Hail to the Dinosaurs!
They say that truth is stranger than fiction.
I think they’re right.
On September 24, 1957, Harry Paschall sat at his desk in the Strength and Health offices. John Grimek sat across from him, answering letters from trainees around the world. The two men shared an office.
While Grimek hammered away on the typewriter, Harry doodled.
Harry was the Managing Editor of Strength and Health, as well as a feature writer for the magazine. He included a full page “Bosco” cartoon with each of his articles. Harry’s articles were probably the most popular articles in the magazine – and everyone loved Harry’s cartoons!
Harry sat at his desk, his fingers moving rapidly as he worked on sketches for his next Bosco cartoon. Bosco was a gigantic old-time strongman modeled after Arthur Saxon, complete with handlebar mustache, a thick German accent, a roundhouse right, a keen sense of right and wrong, and the strength of a dozen full-grown gorillas. His exploits were legendary. Harry had been thrilling lifting fans with Bosco cartoons for close to 20 years.
Over time, the two merged into one being – and many began to refer to Harry Paschall as “Bosco.” Heck, Harry even did it himself.
Harry glanced at the clock on the wall. It was time to go.
He laid his sketch down on his desk, picked up the galleys for the next issue of Strength and Health, and headed to the door.
“Where you going?” growled Grimek in his thick Jersey accent.
“Taking the galleys to the printer. We’re on a really tight schedule.”
Grimek grunted and nodded. Magazines are always on a tight schedule. He’d been fighting to meet deadlines since the day he began working for Strength and Health. They all had.
“See ya later,” said Grimek.
“Yup -- later,” said Harry.
He put his hat on his head and stepped out the door.
They got the news later in the day.
Harry had suffered a massive heart attack while driving to the printer’s office. It killed him.
Later, after he heard the news, John Grimek walked over to Harry’s desk and picked up Harry’s last sketch. He tucked it away in a special drawer in his own desk.
Now here’s the part that gets a little strange.
Harry’s very last sketch – the one he did on the day he died – shows a big statue of Bosco, flexing his arms in history’s most impressive double-biceps pose.
It might very well be a memorial statue.
The sketch also shows a group of kids staring up at the statue and fading away into the distance – or perhaps, into the future. Which is what you would expect with a memorial statue.
As you probably know, I’ve set up a special fund to collect donations to buy a marker for Harry’s grave. The details are right here:
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
The marker is going to feature Bosco’s world famous double biceps pose – the very same pose that Harry drew in his last sketch.
I think that’s the way Harry would have wanted it.
We’ve had a tremendous response to the Harry Paschall Memorial Fund – so great that we’re going to close it after today. If you’d like to contribute, please do it today. Small amounts are fine – it’s the thought that counts more than anything.
As always, thanks for reading – and a great big THANK YOU to everyone who has stepped up and made a donation to help our old buddy, Bosco.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Here's the link to make a donation to the Harry Paschall Memorial Fund:
http://brookskubik.com/paschall_memorial.html
