Our Life in the Comics! (Joe Palooka Round 3!)

  So there we were. Four guys from varied
backgrounds all named to a committee to
try to replace a monument to Ham Fisher
that had been stolen from its mountainside
base. It was 1976.
  As the creator of comic strip hero Joe
Palooka Fisher had brought a lot of fame
to his native Wilkes-Barre.
 In many ways the Palooka character
represented qualities Fisher could easily
associate with the people of this area.
You know, that "pull yourself up by
your bootstraps", honest, hard working
attitude displayed by most of our parents
and grand parents.
  The comic strip was still being carried
by many newspapers in 1976 when we
waged our campaign to build a new
memorial. So......the artist decided to
work our committee into the story line.
  But, here's the thing. There was no
rational for doing a story about a
monument to Ham Fisher. I mean,
Fisher drew the original comic strip.
But he was never "in" it!
  So, suddenly, our committee found

itself in the Joe Palooka comic strip.....
......as promoters of the "Miss 1776
Beauty Pageant!"
  Of course! I finally get to be part of
a Beauty Pageant...and it's in a comic
strip!
  In one frame our names appear on
an office door................................

  In another frame the committee members are
pictured as they arrive at the airport to discuss
concerns they have about the pageant. I'm the
guy with the moustache.

    There were a whole lot of other frames as the
 story line developed.
     And you've got o admit...it's a unique way to
 be part of  "history."
    There are plenty of days when I'd like to slip
 back into the cartoon world to get away for awhile.
    Then I look around..........THIS IS THE CARTOON
WORLD!
     Hope there's a lot of fun in your story line and that
all your NEWS is good!