cartoonist, poet, toy designer, screenwriter and inventor would be too busy to be blue, but thats been his ticket to literary fame. His cheer-up book for kids uses black-and-white photographs of animals, with caption advice under each.

On the first page, a whiter-than-white polar bear with dark polar bear eyes and a turned-down mouth asks, Have you ever had a blue day?

Greives premise for the book is that kids -- especially in todays complicated world -- get sad and anxious, depressed and glum just as adults do, but the youngsters dont understand what it means, why its happening to them, or that the mood will pass, that it doesnt mean something is wrong with them.

A bear with his paws over his eyes and a downcast demeanor explains, A blue day is a day when nothing goes right and you feel kind of lousy.

You might feel grumpy, a mean-mad gorilla adds, hunched against the wall, arms folded on his knees.

Theres a kitten looking to all the world like shes given up trying to lift the 100-pound arm weights shes got her paws on. She looks into the readers eyes Everything seems impossible on a blue day.

By the end of the book, a laughing pig, a mischievous river otter and a cross-eyed orangutan have cheered up every kid-blue reader in tarnation.


Theres something about Charlie

June 20, 2005

By Chris Coursey
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

I was a skeptic about this whole Charlie Brown thing.

After all, how much buzz can be generated by a bunch of statues of a round-headed kid who hasnt appeared in a new comic strip since the death of his creator in February 2000?

Quite a bit, as it turns out.

Since 55 individually decorated Charlie Browns first appeared around Santa Rosa at the end of May, tourists have thronged the citys Convention and Visitors Bureau at the old depot in Railroad Square.

Weve been getting 300, 400, 500 people a day, said Alice Richardson, a bureau staffer. It is incredible.

Bureau Director Mo Renfro said the office tallied 500 visitors Memorial Day, compared to 90 on that holiday last year.

Tourism is bouncing back, so thats part of the picture, too, Renfro said. But people are coming here to see the Charlie Browns.

She related the story of a man from Vienna, Austria, who showed up at the bureau in search of information about the Its Your Town, Charlie Brown display. He said hed never heard of Santa Rosa, but came across information about the statues when he typed Snoopy into the Google search engine. Suddenly, Santa Rosa became a critical part of a three-week vacation in California.

Who would have thought that the stiff left arms of these static plastic Charlies could reach so far?

I often eat my lunch while sitting in Old Courthouse Square, usually in a spot that recently has become home to Impressionist Charlie Brown, a statue created by artists Kristina Lucas and Ann Frowick.

Ive heard more than one critic suggest the statue looks like it has chicken pox.

But that doesnt seem to put anyone off. Kids run up to hug it unabashedly. Men pat it on its big bald head. Tourists of all ages stop by for a picture. And hardly anyone passes by without giving this Charlie a smile.

One afternoon, a stooped man in ragged clothes was lurking around that corner of the square, and I was sure he was going to ask me for spare change. Instead, he stopped two teenage girls, held out a disposable camera and asked them to take his picture with Charlie.

On other days, two very elderly women came by for pictures with the statue. So did two young couples speaking what sounded to me like Japanese, each of them wearing a brand-new Peanuts-themed T-shirt. So did a family with three little kids, each of whom put an arm around Charlie for a portrait. And, most surprisingly to me, so did four guys who appeared to be in their 30s. While they used the statue for some crude pantomime, they also each had their picture taken with it.

And thats just one Charlie. Multiply that by 55 and its fair to say that this blockhead is a hit.

Its not all sweetness with Santa Rosas Charlies, though. Some have been vandalized; one has been stolen (and later returned). Several have been moved to safer locations. A Plexiglas box has been erected around artist Jack Stuppins Charlie outside the Sonoma County Museum, from which gold-covered peanuts had been disappearing.

Unfortunately, all that also is part of your town, Charlie Brown.

The vandalism apparently will force a change in plans for a mass gathering of the statues at the end of the summer. Instead of marshaling them in Courthouse Square from Sept. 15-25, the events steering committee this afternoon will meet to finalize a decision to move that event to a ball field behind the Schulz Museum off Steele Lane.

Thats too bad. Besides sending the wrong message about downtown, it lets a few knuckleheads put a damper on an experience that otherwise has been more positive than I ever would have predicted.


Royal Guardsmen reunite to make musical magic

June 15, 2005

By Michael Fortuna
The Village Daily Sun [Florida]

THE VILLAGES -- After performing at a local high school reunion, the Royal Guardsmen wanted to see if more musical magic could be made.

Judging from the audiences reaction Monday night at Savannah Center, that magic is alive and well. Snoopy and the Red Baron have joined the fray once more.

With Chris Nunley on lead vocals, harmonica, and percussion; Pat Waddell on lead guitar; Barry Winslow on rhythm guitar and vocals; Bill Taylor on keyboards; Bill Balogh on bass; and Rick Cosner on drums, the Royal Guardsmen brought back to life Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron and other hits from the 1960s.

I didnt think itd be possible, Balogh said. Im glad its happening.

The group, originally from Ocala, paid tribute to their musical heroes, the Beatles, by playing a medley of the Fab Fours hits, including I Saw Her Standing There, A Hard Days Night, and Nowhere Man.

They also performed The Return of the Red Baron, Leaving Me, I Say Love, a reggae version of Airplane Song, the unreleased rock-laced tune Lady You Look Good Tonight, and got the audience involved with Peanut Butter.

Balogh, who was one of the founding members of the group, started out on the guitar but later switched to the bass.

No one wanted to play bass, Balogh said.

Winslow got hooked on music when he was a child. Then girls came along and changed things, he said. He picked up the guitar when he was 14, and two years later, he discovered the Beatles.

I saw it was OK to be left-handed [after seeing Paul McCartney play], Winslow said.

As for the groups big hit, Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron, Winslow said that they were given a sheet of paper with the lyrics and a note to give it a military drum feel.

We played it just as hokey as we could do it, Winslow said. They [the producers] loved it.

Nunley said that the group wanted to write and play songs similar to what the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were coming up with.

To us, it was a frivolous novelty song, Nunley said. We were hoping [the producers] wouldnt like it.

Within a few weeks of recording the song, Snoopy was being played across the country, including AM stations in big markets like New York. On Billboard magazines Pop Singles charts, it went all the way to No. 2.

It was great, Nunley said. A dream come true. Despite our efforts, it became a huge hit.

The Royal Guardsmen hadnt played together in more than 30 years until last year. Winslow was steeped in a career in Christian music in Missouri, while the others had their own occupations in and out of music. Winslow called it a long sabbatical.

Last October, they were asked to play at the 50-year band reunion; in fact, four of the Royal Guardsmen were in the Lake Weir High School band. After three days of two-hour practices, the band played a 45-minute set for the reunion.

We never thought any more about it, Winslow said.

It was just to play for old times sake, Nunley said.

Then their agent started calling the band members back to see about returning to the stage for a full-blown concert.

And here we are, Winslow said. Were going to go have some fun. Im amazed were all still alive.

The band will be playing in Clearwater in July, and they have a cruise date next January; the rest is up in the air.

If the people like it, well carry on and see where it takes us, Winslow said.


Schulzs lovable loser lost no more

Missing Charlie Brown statue returned to restaurant owner; security may be beefed up after 10 statues vandalized

June 9, 2005

By Oskar F. Garcia
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Its a crime wave, Charlie Brown.

Chef Charlie, one of 55 decorated Charlie Brown statues spread around Santa Rosa as part of a public art project and fund-raiser, was returned Monday to Micheles Restaurant after being stolen two days earlier. Restaurant owner Bob Forsyth paid a $2,500 reward for the return of the 6-foot, polyurethane comic strip character.

But Chef Charlies return masked a broader concern about damage to the whimsical statues, 10 of which have been victimized by vandals or thieves, and sponsors said Monday they are contemplating more security measures to protect the art works.

Theres going to be a small amount of vandalism and it depends on the ownership that the community takes of the project, said Anita Templer, who oversaw a similar project in Healdsburg last summer that placed 35 miniature Fiberglass trucks throughout the city.

Templer said art projects with appendages and things to break off often are easy to target for people who want to vandalize. She said one of last years trucks was adorned with oversized colored pencils that were stolen fairly quickly.

City Councilwoman Janet Condron met with the steering committee in charge of the project Monday afternoon to discuss security as well as the possibility of moving a planned public viewing and auction scheduled for September.

Condron declined to provide details of the steering committees discussion or say how security might be improved.

Meanwhile, in Railroad Square, friends of Chef Charlie were overjoyed at their friends return.

Forsyth said he wouldnt identify the man who returned the statue early Monday morning. He said the man told him he got it from the people who originally stole it and he wanted to return it without the thieves getting in trouble.

Its a done deal, said Forsyth, who promised the no-questions-asked reward. Ive already given him my word.

Police Sgt. Gary Negri said police would not pursue their investigation any further.

Theyre content to have it back, and at this point theyre not requesting us to continue with any investigation, and thats kind of where it is, he said.

He said he hoped the incident would deter future thefts, as any would-be thief would have to fear his friends and neighbors might turn him in for a reward.

Each statue is the product of TivoliToo Designs and Sculpting Studios of St. Paul, Minn., which supplied the statues at a cost of $3,000 each. Businesses, nonprofit groups and individuals are sponsoring statues at $5,000 each, which earn them the right to decorate and display them.

But Charles Schulzs lovable loser is proving too tempting to thieves and vandals.

The first surfboard that accompanied the Charlie Brown near D and Fourth streets was stolen less than 48 hours after the statue went up. Smashed peanuts on the statue in front of the Sonoma County Museum had to be replaced.

There seems to be an interest in taking something off of them, Condron said of the statues being targeted.

Negri said he feared the vandalism would continue, and he has recommended that the statues be displayed in enclosed lobbies or be put on wheels so they can be easily stored at night.

The other statue casualties were

The diploma was taken from Charlie Brown Exchange Bank Doyle Scholar in front of the Fourth Street Exchange Bank.

A stethoscope was lifted from the neck of The Doctor is In in front of Richard Stein Medical Offices.

Small plastic Charlie Brown and Snoopy figurines were taken from Full Spectrum Charlie, which prompted its removal from Courthouse Square to in front of the police station.

The sunglasses were removed from Aloha Charlie in Courthouse Square, so it was moved to the Luther Burbank Gardens nearby.

A fake credit card was removed from the hand of Youre a Good Shopper, Charlie Brown! that was placed in front of Santa Rosa Plaza.

The original hollow baseball bat accompanying The ART of the Game statue was taken from in front of Pine Creek Properties on Montecito Boulevard.

Downtown Charlie Brown, which stands in front of the Sonoma County Library on E Street, had its face smashed, but details werent available.

Currently, all 55 statues are scheduled to be in Courthouse Square for two weeks leading up to the public party and auction on Sept. 25. The auction will take place at Snoopys Home Ice on Steele Lane.

Now, sponsors are contemplating moving the public viewing to a field near the ice rink.

Were looking at it very seriously right now, Condron said. The security will just be easier there.

Condron said the committee would make a formal decision in one to two weeks.

She said neither the city nor the steering committee had any provisions for offering rewards in case of future thefts, noting Forsyth took the initiative on his own.

Who knows whether its going to encourage something further? Condron said. The reality is, what could you do with it? So Im not concerned that its going to create a bigger problem for us, frankly.

Forsyth said hes happy to have his statue back. It went missing sometime between 130 and 2 a.m. Saturday. Forsyth said a disc jockey saw the statue when he left at 130 a.m., but it was gone when bartenders clocked out a half-hour later.

Forsyth said he would strengthen the way Chef Charlie is secured to its base to try to prevent a repeat of the theft.


Jazz for juniors

Music will not die at Empire Elementary

June 7, 2005

By Maggie ONeill
The [Carson City] Nevada Appeal

Cassidy Robinson was quite taken with Vince Guaraldis Charlie Brown. She sat in the back row of the auditorium Monday afternoon, her head and body bopping to the upbeat song played by visiting Sacramento keyboardist Jim Martinez.

I thought it was really good, said the 8-year-old of Martinezs rendition, explaining shes a fan of the block-headed kid. I watch a lot of Charlie Brown. I watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special.

Martinez, who began playing piano at age 4, visited Empire Elementary School Monday, performing for kindergarten through fifth-graders. Saxophonist Joe Berry had played earlier.

When I grew up, and I grew up a long time ago, I loved Snoopy, and I loved Charlie Brown, Martinez said. I loved the music from all of it. Tell me if youve ever heard this music.

And he began playing a song from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Theres music throughout all of it, and its all jazz, he said, But Im not here to just talk about jazz, Im here to talk about all kinds of music.

At 39, Martinez was visiting Empire through the help of the Knickerbocker Foundation, a foundation out of Coeur dAlene, Idaho, which donates money to various causes, including music education and animal rights.

When band teacher Christina ONeill wanted to find a way to bring jazz music alive, the Knickerbocker Foundation helped her find the two musicians.

Jazz is the truly only American music, ONeill said. Everything else came from Europe. By giving the kids the chance to hear jazz, were giving them the opportunity to hear music that is unique to America.

Her first connection with the Knickerbocker Foundation came this year, when the foundation provided $3,500 in instrument rentals to her 21 fifth-grade band students.

This is just seed money, really, said Benjamin Prohaska, executive director for the foundation. We would really like to encourage the community itself to become involved.

Forty-four students are expected to join band next year, when the Knickerbocker Foundation will kick in $5,000 for instrument rentals.

When ONeill came to Empire in the 2003-04 school year, just seven students were in band. This year alone, her band students have tested at or above par on the Scholastic Reading Inventory test and achievement-level test in math, she said. She has also seen a decrease in behavioral problems.

Kids who were in trouble on the playground arent in trouble anymore, she said. ... Its a big thing if we can get kids to focus on things that are positive and nonviolent, as opposed to getting involved in gangs or doing drugs.

A SpongeBob SquarePants song was one of several uplifting bits Martinez played for students. Other pieces included Scott Joplins Maple Leaf Rag, Beethovens Fifth Symphony and Mozarts Sonata in C Major -- the last performed by Martinez lying upside down on the piano bench with his arms crossed over his head.

I was thinking he was very stretchy, said Jonny Escobar, 8, about Martinez after the upside-down performance.

Jonny wanted to hear the Star Wars theme. But when Martinez finished with the jazz piece Now Is the Time, Jonnys little fingers tapped along for part of it.

I liked it, he said. I thought it sounded a little bit like Star Wars.


Charlie Brown statue returned to eatery

June 6, 2005

By Suzanne Herel
The San Francisco Chronicle

Its something Lucy might have done -- stolen an already hot statue of Charlie Brown to return it to its owner, and collect a $2,500 reward.

And being Charlie Brown -- who never got the better of a situation -- the statue got a little scraped up in the process. Still, said owner Bob Forsyth Were just happy to have him back. The case of the stolen statue began between 130 and 2 a.m. Saturday, when someone cut the bolts holding the 300-pound polyurethane Peanuts star to its concrete base outside Micheles Restaurant in Santa Rosa.

Forsyth publicized the theft and the $2,500 reward -- no questions asked. Apparently, it worked. A security guard at the restaurant got a phone call late Sunday from a man who said his friends had stolen the statue and he wanted to return it.

His quote was, he stole it from them to bring it back, Forsyth said. By 3 a.m., Brown was recumbent and recuperating in the restaurants banquet area.

Theres a little damage to his foot, a little nick and cut here and there. ... His left foot in dinged-up in the toe area, Forsyth diagnosed. It looks like theres a little stress in the area where his neck connects to the body, where they probably yanked him up.

Ive got to speak with the artist. Were thinking about putting a cast on his leg. The 6-foot icon is one of 55 Charlie Browns put up around town for the past two weeks in honor of the Peanuts comic strips 55th anniversary. Creator Charles Schulz lived in the area for 42 years before he died of cancer Feb. 12, 2000.

Forsyth, nephew of Schulzs widow, Jeannie, paid $7,000 for the figure, which is silver and white. He then spent an additional $2,000 to add a chefs hat, spatula and spoon.

He doesnt know when Charlie Brown will return to his former post, but says that in the meantime, hell be thinking of a way to deter thieves from snatching him again.

Money from the proceeds of the statues is expected to be put toward an art scholarship fund and the commission of a sculpture of Charlie Brown at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport.


Charlie Brown Statue Stolen In Santa Rosa

June 5, 2005

KGO-TV, San Francisco

The owner of a large Charlie Brown sculpture that was stolen from outside his restaurant in Santa Rosa Saturday said, Its just wrong. Its Charlie Brown, show some respect.

According to Bob Forsyth, owner of the statue and Micheles Restaurant, the person or persons responsible for stealing the sculpture did not show the comic star respect when they took off with the 6-foot, 200- to-300 pound statue early Saturday morning.

The statue was on display on the corner of Adams and 7th streets, just outside of Forsyths restaurant, located at 521 Adams St.

According to Forsyth, the robbery happened sometime between 130 a.m. and 205 a.m. while people were still inside the building.

A disc jockey and security personnel remember seeing the statue when they left the restaurant at 115 a.m. and 130 a.m., respectively, Forsyth said, but when the restaurants bartenders left at 205 a.m., the statue was gone.

Forsyth believes the robbers unscrewed two long bolts that attached the statue to a large cement base before hauling it off.

I cant imagine they did it without a truck. Hes a big guy, Forsyth said.

Hes also a very cool guy, according to Forsyth.

Forsyth worked with local artists to personalize the statue. He chose a chef theme and invested thousands of dollars into its creation. The artists adorned the chef-styled Charlie Brown with a chefs hat, spoon, and spatula. They even hand placed little pieces of silver on the sculpture, Forsyth said.

The statue is one of 55 sculptures on exhibit throughout the city to honor the 55th Anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip. The strips creator, Charles Schulz, lived and worked in the community for nearly 45 years.

Forsyth bought the sculpture for $7,000 and invested nearly $2,200 in decoration add-ons, he said.

The city of Santa Rosa plans to hold a live auction on September 25 for the statues that are not purchased by their sponsors.

Forsyth planned to keep his sculpture and is offering a $2,500 reward for its safe return, no questions asked. Forsyth says hell even pick the statue up if someone tells him where it is.


Chef Charlie goes missing

Early-morning theft of Peanuts statue a mystery; $2,500 reward offered

June 5, 2005

By Jeremy Hay
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

At the crack of dawn Saturday, Bob Forsyth was called with the news that a statue of Charlie Brown displayed in front of his Railroad Square restaurant since May 22 was gone.

I cant believe it, said Forsyth, a Santa Rosa resident and the owner of Micheles Restaurant. Its just wrong. Its Charlie Brown.

He is offering a $2,500 reward for the return of the statue, which is estimated to weigh between 200 and 300 pounds and stands a little over 6 feet tall.

The statue stolen between 130 a.m. and 2 a.m. Saturday was Chef Charlie -- painted silver, wearing a chefs hat and scarf and with a spatula in his left hand.

No questions asked, just give us a call and well come pick it up, Forsyth said.

The pilfered statue was one of 55 Charlie Browns erected around the city as part of a summer-long public art project and fund-raiser.

Each statue portrays the hero of the Peanuts comic strip in a different role, and for this particular Charlie Brown, having a metal skeleton, weighing more than 200 pounds and being bolted to a concrete block was no guarantee of security.

The bald-headed hero of a cartoon world where lifes lessons often arose from collisions with lifes harder edges was now a police case.

There are no suspects, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Lisa Banayat said, although investigators did gather some evidence that they hope will help solve the case.

Forsyth, his wife, Tammy Forsyth, and Lou Bertolini, a friend and the co-owner of Western Farm Center across Seventh Street, stood at the crime scene Saturday afternoon.

Dust covered the dark-gray concrete pedestal to which the statue had been bolted, and in the dust were what looked like shoe prints.

Unbelievable, Tammy Forsyth said. It had to have been planned.

Bertolini said he had dinner with friends at Micheles on Friday night, and about 1030 p.m. theyd taken photographs with Charlie Brown and he was still smiling.

The last person to see the statue was a disc jockey who left the restaurant at 130 a.m., Bob Forsyth said.

When Micheles bartender left for home at 205 a.m., it was gone, he said.

I hope it was a prank, a temporary fun thing, said Forsyth, whose aunt is Jean Schulz, widow of Peanuts creator Charles Sparky Schulz.

Its just wrong, Forsyth said one more time.


For Sladky, its a dogs life

May 27, 2005

By Chris Coursey
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

You might think the sudden appearance of 55 oversized Charlie Browns around Santa Rosa would make a certain beagle feel a little bit left out.

But Snoopy doesnt mind, that the spotlights on Charlie Brown, says Judy Sladky. He knows hes the real star.

Besides, Snoopy likes that round-headed kid. Charlie Brown feeds him, says Sladky.

And how does Sladky know what goes on beneath the furry exterior of that world-famous dog? Well, she spends a lot of time there. In fact, for at least 100 days a year, Judy Sladky is Snoopy. Or Snoopy is her.

It can get a little confusing.

Sladky uses the third-person he to refer to herself when she dons the 30-pound costume that turns her into Snoopy. But she also notes the many similarities between the fictional dog and her corporeal self, including that they are both 54 years old, they both love pizza and root beer and, as a child, Sladky had a beagle mutt named Peanuts.

Its been 26 years since Peanuts creator Charles Sparky Schulz asked Sladky to play the lead in a TV special called Snoopys Musical on Ice. She and the dog have been inseparable ever since.

I knew right away this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, Sladky says. Snoopy cant do anything wrong. Everybody loves him, everybody. No matter what the ethnicity or the age or the country, Snoopy is universally adored.

Even if he doesnt always get top billing. Sladky, who lives in New Jersey, is in town this weekend to help celebrate the opening of the Its Your Town, Charlie Brown art project, which features those aforementioned statues of the dogs morose master. On Saturday, shell dress up as Charlie Brown to throw out the first pitch at a Giants game (I told you it gets confusing). And on Sunday and Monday, shell be herself as she talks about her life as a dog during lectures at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa (579-4452 for information).

Sladky grew up as a competitive skater in Indiana and with her first husband, Jim Sladky, who was U.S. Ice Dancing champion five years in a row in the late 60s and early 70s. As professionals, the Sladkys worked in big shows, such as the Ice Follies, and smaller ones, such as those staged at Schulzs Santa Rosa ice rink.

They had just left the Ice Follies in 1979 when Schulz popped the question.

I was trying to figure out a way to stay in show business for the rest of my life, Sladky said.

Snoopy was her meal ticket.

She doesnt skate as much as she used to, but still is willing to do anything that Snoopy can do.

Shes had a dogs-eye view of Super Bowls, Macys Thanksgiving parades and White House Easter egg hunts. Shes worked with Nancy Reagans Just Say No campaign, conducted the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and barreled down the Olympic bobsled run at Park City.

Its better to be Snoopy than myself, she says.

Inside the dog, she gets hugs from children and canine-related jokes from adults. Teenage boys greet her with, Yo, Snoop! Whats up? Some people even cry on her shoulder.

At Sparkys funeral (at the Burbank Center), they had busloads of people coming in, she recalls. After giving hugs to hundreds of mourners, I went to take the costume off and the shoulders were soaked.

Schulz is gone, and the comic strip he created is in perpetual re-runs. But Sladky says Schulzs passing hasnt dimmed Snoopys popularity.

They need him, she says of the dog. Its more poignant now. People want him around more than ever.

Shes welcome too, of course. When she stays in Santa Rosa, theres still always room for her at the Schulz house.

Of course, she says. Im the family dog.


Webmaster's note: Be advised ... this next piece is from a satirical publication!

Pentagon announces plans to close Camp Snoopy

June 2-8, 2005

The Onion

BLOOMINGTON, MINNESOTA -- The Pentagon announced Monday that Camp Snoopy, the largest indoor family theme park in America, is one of 34 major bases scheduled for closing as part of a vast military repurposing and realignment designed to save almost $50 billion.

We never enjoy having to close a base, said Anthony Principi, chairman of the Pentagons Base Realignment and Closure Commission. But Camp Snoopy is a relic of Americas Cold War past. Everything in the facility-from the Petting Zoo to the Extreme Trampoline to the Pepsi Ripsaw Roller Coaster-was conceived at a time when Americas primary military threat was the Soviet Union. After careful evaluation, we determined that the only thing Camp Snoopy was enabling our soldiers to fight was boredom.

According to an official Pentagon statement delivered Tuesday by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, most of the 300 men and women stationed at Camp Snoopy will be honorably discharged in a ceremony to be held in front of the Rock N Wall.

Camp Snoopy Gen. Manager Craig Freeman said the camps decommissioning came out of nowhere.

Certainly these last couple years have brought drastic changes in the national attitude toward combat readiness, Freeman said. But we thought our location in Americas northern defensive tier, combined with our many indoor roller coasters and log-flume rides, would shield us from the militarys increased emphasis on small-unit tactics. I suppose that was naive.

Ranking managers and others in highly trained positions will be posted at other bases in the Mall of America.

I heard a rumor that Im going to be shipped out to the Lego Imagination Center, Coordinating Concessions Manager Steve Voorhies said. Im still in shock. I had a distinguished food-service record here-a record I could be proud of-and now some desk jockey at the Pentagon sends me to the malls South Avenue quadrant? Its bullshit.

Well, I guess I knew when I signed up that they could do whatever they wanted with me, added Voorhies, who has applied for a transfer to Jillians Hi Life Lanes in the malls Party Central.

The camp closing, scheduled for November 2005, is expected to be a major blow to the local civilian economy.

Weve been supplying them with everything from disposable paper goods to uniforms, said Debra Czynsci, the chief military and entertainment sales liaison for the Cedar Fair Management Corporation. That was close to half a billion dollars annually pumped into the Twin Cities economy. Now, with this facility shutting its gates, were going to have massive layoffs of our own.

The Pentagon said that the Lego Imagination Center, the Underwater Adventures Aquarium, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulators, and various other Mall of America attractions made Camp Snoopy redundant.

Insiders, however, suggest that misappropriations issues involving Cedar Fair, which was once investigated for charging Camp Snoopy $479 per case of Thirsty Linus FunCups, factored heavily into the decision to decommission Camp Snoopy.

Brig. Gen. Roy Haemer, who oversaw the Pentagons Midwest base-closing study, denied suggestions that the camps closure was politically motivated.

It may seem counterintuitive to close bases during wartime, Haemer said. But not a single member of the forward-line units operating in Iraq and Afghanistan trained at Camp Snoopy. Tens of thousands of them visited the park, but the fast-paced gaming environment of the Ultimate Zone has little or no bearing on squad-level combat in a desert environment, and maneuvering around the Kite-Eating Tree will do nothing to prepare a soldier for the arid scrub of the Afghani steppes.

Haemer added that Californias Camp Snoopy at Knotts Berry Farm is being kept open primarily due to the Red Baron Ride, which he described as a real hoot.


Everythings coming up Charlies

55 hand-painted Charlie Brown statues strategically placed around SR draw fans from far and wide

May 30, 2005

By Carol Benfell
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Charlie Browns patience paid off Sunday when the little red-headed girl of his dreams at last looked at him admiringly and gave him her full attention.

Sierra Riley, 6, of Fallon, Nev., walked slowly all around a glitzy, rainbow-hued statue of Charlie Brown on Santa Rosas Old Courthouse Square.

I like this one best, because it has all the sparkly stuff and all the cartoons on it, Sierra said. Its colorful.

Four generations of Sierras family had come to see the 55 different Charlie Brown statues installed at scattered Santa Rosa locations last week to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip.

Sierras great-grandmother, Pauline Smith of Santa Rosa, was there, as well as two great-aunts, grandmother Paula Waters, mother Summer Riley and little sister Cassidy, 4.

We grew up on Charlie Brown, Waters said. I think the adults love Charlie Brown as much as the kids do.

The statue project, a collaboration between the city of Santa Rosa and the Schulz family, honors the skill and whimsy of the late Charles Schulz, who lived and drew Peanuts in Santa Rosa for 42 years.

Charlie Browns, hand-painted by local artists, are everywhere. Tourist Charlie with sunglasses and camera graces the Convention and Visitors Bureau. Maestro Charlie directs the orchestra at 1270 Airport Blvd. On Saturday night, Charlie Brown in his Giants uniform went to the game at SBC Park.

Jenine and Steve Akre of Sonoma were looking at Charlie Browns on Sunday with their sons, Andrew, 3, and Garrett, 11 months.

Andrew knows who Charlie Brown is, said Steve Akre. He was talking the whole way here about going to see Charlie Browns.

Jenine Akre is making a scrapbook of the Charlie Brown statues. Each brightly colored page has a picture cut from the newspaper of one of the statues. Shell mount photos of her sons taken with each statue on the corresponding page.

They are Peanuts fans and plan to see all 55 statues before the end of summer. It dates back to her childhood, Jenine Akre said. When I was younger, we used to go to Snoopys Home Ice Rink.

Grandparents Velma and Earl Nidbella of Rohnert Park visited the Charlie Browns with their grandchildren -- Mariah Mason, 14, R.J. Powell, 9, and Bryce Powell, 7, who are visiting from Hesperia.

Mariah has just graduated from eighth grade, and the Nidbellas took her picture next to the Charlie Brown Scholar, in his graduating cap and gown, in front of Exchange Bank.

But Bryce liked Full Spectrum Charlie. Tell people that I saw one that was really colorful and they might like it too, he said.

Businesses sponsored the statues, which will be sold at auction Sept. 25.

Proceeds will go toward art scholarships and a permanent bronze figure of Charlie Brown at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport.


Really good grief

May 28, 2005

By Hal Niedzviecki
The Globe and Mail

The Complete Peanuts
By Charles M. Schulz
Fantagraphics Books
Volume 1, 1950-1952, 343 pages, $39.95
Volume 2, 1953-1954, 334 pages, $39.95
Volume 3, 1955-1956, 325 pages, $39.95

Charles M. Schulz was a chronic obsessive who drew a daily comic strip for nearly 50 years, died the day before his last strip appeared and, despite making millions and earning accolades around the world, could never quite exorcise himself of the yearning self-doubt that was the defining attribute of the great cartoonists most famous character, Charlie Brown. Aggrieved nerds and beautiful losers take note Here is your role model.

In fact, here is your world of role models.

For those of us who had previously dismissed Peanuts as a holdover from some past era where kids roamed free of adult supervision and the tyranny of cable TV, consider the first three volumes of The Complete Peanuts as a revelation. Spanning the years 1950 to 1956, these books are a portal to a nearly lost realm. Here we encounter the Peanuts at their best -- absurd, anxious figures with the surreal ability to think and act like children while speaking like adults. Forget plush-toy Snoopy and repetitive 1980s TV specials. Early Peanuts is better compared to the frantic foibles of Calvin and Hobbes or the topical sarcastic slyness of Bloom County than the sappy cartoon specials that gradually emerged to dominate the Schulz legacy.

The Peanuts, as they appear in the 1950s, are a hyper, stressed, depressed, easily shocked bunch. And they are cruel. In what is presumably the first ever Peanuts strip, kicking off the inaugural 1950-52 volume, a boy and a girl sit on a curb. Well! Here comes ol Charlie Brown! one kid says to the other. Good ol Charlie Brown. . . . Yes, sir! Good old Charlie Brown . . . As Charlie Brown finally passes by, the kiddie commentator abruptly grimaces. How I hate him! he announces, staring malevolently into space.

The Peanuts characters are unrelenting in their shoulder-shrugging, oblivious self-obsession. This creates a tense, brief space for the sort of random acts of stubborn beauty that redeem not just children, but all human beings. In Volume 2, 1953-54, Lucy proudly announces shes going to draw a line of chalk around the world. Charlie Brown scoffs. But when she reappears in the final panel and triumphantly connects the line she began in the first, all Charlie Brown can do is wince in amazement.

Sporting similar unabashed confidence, Pig Pen, featured in all his aromatic glory on the cover of the recently released Volume 3, 1955-56, is never diminished by the other kids constant teasing. When Charlie Brown asks him where hes going, Pig Pen orates proudly on his plans As the duck is drawn to the pond, and as the rabbit is drawn to the brier path . . . so am I drawn to the mud puddle! With that, the worlds filthiest boy proudly plunges into muck, while Charlie Brown utters his exasperated Good Grief!

So it goes in the Peanuts universe random moments of transcendent, willful grace that emerge from what, in the real world, would be crippling character flaws like obstinacy and slovenliness. The Peanuts are always trying to channel their powerful sense of angst into obsessive schemes that might, for a moment, let them forget their tiny, meaningless, random place in the universe. It rarely works For Schulz, every strip was an opportunity to plunge the little people into existential crisis. Consider Linus and Lucy bent over an ant colony Were so big, Linus, Lucy philosophizes, and these ants are so tiny that they dont knew we even exist! The kids pause to consider this premise. Then Lucy continues I wonder if there are any giants watching us the way were watching ants? Brother and sister stare up at the sky. Suddenly, the full horror of this notion hits them. They run screaming and sweating off the page.

No wonder I never got the Peanuts when I was a kid. Sold to us as cute childhood fluff, this is actually weirdly portentous material best appreciated by adults. Seattle-based comics publisher Fantagraphics clearly wants to reclaim Peanuts for grownups. These are beautiful, almost somber books designed by Canadas very own professional cartoonist nostalgic, the brooding Seth. Seth employs dark, moody colors and dramatic poses a scowling Charlie Brown on the cover of the first volume; a Lucy in mid-scream on the second.

Schulz would have loved the way these books take his lifelong singular passion seriously as art. But little things would have bothered him, as they did me a glaring typo in the great introduction to Volume 1 by Garrison Keillor; an impressive index that nonetheless only has one entry under dog whistle when there are, in fact, two separate strips in which Charlie Brown demonstrates one of those whistles that only dogs can hear on an unsuspecting Snoopy.

Why, come to think of it, are there two strips featuring the exact same gag in the space of only two months? That, more than anything, would have driven the perfectionist Schulz as crazy as Charlie Brown on the football field. Over the course of his long-running career, such repetition would have been no big deal. But in 1955, he was a relatively scant five years into a 50-year gig. If he was already repeating himself, its no wonder that by the 1980s, his gags felt as predictable as playing a game of checkers with the domineering, always-victorious Lucy.

Did Peanuts run out of steam long before Schulz brought it to a close? Only the eventual publication of another 15-plus volumes will give us the answer to that question. Then again, maybe not A consummate professional, Schulz worked hard to make each strip accessible and instantaneous in its appeal. His work was created to be quickly perused and cast away. He could never have been expected to anticipate how his work would come off read in long sittings, as if he were Tolstoy.

The Complete Peanuts project brings the underlying themes of insecurity and depression to the forefront. These hefty collections sap the temporal hilarity of the strips. Perhaps thats why I felt the looming presence of the author emanating so powerfully from these pages. Inevitably, we are drawn to the fascinating enigma of Charles M. Schulz himself. What compelled him to draw the same comic strip his entire life?

True, theres something undeniably addictive about the Peanuts and the way their soulful angst endlessly battles with their childish ebullience. All the same, someone less compulsive than Lucy, not quite as aggrieved as Charlie Brown and not nearly as imaginative as Snoopy would surely, eventually, have moved on.


Maheen Rana still bee queen

May 17, 2005

By C. Jerome Crow
The Red Bluff [California] Daily News

ROHNERT PARK, CALIFORNIA -- The Rana spelling dynasty continues, and with Saturdays win, Maheen Rana has retained her reign as the spelling queen bee.

Last weekend, the Bidwell Elementary School sixth-grader took top honors when 55 of the states top elementary school spellers competed in the California State Elementary Spelling Championship.

Rana won the top prize by correctly spelling modicum, then parlous. She received a trophy and a $1,000 U.S. Savings Bond.

She is the daughter of Dr. Mohammed and Tehmina Rana.

Rana won has won the county bee two years going and follows in her brothers footsteps, who won local, state and national honors for his own spelling abilities.

Dillon Welcher, a Berrendos Middle School sixth-grader, placed 39th. Welcher is the son of Kristi and Ryan Turner of Red Bluff and Jason Warshawer of Red Bluff.

The state spelling competition was completed in 12 rounds.

These students represented 30 California counties and had already won school, region, and county spelling bees. Each countys first- and second-place spellers are eligible to compete for the championship title in this state event coordinated by the Sonoma County Office of Education. Three fourth-graders, 16 fifth-graders, and 36 sixth-graders participated.

The competition was held at Person Theatre on the Sonoma State University campus in Rohnert Park, beginning at 9 a.m. Carl Wong, Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools, welcomed participants and guests to the event, then showed a video greeting from Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum, which is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Peanuts comic strip, was also featured in the video welcome.

Jean Schulz greeted the spellers, and their names were announced during a virtual tour of the museum.

Serving as spelling judges were Trish Healey (lead judge), Jefferson School teacher; Christina Dupont, Yulupa School teacher; Don Russell, assistant superintendent, Sonoma County Office of Education; and Eric Thomas, ABC7 News anchor. Anne Harris-Gebb, a teacher at Jefferson School served as spell master.

All spellers received certificates of participation from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bustamante.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa co-sponsored this event and provided all spellers with a souvenir Snoopy, mints and a free pass to the museum.

Students who placed first through sixth also received a certificate from the governor congratulating them on their placement in the competition.

Thomas presented the top six spellers with a trophy.


A couple of characters help out HealthEast

May 8, 2005

By Donna Halvorsen
The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Dave and Mary Jo Monsons connections to the HealthEast Care System run deep.

Dave was very ill at a Stillwater hospital in December 1953 when he met Mary Jo Borglund, who was doing her rural nurses training there. His health improved, and they were engaged on June 6, 1954, the day Mary Jo graduated from Mounds Midway School of Nursing in St. Paul. They were married that October and had five children, all born at Midway Hospital.

For four of the past five years theyve been the successful bidders for Peanuts characters at the HealthEast Foundations annual gala, paying $10,000 or more for each character, then giving them back to be displayed at HealthEast facilities.

Snoopy went to Woodwinds Hospital in Woodbury, Lucy to St. Johns Hospital in Maplewood and Linus to Bethesda Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Paul. In April a Snoopy doghouse went to HealthEasts Midway corporate complex on University Avenue in St. Paul, site of the old Midway Hospital. Mary Jo worked with the artist to have the doghouse commemorate the history of Midway and its nursing school.

Twice other bidders dropped out early, so Dave and Mary Jo bid against each other to get the price up to a respectable level. It was fun, Dave said, though some people might have wondered what in the world are those crazy Monsons doing. He said he gets satisfaction from knowing that Peanuts characters make people smile, perhaps brightening their days a little. Mary Jo said its an honor but also humbling to be able to give The blessings flow back.

The Monsons, who live in North Oaks, havent lost their HealthEast connections after the donation of their fourth and final Peanuts character. Dave, whos in the insurance business, sits on the HealthEast Foundations board. Mary Jo is the curator of a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the nursing school, no longer in operation, that trained her.


Foreign shoppers love weak dollars

May 8, 2005

By Chris Serres
The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Many of the foreign shoppers visit the megamall during layovers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Others fly in with empty suitcases, book a few nights at a local hotel, and fly out with several hundred dollars in merchandise. Hotel shuttles take them to and from the mall.

Haruo and Emi Yasuda and their 3-year-old daughter, Natsumi, summed up their reason for recently traveling 5,900 miles from Tokyo to Minneapolis with a single word Snoopy.

An AmeriSuites shuttle dropped the Yasudas off at 10 a.m. and, by noon, the family already had spent $200 at Camp Snoopy, a theme park that features more than 30 rides as well as live appearances by the Peanuts gang.

I grew up on Peanuts, said Yasuda, 40, who wore a Snoopy bomber jacket and even had a Peanuts Band-Aid on an injured finger. And this is Snoopys hometown. That was enough reason for us.


The blueprint in newsprint

May 8, 2005

The Complete Peanuts 1955 to 1956, Charles Schulz, Fantagraphics Books 326 pp., $28.95

By Charles Solomon
The Los Angeles Times

Charles Solomon is the author of numerous books on animation, including Enchanted Drawings The History of Animation, and is a frequent contributor to The Times.

By the mid-1950s, Charles Schulz was hitting his stride as a cartoonist, and Peanuts was evolving rapidly. It began modestly in 1950 as an expanded version of Lil Folks, the strip he drew for the St. Paul Pioneer. Lil Folks consisted of spot cartoons about small children with improbably sophisticated vocabularies -- a popular theme in 40s magazine cartoons. By 1955, the precocious kids had become real characters with distinct personalities.

In this third volume of a set that will encompass the 50-year run of the strip, Linus stops crawling and starts walking. Hes not yet the intellectual/theologian he will become, but hes no longer a baby in sleepers. Lucy has attained the rank of Worlds Number One Fussbudget by studying books like The Power of Positive Fussing, and I Was a Fussbudget for the F.B.I. In December 1956, she snatches the football when Charlie Brown runs to kick it, starting one of the strips longest-running gags.

Snoopy is already walking on his hind legs and beginning to live in the fantasy world that will expand to encompass the WW I Flying Ace and NASA astronaut. He does his first happy dance in September 1956, and he upsets Charlie Brown with his impressions of animals, the kids in the strip and Beethoven. Schulzs work wouldnt reach its apex for several more years, but Peanuts was already an important strip in 1955, when the artist won his first Reuben Award.

Schulz was also learning what his strip didnt need. He began phasing out comic foils Shermy, Violet and Patty. The carefully drawn rooms of mid-century furniture were being replaced by simple exteriors. Schulzs characters grew so vivid they didnt require elaborate settings an empty landscape with tufts of grass, an occasional tree and a stone wall to lean on sufficed.

While most comic strip artists used extreme expressions and emotions -- Sergeant Snorkel screaming at Beetle Bailey or Dagwood yelling for Blondie when something went wrong -- Schulz underplayed. In a few spare lines, he suggested ennui, loneliness, bewilderment and resignation. But Schulzs minimalism is deceptive in its simplicity Those carefully chosen lines have to be perfect or they dont work at all. If Snoopy didnt hold his head at exactly the right angle when he was happy or Linus eyebrows came down a little too far when he scowled, the drawing wouldnt read properly and the joke would fall flat. Schulz summed up the draftsmanship underlying his strip when he said, To draw a good cartoon hand, you have to be able to draw a good hand.

In his lively introduction, Matt Groening recalls when he and his friends discovered how difficult it was to copy their favorite comic strip characters We especially loved copying the Peanuts kids, because they seemed simple enough at first glance. But it turned out those giant heads and dots for eyes were trickier than they looked. In our wobbly hands, Charlie Browns big round head turned into a macrocephalic oval, his eye dots drifted apart, and his body got fatter and more squished. No matter how much we practiced, our Charlie Browns looked like freaks.

The understated clarity of Peanuts influenced virtually every comic strip thats appeared in recent decades. Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson said, One can scarcely overstate the importance of Peanuts to the comics, or overstate its influence on all of us who have followed.


Its art, Charlie Brown

Artists paint statues of famous Peanuts character for public display, auction

May 6, 2005

By Dan Taylor
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Charlie Brown, round-headed hero of the Peanuts comic strip, started a whole series of extreme make-overs Wednesday after wearing a yellow shirt with a zig-zag stripe for half a century.

Armed with spray paint and glue guns, artists went to work on 52 Charlie Brown statues in a warehouse north of Santa Rosa, as a long-planned public art project called Its Your Town, Charlie Brown got started.

Artists gave one 5-foot-5-inch polyurethane Charlie Brown a Hawaiian shirt, and another a Superman suit. One artist team lavished a head full of dreadlocks on the perennially bald Charlie.

On May 22, the statues will go on display at malls, on the streets and in front of businesses all over Santa Rosa.

At Old Courthouse Square, a 10-foot-tall replica of Snoopys doghouse will serve as the projects headquarters, dispensing maps showing the location of all the statues and selling Peanuts memorabilia.

All of the statues will be moved to the square for public viewing for two weeks in September. They will go up for auction Sept. 25 at the Snoopys Home Ice arena to raise money for a bronze sculpture of Charlie Brown and Linus at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport, and for two art scholarships.

A few artists began working at the Airport Boulevard warehouse as early as Monday, and three statues were done even earlier.

Work on the rest is expected to continue day and night through Sunday.

Craig Schulz, son of late Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, has been getting the donated work space ready for the past month.

This space hasnt been used for probably 15 years, Schulz said. We had to clean it out and install the lights.

He made it all happen, said Sebastopol landscape painter Jack Stuppin, nodding at Schulz.

Stuppin and his assistant, Jennifer Beckham, brought 46 pounds of peanuts to the work party, but not for snacks.

They glued peanuts all over their Charlie Brown statue, which will be covered in gold-leaf paint and titled Gold Rush.

It will stand in front of the Sonoma County Museum in downtown Santa Rosa.

Mosaic artist Ellen Blakeley, of Santa Rosa, glued tiny bits of shattered safety glass on a statue she was covering with pictures of Peanuts characters clipped from a book.

I just want to make my Charlie really good, out of respect for Charles Schulz, she said. I hadnt seriously read any of his work for a couple of decades, but when I got involved in this project it really blew my mind how brilliant he was.

Healdsburg watercolorist Richard Sheppard plans to put up a plastic pipe telescope on a tripod to go with his statue, titled Universally Loved and destined for a spot at Santa Rosa City Hall.

I am going to paint Snoopy and Woodstock on the back and side of Charlies head as constellations of stars, Sheppard said.

The public is invited to watch the artists at work from 3 to 7 p.m. today and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the former Weigh-Tronix site at 2320 Airport Blvd., Building 100.

First conceived as Peanuts on Parade, the statue project ended a five-year fund-raising run last fall in St. Paul, Minn., childhood home of Charles Schulz, who moved to Sonoma County in 1958.

Schulz died in 2000 after writing and drawing the comic strip for nearly 50 years.

Created by TivoliToo Designs and Sculpting Studios of St. Paul, which supplied the statues for Peanuts on Parade, the statues cost $3,000 apiece to make.

Businesses, nonprofit groups and individuals are sponsoring statues at $5,000 each, with $1,000 of that going to the artist and the rest covering manufacturing, shipping and other costs.


Par excellence

May 1, 2005

By Tad Reeve
The St. Paul Pioneer Press

The Highland Park 18-hole golf course had fallen into such a sad state over the past decade that Bobby Cotie, the club pro/manager since 1978, started every day with a sick feeling in his stomach.

It had gotten to the point that I dreaded going to work, Cotie said. I knew what the day would bring A lot of people coming in off the golf course demanding their money back. It was like that every day.

Cotie, calling upon his down-home Southern charm, appeased his customers as best he could. But he couldnt deny their frustrations.

The Highland 18-holer, which opened in 1927, was a mess. It was short (6,265 yards from the back tees) and uninteresting (few curves or contours on the fairways, with too many holes running parallel to each other). The greens were tiny, elevated and flat. Tee boxes were claustrophobic, hazards virtually nonexistent and grass patchy.

Golfers encountered obstacles, rain or shine.

Drainage was always a problem, and rainfall could render the course unplayable for days. And when the sun did shine, it nearly blinded golfers on the 11 holes that ran east-west, especially during the weekday, late-afternoon rush.

Even the locals who loved the course called it the chicken ranch.

Repeat business was becoming hard to come by, and the volume of play had fallen so dramatically that the owner, the city of St. Paul, finally recognized it had a crisis on its hands.

Two and a half years and $4.5 million later, all is well.

The completely redone Highland National Golf Course, which opened three weeks ago in surprisingly good condition, is a modern-day layout that fits so comfortably into its 135-acre, 78-year-old skin that you would think its 18 holes have been there all along.

The new course has received such a warm reception from patrons this spring that Cotie has regained the bounce in his step. Its fun to come to work again, he said.

Long time coming

Highland National -- even the name was upgraded -- was a two-year project that was a long time coming. The St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department renovated the Phalen golf course in the 1970s and the Como golf course in the 1980s. Meanwhile, play at its flagship course in Highland dropped from a record 52,000 rounds in 1987 to 39,000 in 2002.

The redesign shut down the course for the 2003 and 04 seasons, and Gill Miller Golf Course Architects of River Falls, Wis., went to work on the 135-acre site between Snelling and Hamline avenues, just north of Montreal Avenue.

The land was reshaped to create a more natural, rolling terrain. Greens were contoured and enlarged from an average of 4,230 to 5,800 square feet. Thirty-eight sand traps were added to help shape holes. Ten ponds, most of them on the lowest land on the east end of the property, were constructed to drain and irrigate the course.

Though 200 trees were removed, the new course is defined by those that remain. Highland National has what most new courses can only dream about patches of mature willow, oak and pine trees that demand your attention on almost every hole.

At 6,638 yards from the back tees, the course is long enough for most good players. Separate sets of tees were created to help define holes for women.

The new layout gives you ample room to misfire off the tee but little room for error up by the green. The contours of the greens make for a variety of pin placements and provide more than enough challenge, especially once the greens mature and really get rolling this summer.

Once youre on the course, its difficult to remember the old layout, and thats a good thing.

Five holes do cover the same space as the old course, though the land has been reshaped so that it is hard to tell. The par-5 fifth hole is a lot like old No. 4, though longer. And the par-3 14th is where No. 5 used to be, though reshaped.

The hole that has created the most buzz -- the par-4 15th, which features a sand trap shaped like Snoopy, in honor of Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up playing and caddying at Highland -- runs along the north end of the property, where the par-5 sixth hole used to be.

The Snoopy Hole might be the best hole on the course, with a wall of trees on each side of the fairway and a lake and the oversized Snoopy bunker pinching the left side of the fairway. It is a terrific view from the elevated tee, and two difficult shots to the green 425 yards away.

Record probable

The early spring weather has allowed golfers to sample the changes, and the course has been busy virtually every day since it opened. Cotie said the weekend of April 15-17 was the most profitable in course history; 280 golfers teed it up that Sunday.

Cotie is confident Highland National will break its single-season record of 52,000 rounds by fall.

The biggest early complaint was over the price of admission -- $35 weekdays and $39 weekends, a $12 increase from the old course. But that changes as soon as they play the course, Cotie said. Now, theyre telling me the price is just right.

For those feeling nostalgic, a couple of comforting features remain the water towers that loom over the north end of the property and the historic, 76-year-old Spanish-style clubhouse that anchors the south corner. (The clubhouse is next up for renovation, and fund raising efforts are under way.)

And theres always the Highland 9-Holer on the other side of Montreal Avenue.


Previous page...

Next page...






Here's more!



Breaking News

Just the FAQs, Ma'am

Ace Airlines Tours: Sites to Visit

Beethoven's Rhapsodies: The Music (and Musicians) of Peanuts

Shop Till You Drop

Just for Fun

By Derrick Bang

Legal Matters




All PEANUTS characters pictured are copyrighted © by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. They are used here with permission. They may not be reproduced by any means in any form.