Owla and Boufy

In 1925, a brother came into Janice's life.  She dubbed the little fellow, "The Shrimp", a name which stuck for life, even when he towered over her.

A studio portrait of Janice and Harrison

Janice and Harrison at home

We all know how multi-talented Janice was, having skipped two grades in school and being Valedictorian of her High School class.  But here is another talent that was not so well known.  She drew comic strips to entertain her younger brother.  The protagonists were an owl and a bear, Owla and Boufy.  One of the early strips is dated 1935, so she would have been drawing these at the age of 12.  I, for one am impressed!

School Again - 1935

Owla and Boufy appear as animals and also in human form.  I remember a stuffed bear with a resemblance to Boufy that resided at my grandmother's house.  There was a set of stuffed owls, too.

Owla and Boufy in their animal form with Penny, the penguin

I had not seen these until I inherited them from Uncle Harry.  There is an envelope containing at least 50 double-sided pages, mostly drawn in pencil.  Many of them on thin paper with a keystone shape.  I suspect they were originally papers used in packaging men's shirts.  My thrifty family must have had a local source for these.  I know that every shred of paper was saved and reused in the Campbell household...butcher paper, flattened envelopes, you name it!

First Day of School

 In which Boufy Lindberg gets sent to the principal's office, who happens to be named Mr. Sockem.  and Owla is reduced to tears on the playground.

 Boufy borrows Butch's bike and has an accident when the front wheel goes through the window of a house.  He apologizes to Butch, but Butch says he has wrapped Bouf's car around a telephone pole.

Boufy, running the lights for the school graduation, plays a joke on the Valedictorian, and gets in trouble with Mr. Dimlite.

Going fishing

On the picket line

With scissors

Owla and Boufy engaged in all sorts of inappropriate behavior!

Stick Em Up!

Many of the stories had to do with daily life at school and on the playground, but with an astonishing amount of cartoon-type violence!

 And then this one with a large unexploded bomb!

Beneath the Sea

Here we have an underwater theme.

In which they open a Junk Store and go ...BROKE

Owla's Birthday

In some of these, Owla and Boufy seem to be brother and sister, in others, husband and wife.  Much like the old comic strip of Jiggs and Maggie, "Bringing up Father", Boufy can do nothing right, and Owla frequently goes after him with a rolling pin!

A few were in living color.

Owla and Boufy - The Hat

Ski Jump

The Shrimp and a homemade ski jump

Teenage Harry drawn by Janice

In a rare 2-part strip, they visit their grandmother - no relation to real life!

The shrimp with his proud mother, Moon, and sister, Janice.

Winter Woods

It is always so exciting to discover an oil painting by my mother that I have never seen before.  And was thrilled today to get these images from my cousin Kate Campbell.   As a true Art Historian, she documented the painting in great detail, for which I am very grateful.

My mother had a lifelong love of trees, drawing them in all seasons.  Here, a winter scene, with the sun trying to break through the cloudy sky, and a fox by the path.  She lived in Maine from the late 70's until 1995, so this would have been done during that time.

She apparently entered this in a show after she and Norm moved to Port Clyde, Maine.

And wrote the title, in pencil, right on the stretcher strip.

She often used a palette knife or the back end of the brush to add texture and lines to a painting.

Her signature, in the corner by the little fox, viewing the scene.

Ever thrifty, my mother used simple home made frames, mostly made by my stepfather, Norm Tate.  In this photo, Kate has documented that the frame has warped over time. 

Mary Wands Campbell - The Gladiolus Review

Besides being smart-as-a-whip, my grandmother had a wicked sense of humor.  She also loved gardening, with Gladiolus being her special favorite flower. 

Moon with a prize specimen

Arrangement by Moon

Daughter, Janice on the left, Moon in the middle, and Janice's childhood friend Leona Towner Rem on the right, with Glads.

While Janice and Harrison were young, from 1928-1932, Moon was the humor columnist for the Gladiolus Review, published by The American Gladiolus Society at Goshen, Indiana.  Officers and Editors listed on the masthead hailed from all around the country. 

Her column was originally entitled "SMILE-A-WHILE" - A Bit of nonsense - By MARY WANDS CAMPBELL.  Later it became, "THE MIXED ROW", and later simply, "SHUCKS" (Unconducted)

Some samples of her cartoons:

Click to enlarge

Her column consisted of original cartoons and jokes.  I do not know where the jokes came from, but if she wrote those, too, I am in awe!  At the time, she signed her work with a swastica symbol enclosed in a shield.  Needless to say, once the Nazi's subverted this ancient symbol, she abandoned it. 

A GLAD dream

A photo of me, sitting by the barn in Athens with Glads.

More Glads at home, Athens, PA.