From: Tim Scherrer (soldierboy440@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Sep 21 2003 - 09:15:01 PDT
I took a couple of people and jeeps up to the Toonfest
in Marceline, MO on Saturday. Walt Disney is
originally from Marceline and to honor him they do an
annual event where they invite a famous cartoonist and
have a parade, festival and symposium. I was
contacted a month ago to attend by the coordinators.
This year's honored guest was Mort Walker, who draws
the Beetle Bailey cartoons. Mort is a WWII vet and
attended the University of Missouri-Columbia (where I
work) before starting his cartoon series.
We had a number of members cancel, but we ended up
taking five members and two jeeps. The jeeps were my
42 GPW Ford Script "Heep" and Rob Dalessandro's 43
Willys MB jeep "Eugene." We arrived up there around
0915 and began off loading the jeeps.
We got lined up and then the event coordinator asked
if Mort Walker could ride in my jeep. We said sure,
so we went down in Heep and picked him up and drove
him back to the starting point. We got him loaded up.
Someone asked if he knew how to get inside a jeep and
he scoffed he had done this a million times, and
climbed right in the back. While driving back to the
starting point I asked him what division he was in,
and he said he was an Infantry Officer but he was
assigned to an ordinance depot in Italy and then
guarded German POWs.
We got to the starting point and the parade was
shortly under way. Heep followed the fire department
and had a sign on the side, "Mort Walker, Grand
Marshall, Toonfet." Eugene with Rob and Rebecca
Dalessandro with John Cullifer followed. He did a
great job of waving at people and everyone seemed to
adore him. We got to the end of the parade route (3
blocks) and turned the jeeps around so Mort could see
the parade. He had a good time with people...a guy
went to take a picture and he told him his lens cap
was on the camera (and it wasn't). Some guy yelled at
a guy in the parade "GENE!" and Mort heard this and
yelled at him "GENE!" as well, much to his confusion
how the Grand Marshall knew his name.
We dropped him back off at the theater...the place for
his speech...and on his way out of the jeep I asked
him to autograph Heep...so on the inside of the glove
box door he signed his name.
We then went down to the city park and did a display.
We also did some antiquing and I found a WWII GI
flashlight for $10.
Overall it was a really fun day, and we all enjoyed
having Mort in my jeep. He is the nicest of men and
thoroughly enjoyed his ride in my jeep.
Tim
=====
Tim A. Scherrer
CO, 84th Infantry Division "Railsplitters," Reenacted
WWIIHRS and MVPA
Columbia, MO
www.geocities.com/soldierboy440/railsplitters
"You'll be fighting WWII for the rest of your life." Ron Scherrer, 1971
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