Phone photo 3038

An army of chocolate Christmas bears

Aberdeen, Washington

How Would You Like to Join This "Bunch"?

From the Clayton News-Letter, Aug. 15, 1912. It is unusual to find local cartoonists published in weekly newspapers in any era. Paul Weeks was 18 or 19 years old when he drew this. Mr. Weeks now qualifies as an official fellow Washington State Obscuro cartoonist!

I can't make out the word balloons of the bystanding bird and farmer, but the driver is declaring, "We're going huckleberrying!" A passenger notes the old farmer at the fence and observes, "I bet that fellow wishes he was goin' to."

At the rear of the wagon someone is singing, "Do, do, do, a huckleberry do!" And another, with rifle in hand, shouts, "I'm goin' to kill a bear!"

Man, I loved picking and eating huckleberries around here in the woods when I was growing up. The bushes were frequently found growing out of Old Growth stumps. And once in awhile I would run into a black bear after the same delicacy, so I would just let them be and move on. The huckleberries here are red and tart.

Morty Comix # 2638

Morty Comix # 2638 was tucked behind a sign warning campers about bears at a campground site in Grayland, Washington.

Phone photo 2337

The kiddie ride of TERROR!!!

Postcard - McCleary, Washington

"Al Niemela and his bear SCRATCH have been together since 1971. The two, based at Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Washington, give public performances during the summer months. Scratch, the star of such movies as, 'The Bears and I' with Patrick Wayne and 'Joy Ride' with Desi Arnez Jr., began appearing at the McCleary Bear Festival in 1983. Scratch is the first live bear to appear and perform at the festival held in McCleary, Washington."

Phone photo 2110

Please dispose of all food & containers on account of the bears

Sou'wester, Seaview, Washington

Phone photo 1857

Phone photo 1746

Volunteers in the community kitchen preparing the bear stew.

Seriously.

McCleary Bear Festival, McCleary, Washington

Phone photo 1532

Teddy Bear Mugshot

Morty Comix # 2328

Morty Comix # 2328 left in a freebie weekly newspaper box in McCleary, Washington

Phone photo 1082

McCleary, Washington

Phone photo 873

The wooden bear on top of McCleary City Hall, carved out with a chain saw 50 years ago. The bear is known by several names, including "Timbear" and "Smiley." I had a chance to see this thing close up in the mid-1990s while promoting a documentary on the McCleary Bear Festival.

I now realize this sculpture no doubt contributed to the creation of the Tulpa minicomic in 1990.

Phone photo 759

A bipolar bear

Drawings in Crayon, ca. 1990

Found these drawings in a giant newsprint pad as I am cleaning out my studio. Probably made about 1989-1990 with my daughter.

Phone photo 663

Dismantling the Bear Festival
The tables where bear stew had been consumed are now empty
The carnival rides are being packed up

Phone photo 641

A spot where a bear had recently spent the night, judging by the pattern on the grass.

The Pig Lot,
McCleary, Washington

Bear Fest Kitchen, 1959-2002

A farewell to the original community kitchen used for cooking the bear stew for the McCleary Bear Festival. From 1986 to 1994 I lived in a house where this structure was plainly visible from the living room window of my home.

How the Bear Festival Became the Bear Festival

Actually the short answer for how the McCleary Bear Festival developed this bizarre culinary sideshow probably had something to do with this equation: Journalists + Alcohol x 2 = An argument over which county has the best tasting bear, Grays Harbor or Skamania.

I hope these articles put to rest the error made over and over by my townsmen, even proclaimed on banners and to the press, that the McCleary Bear Festival was first held in 1958. The first was held in 1959.

Susan Brown and I created a documentary on the history of the Bear Festival back in the 1990s. Thanks to our IT wizard Sarah it is available on Vimeo.

McCleary Old-Timers Reunion, 1987

Most of the people who attended this event in 1987 are now gone. And today I've become one of the old-timers.

Assorted Thoughts on Insanity : Ephemeral Comix, 1980-1982, pages 31-45