Morty Comix # 2286

During a visit to one of the Timberland Regional Library branches I was grazing through the latest issue of The Western Horseman and decided to leave Morty Comix # 2286 inside as a special supplement. My Dad subscribed to this periodical for over 40 years and this title was an icon at our house.

Phone photo 734

The stained glass window Henry McCleary had installed in the local Methodist Church was meant to honor the memory of his wife, Ada, shortly after she died. To partially pay for the thing, he supposedly garnished the wages of the workers in his one-man principality. The church was a Wohleb designed structure, the same architect responsible for many of Olympia's public and private landmarks. The window has recently been temporarily removed for restoration, giving the structure an incomplete look these days.

During Prohibition the local preacher allowed moonshiners to store their goods in the basement, reasoning that if people were going to drink the stuff they might as well consume quality, safe booze under his watch as protector of the flock. My Dad was responsible for hauling the long retired bell out of the basement and putting it back in the belfry more than a decade ago. I hear it every Sunday morning and although I am not a church going man it makes me feel good to know his contribution to the town is still being heralded even though he is gone.

Moonshine: How It Works

A diagram I drew under my Dad's expert supervision about how to make moonshine. He built an authentic still as a display for the McCleary Museum many years ago. He's gone but his exhibit is still with us to this day. Illegal booze was a very big part of the history of McCleary, Washington.

The Willis family were involved in the trade both in Dickenson County, Virginia and Pacific County, Washington. Dad served as a lookout for his older brothers in Virginia.

Thank You Bryan!

My brother Bryan finished a project today, completing a hallway shelf for my collection of VHS videos and DVD movies. He did a beautiful job and it is the first time I'm able to access the whole library in one place. This is a big deal.

I reviewed many of these on OlyBlog in my Cheaper by the Dozen series.

Our Father, may he rest in peace, was a jack of all trades including being a decent carpenter. I think Bryan inherited the carpenter gene as well as the how things work gene.

Anyway, here's a big public Thank You to my brother, Bryan, for making a big difference here at Casa Morty in McCleary.

Bezango: Big Boom!

Olympia Power & Light, May 4-17, 2011.

A photo of my cousin, Patty, back in the 1960s. She was visiting us from Vancouver, Washington and we set her up on the tractor. In the background to the right is the hill where the dynamite was planted. Patty is sitting not far from where the huge piece of wood landed. This should give you an idea just how far that chunk of the stump sailed through the air.

Bezango: Happy 100th, Rosy!

Olympia Power & Light, January 27-February 9, 2010.

Gov. Rosellini is now 101!

Bootleg

A poster I drew for the 1989 production of Bootleg, a play written by my brother.

The content of this dramatic work was partly based on the exploits of the Willis family concerning their activity in distilling illicit booze and then employing a very libertarian philosophy in the free market distribution of said product, both in Dickenson County, Virginia and in Pacific County, Washington.

Unpublished Drawings ca. 1977-1978

Included in this is a poster dated January 18, 1977 and measuring roughly 24 x 18 inches. Among the passengers in the train you'll find our then newly elected nutty one-term governor, Dixy Lee Radiation.

Also in the notepad there are some initial drawings of a certain dog character I was starting to develop at the time.