Member-only story
Remembering Charles M. Schulz
It’s been 20 years since Charles M. “Sparky” Schulz died. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago. As tributes and remembrances pour forth today, I can’t help but remember that day too.
I remember well when I read the news, though it was otherwise unremarkable for me. I was a Sophomore at York College in York, Nebraska. As was my routine, when I was “home” on campus for the weekend, I walked across the tree-lined grounds to the library when it finally opened after lunch to read the Sunday newspapers.
It was cold, and the trees were long since bare. In rural Nebraska, the winters are cold, and February can be the worst. My friends and I were excitedly planning a trip to the west coast, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California for Spring Break to get a peek at some sunshine. It would be my first trip there.
The periodical racks weren’t far from the entrance. At that time (perhaps still?), there were a couple of couches and comfortable wingback chairs where one could relax and read. You could imagine it was cozy, though the fluorescent lights and industrial carpet said otherwise. Still, it was one of my favorite places on campus.
The periodical display was such that you could see several front pages at once, and more than one newspaper had the news that Charles Schulz had passed away. I undoubtedly read the story, but I don’t remember anything specific about it. Maybe I didn’t read it first. Maybe like millions of other readers, I found the comic section to see the last words of the man himself in his final comic, which was anticipated for several weeks.
I remember that final strip crystal clear, realizing as I read the message over and over that as he announced his retirement, he somehow also knew it meant his life was ending. Reading that strip again still brings a tear to my eye years later. It was sobering, yet admirable, even enviable to me. And, of course, that mix of feelings was new.
Peanuts was on the front page of the Sunday comics section, above the fold in our newspaper. It earned the spot long before I was born as the most popular, most syndicated comic of all time. That day, I remember also wondering what happens to comic strips when the creator passes away, not knowing that the comic section in my hands included several strips by…
