I Love You Charlie!

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I have been a fan of the comic strip "Peanuts" every since I was a wee girl. Interesting to learn that it has been around about a year more than I have. I was born in November 1951 and the strip premiered October 2, 1950. I could always understand Charlie and his backwardness. I was extremely shy when I was young so I could relate. The high school Schulz attended in St. Paul Minnesota now has a five foot statue of "Scholar Snoopy". His grades were not so good when he was there however, and he failed physics, algebra, latin and english. When he submitted a drawing to the yearbook committee they didn't feel it was appropriate to publish. Originally Charles Schulz didn't like the name given his comic strip. "Peanuts" wasn't one he liked and he had wanted it to be called "Good Old Charlie Brown". I get the impression the artist was much like the character he created. In the beginning of the strip it was just Charlie and Patty. Snoopy the beagle was added two days later with Violet and Schroeder being added in 1951, followed by the security-blanket-toting Linus and his sister Lucy in 1952. My favorite,Pig Pen, joined the gang in 1954, Sally in 1959, Peppermint Patty in 1966 and Franklin in 1968. On December 6, 1965 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was shown on CBS. Executives didn't care much for the program and nearly didn't air it. It won a Primetime Emmy and a Peabody Award along with other nominations. It was truly outstanding children's programming that continues to this day. I watch episodes of it on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Wouldn't miss it. Picture courtesy Flickr Commons,