My father, Robert John Anderson, AKA "Andy", or, of course, "Bob", (and we called him "Daddy")
started drawing sketches of people in bars as a kid in Lynn, Massachusetts. He would usually get a
candy bar or cookie for his drawings.
Later in life, uh, in the early fifties, when we lived on Pond Street, starting mid-1953-ish, he took
the Norman Rockwell Famous Artists Course.
"Andy" worked at General Electric in Lynn, Massachusetts and then Ludlow, Vermont from at least October of 1951
to January of 1959. One of his side jobs was to draw cartoons for the biweekly GE Newsletter.
His cartoons started out as "Second Shift Scribblings" and then "Annotations by ANDERSON". He quickly
settled on "Andy's Antics".
October 24, 1952 - Leon "Rob" Robert Ritter was a bull sitter. Or something that rhymes with that... You will see more on "Rob", later.
Bob Merrill was the rabbit hunter. He and his wife,
Betty, lived on Pond Street with their kids, George, Patty, and Dale.
In case you were wondering, the rabbits said: "He Got Me!", "This Is It!", 'Ow My Gut", "My Head", "Omph!", "Yuh Rat", "Ugh", and "KameRad".
Identified by Jim Warren
November 21, 1952 - Clyde Searl, talking to his wife, Daisy. They lived at 100 Main Street.
I recommend this book, with lots of references about Ludlow, by his grandson Sandford.
www.foothillspublishing.com/2016/searl.html
Identified by Jim Warren and Stanford Searl
January 16, 1953 - Maybe Paul Rogers?
While a search for "Paul Rogers, Vice President of General Electric in Ludlow, Vermont" doesn't yield specific information, a Paul Rogers with the title of Vice President is mentioned in relation to GE Current, a Daintree Company. This suggests that a Paul Rogers may have held a Vice President position within a GE-related entity, but not specifically in Ludlow, Vermont. Additionally, another Paul Rogers is listed as a Strategic global Digital CEO/Senior VP with GE, and is currently with Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.
Identified by AI
February 13, 1953 - On the left: Roland "Cy" MacIntyre, but I am not sure about Harvey. I found Harvey Hubbard, most likely.
He would have been 27. Another possible is Milford Harvey or Harvey Parker.
Harvey is putting a DANGER - DO NOT OPERATE om yet another machine.
ID'd by Howard Paul, Robert Perkins, and Jay Anderson.
Who is Harvey on the right? So far, I have Harvey Parker or Harvey Hubbard ...
April 24, 1953 - Maybe Edward Kolenda. Edward was employed at Joy Manufacturing Co. in Claremont and General Electric in Ludlow and Rutland as an inspector for 32 years, where he was commended upon retirement for his loyalty. www.legacy.com/obituaries/rutlandherald/obituary.aspx?n=edward-kolenda
Not shur where I got that ^^^ info, but the joke is that it was an inspector doing his best to find something .00001 out of tolerance. We had 'em. An inspector doing his best to find something .00001 out of tolerance. Jim Warren said: "We had 'em."
May 22, 1953 - Is this Ronald Reagan?
Ronald Reagan was a spokesman for GE and debuted as the only host of the program General Electric Theater.
The show was broadcast every Sunday evening at 9:00 pm EST, beginning February 1 1953, and ending June 3 1962.
Over eight seasons, Reagan and Don Herbert, the creator crisscrossed the country and visited more than 130 GE labs and factories.
Lots of possibilities for Eddie, no ideas on RRC (see initials on what he has in his left hand), yet. Maybe find that newsletter.
Identified by Jill Laramie and Emma Lannon. He had dinner at the Lannons!!!
June 22, 1953 - George Allen or Bernie Pinard and his 1953 Studebaker Continental.
The 1953 Studebaker Continental:
www.joesherlock.com/53-Studebaker.html
A great description of Bernie's wife:
www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/ludlow-vt/rachel-pinard-5778854
Possibly ID'd by Jay Anderson (if it was George Allen). And Carl Hurd and Dennis McCutcheon, if it was Bernie Pinard.
September 11, 1953 - Henri van Schaik
Olympic athlete, Henri Louis Marie van Schaik was a Dutch horse rider who competed in the 1936 Summer
Olympics. In 1936, he and his horse Santa Bell won the silver medal as part of the Dutch show jumping
team, after finishing 23rd in the individual jumping competition. Wikipedia
Born: July 24, 1899, Delft, Netherlands.
Died: August 19, 1991, Cavendish, VT
Dr. Henri Louis Mari van Schaik
Identified by Mike DeRosia
September 25, 1953 - Bob Bellemare and his wife Norma D. Bellemare.
Bob was Ludlow G.E. accountant in 1953. He had a 40-year career with GE in Accounting and Finance, working in Lynn, Mass., Ludlow and Rutland, Vt., and Everett, Mass.
He served as Plant Accountant in Ludlow from 1953-57.
October 9, 1953 - This guy is chasing Paul Bissonnette after he rescued his door from the side of the road.
Paul Bissonnette in the Model T. Not sure who lost the chase. Paul found the door on the side of the road. The owner saw this and chased him! We don't know who the owner was, yet.
ID'd by Bruce Bissonnett
February 12, 1954 - Not Jim Warren. Possibly Jim Turco? J. Walter Herlihy?
Is the boss that is talking to Jimmy? Or is Jimmy the boss, James Walter Herlihy, and the quotes missplaced. What is the rabbit bit? Is the rabbit Harvey? What is the back story?
Speculation on my part: Jimmy is the boss talking to someone who was out hunting yesterday?
April 9, 1954 - Top row left certainly looks like Bob Smith to me, and top right might beLindsey Robinson .
Second row: the guy with wavy hair on right might be Aarnie Komulainen, always present and very vocal at these meetings.
Bottow row: Middle might be Herb VanGuilder.
Howard Paul ID'd Herb. Donna Crossman ID'd Lindsey. Not sure who told me about Aarnie.
April 23, 1954 - So far no one has ID'd the lady in the top left. The man in the top right is
Daniel Kesman.
In the center with the glasses might be Dr. Everet Holmes.
Lower left might be Jim McDonald or James Pallotta, father of Amedeo Pallotta and grandfather of Tootsie Kamins,
and the lower right might be Evertt Pooler.
Not sure where I got the guesses so far, but the only way to know for sure is to drop by the Black River Academy Museum in Ludlow and ask for the GE newsletters. They have them in two books. Ask for them. Georgia knows where to find them. The town meeting was April of 1954. The cartoons are usually on page 3. The answers on page 4. Take a digital photo and email to me. It would be most appreciated.
May 7, 1954 - John G. "Dud" or "Dudley" and Charlotte Pluta.
I think that I connected with the Bixby's to get these: www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/burlingtonfreepress/name/john-pluta-obituary
July 30, 1954 - Gilbert “Gil” Ray on the right owned a boat and Jerry Austin on the left. We think Gil was the husband of “Ginny with the boat that goes by every Sunday”.
Jerry Austin ID'd by his son, Ron Austin and Howard Paul.
Gil ID's by Jim Warren and Stanford Searl.
Who is Molly the boat named for?
Is that a pencil moustache or Chevron moustache?
August 27, 1954 - Rob Ritter AKA Blackjack at the right end of the tank.
I think it's a think tank. S'what I thank.
Double-click on it.
Comments from the top left: If we did drop it, it's a dud anyway
Top middle: "Where do we plug this thing in?"
Top right: "Dig that crazy lawn roller!!!"
Below that: "What'll they have us benching next?"
Below that: "Throw a saddle on it bud"
Below that: "Hey Brother Andy"
Below that: Rob Ritter AKA Blackjack: "We used 'em fer soup cans on the farm"
Bottom middle right: "This'll get us through August and September, but what will we do when winter comes?"
Left of that: "Where's the petcock?"
Left center: "Let me know when this is deep enough"
What is it?
December 31, 1954 - An old GE office that was moved to 4 Thompson Ave. The caption of the cartoon refers
to a song that Tennessee Ernie Ford made popular at the time "This Old House" The song actually refers to
a persons tired old body rather that a building..
PEOPLE:
Margaret Butler, the Realtor in the middle.
Might be J. Walter Herlihy at the door. Mary Woodell on the left. Margery "Marge" Anderson on the right.
The caption of the cartoon refers to a song that Tennessee Ernie Ford made popular at the time "This Ole House".
It actually refers to a person's tired old body rather that a building..
The song was written by Stuart Hamblen.
"This Ole House" lyrics
![[Woodell's]](https://www.cliffa1994.com/images/antics/Woodell's.jpg)
Woodell family.
Thanks to Jim Warren for the info on the building and the caption and lyrics. Robin Anderson on Margaret Butler, Mary Woodell, and Marge Anderson.
Does anyone recognize the two guys on the left (uh, back there at the cartoon?
May 20, 1955 - Dunlap's grain store truck coming back from the RR station. Too much weight on the tailgate. It happened between the Depot Street bridge and the grain store going up the hill. Francis Bixby was the driver. Jerry Austin was taking the photo and Rob Ritter was on the right. More on Rob Ritter:
September 16, 1955 - John Amith (believe it or not, his real name) was a man in Proctorsville who delivered coal to households that were heated with coal.
Who is "Diamond Al" Bradley who had a uranium strike? The person in question seems to be referencing Al Bradley, a character who was involved in a nuclear strike. Al Bradley,
a fictional character, was the protagonist of the 1994 book "Wargame." He was a major character who helped the team during a hypothetical nuclear strike on Russia.
November 25, 1955 - J. Walter Herlihy on the left, Gil Ray in the middle, Maybe Clint Hall in the back
ID'd by Howard Paul & Robert Perkins (Gil Ray Howard).
February 3, 1956 - Tenzeg Norgay and Edmund Hillary the first to climb Mount Everest.
March 30, 1956 - Top Right = Lindley Robinson, one of them might be Milton Moore, Center left = Rob "Black Jack" Ritter, right = Albert Stevens, Bottom left = Herb Van Guilder?, Bottom Middle = George Scales
I don't have the rest of them, but page 6 of this GE Newsletter batthe Black River Academy Museum does.
April 12, 1957 - Ronald Reagan on the TV
1957, Film Title: GENERAL ELECTRIC THEATER, Studio: CBS, Pictured: RONALD REAGAN, LEANING, COCKY, CONFIDENT, ARROGANT, SUIT, HAIR - SLICKED, PORTRAIT.September 20, 1957 - Walt Herlihy pointing to watch and Clint Hall with lunch box.
Thanks Tom J. Brown
November 1, 1957 - Below is what I could read from the picture:
Jim Martin and some fellas went hunting
Now this was by the light of the moon
They went to the open countryside in search of Mr. Coon.
Now there were six or eight of the ....
Jim's gun had discharged in the car.
Now as Jim sat there counting his toes
He was quite dazed to be sure
It was then that the poor boy...
Below is what Jay Hall told me:
Jay Hall, Jim Martin, Iggy Matulonis, Lloyd Pelkey, and 2 others.
Six in all. Hunting coon at night without a dog. When coon crossed the road, we got out and barked like
a dog. Made sense back then.
Iggy and Jay use to remind ourselves of this incident.
January, 1958
Alexander "Bud" Marechaux.
Twas the night before New Year's, while mounting the hill,
the motor was roaring, but the car just stood still.
With 200 horses down under the hood,
with summer shoes, they did him no good.
When what to his wondering mind should occur,
he should have bought snow treads way long before.
His radio was blaring out sounds of revelling,
but alas poor Bud didn't feel like yelling.
Then he thought as he sat, if I had any brains,
I'd be rolling along on a stout pair of chains.
But soon came the morning, and to Bud's delight,
the salt trucks were coming, to make things all right.
Then off went the Olds as slick as a breeze,
and carried him home just as nice as you please.
If you have any pictures of any of the people, especially in that time frame, or just still looks like them, please send them to me. If you have anything to add or correct, please comment on Facebook or email the WebMaster: Cliff Anderson. Cliff's email:
Click on the Facebook icon when you see in below if you would like to add to, or find discussions, about who it is. You must be a member of
the "If you were from Ludlow VT you remember..." Facebook group.
When you look at the comments, click on Most relevant then select All comments
The oldest cartoons are now at the top.
Click on any cartoon to bring it up full screen.
If you feel like sleuthing, I think that the answers to who the cartoons depict may be in the GE newsletters. The GE newsletters are found bound at the Black River Academy Museum. Many thanks to the Director, Georgia Brehm, who knew exactly where to find them. The museum is in Ludlow, Vermont at 14 High Street (next to where the "freeze locker" was located). A great place to visit. bramvt.org