The History of the Snowman by Bob Eckstein (2007) Also Contains A Scranton Reference

I just finished reading Bob Eckenstein's The History of the Snowman and I absolutely loved it. What a clever book that was so much fun to read. Yes, I was nicely surprised that Mr. Eckstein is a native of Hawley, PA, but I was also pleasantly surprised when I got to page 153 of the book and saw an illustration with a reference to Scranton.

In a side blurb to the text titled "What's in the Snowman's Future?" Eckstein ponders why the snowman has not become the symbol or mascot for a major sports team. And in a collection of four potential logos of snowman-inspired sports teams,Eckstein suggests the following names: Spokane Snowmen, Philadelphia Frosties, Schuylkill Chill, and (my personal favorite, of course), Scranton Snowball Heads.

A nice local touch to an incredibly groovy piece of literature.

And don't forget that Bob Eckstein will be presenting at Albright Memorial Library on Thursday, January 8th from 6-8 PM. For more information on this event, click here.

Rocky & Bullwinkle (1959-1973)

The eagle-eyed Bob Yannes emailed me this weekend about a Wilkes-Barre reference he remembers from the popular Rocky & Bullwinkle character Boris & Natasha.

If you were like me and spend most of your childhood morning watching Miss Judy on WNEP's Hatchy Milatchy, the cartoons that they showed (Rocky & Bullwinkle and Underdog, just to name two) were the highpoint of your day---especially the cliffhangers that never seems to get resolved, no matter how many days you watched.

Before reruns on shows like Hatchy Milatchy, the characters of Rocky & Bullwinkle first appeared on Rocky & His Friends, which ran from 1959 to 1960. A year later in the fall of 1961, the newly-titled The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (AKA The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show) premiered and ran until 1973. Lots of other regular characters began to appear in both series, including the bubbling spies Boris and Natasha.

Bob Yannes told me of one direct reference to Wilkes-Barre in the original incarnation of the R&B series Rocky & His Friends when the character of Boris (voiced by Paul Frees) was assigned to the fictional town of Moosesylvania, which is someplace no one in their right mind would want to go (for details on Moosesylvania itself, click here). When he learns of his assignment, Boris begs his superior not to send him:

Boris: Send me to Siberia, send me to Wilkes-Barre, but NOT Moosesylvania!!!!!!!


I'm not sure if it's a compliment or not when one groups Siberia with Wilkes-Barre, but what can I say?



Mr. Yannes also wrote me told me that, in one of the episodes of The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, Boris & Natasha have the following exchange:



Natasha: Boooooris, I didn't know you went to college. Penn State?


Boris: No. State Pen.


Episodes of Rocky and Bullwinkle are available on both DVD and VHS from libraries throughout Lackawanna County. To check our catalog, click here.

A GREAT BIG OL' THANK YOU again to Bob Yannes for this kickin' reference.

Curtain Razor (1949)

Believe it or not, the city of Scranton actually had a mention in a Looney Tunes cartoon titled Curtain Razor, directed by Friz Freleng.


In Curtain Razor, Porky Pig plays a talent agent auditioning very strange acts---including a dog who highdives into an ordinary glass of water and a singing chicken who literally “lays an egg.”


In the beginning of Curtain Razor, the camera pans up the exterior of the Porky Pig Talent Agency. The sound during the pan is a series of belted-out "LA LA LAs," punctuated by boasting of successes in several cities. One of the first of the voice's many boastings is "I slayed 'em in Scranton!" The singing turns out to be a tiny grasshopper hoping for representation from Porky Pig.


Curtain Razor preceded many of the Warner Bros. films released theatrically in 1949. It was also incorporated into the 1983 feature film Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island.