Historic drawings will face bulldozers
Some pieces left behind by artist Van Bristow aren’t long for this world.
During the 1960s, Bristow took his tools to the downstairs of American Legion Post 49, where he painted cartoon characters that had represented the U.S. military over the years.
Most would recognize Beetle Bailey, who still appears in newspapers around the country. He also painted Sad Sack, AEF PVT Buck, Willie and Joe, Miss Lace, the Wolf and more.
“He drew cartoon characters that were popular during World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam,” said Becky Whitenton, one of Bristow’s four daughters.
After a five-year battle with cancer, Bristow died in 1971. Marine Corps buddies who had worked with Bristow at Leatherneck Magazine gathered at the Legion and were surrounded by the cartoons as they paid their respects.
The children, now in their 40s and 50s, have visited the images over the years.
“The last time I was out there, they were already peeling,” Whitenton said.
Several years ago, the two Bristow brothers were asked to see if they could fix Beetle, Sad Sack and the rest.
“We realized that with everything flaking off, you couldn’t do anything to it,” Vance Bristow said. “There was no helping it.”
So the images were destined to decay over time, then the April 28 tornado sped up the process. The destructive path went right through the Legion building.
About all that’s left is part of the downstairs, which is exposed to sun and rain and, eventually, will be exposed to bulldozers, because the lot will need to be cleared before the Legion can be rebuilt.
Bristow’s daughters don’t draw, but they’re creative in their own ways and they appreciate their father’s legacy, which goes well beyond the images at American Legion Post 49.
“The Lee County Library has a wall of his comics and cartoons about Tupelo,” Melissa Miley said, “and we still have boxes and boxes. We’re always going through it.”
The family will have no shortage of mementos after the bulldozers complete their work at the Legion, even if Willie and Joe, the Wolf are gone.
“It is sad,” Robert Bristow said. “I wish there was a way to save them but I know it’s probably impossible to do. But they are saved by the photographs we have.”