University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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FALL NUMBER, 1946 -le Jay Presents 13 ss o r I lam S C7Ileaktieel and cika The Editor had a brainstorm; Yogi Williams had an inspiration; and the 1947 JAYHAWKER has Heath- cliffe and Heoweez. In the creation of these two new characters, the sky was the limit for no one has ever seen a real Jayhawk. Personifying a bird presents other natural problems and, obviously, no bird, with the one exception of a chick, ever had a figure anything like Heoweez! As for the exaggeration of the bills, Yogi ' s only explana- tion was that he just likes them that way. Starting work for the JAYHAWKER back in the fall of 1941, Gene Williams completed two years of pre- medicine before entering service in June of ' 43. During operations in Europe, he served as a company aid man in the 71st Infantry Division of the Third U. S. Army. Coming home last April after eighteen months overseas, Yogi soon found he had a lot in common with Theta Virginia Tolle. Both live in El Dorado. Although Milton Caniff, well-known creator of Terry and Yogi — he had an inspiration. the Pirates, recently revealed that Virginia Larson, 1.946 jay- hawker beauty queen, was his inspiration for Jane Allen, Yogi swears on his honor he had no such inspiration for his Heoweez. For obvious reasons the identity of Gene ' s model for his fall num- ber pin-up girl on page 52 must remain a staff secret. After working with him for two years before the war, the Editor was more than happy this fall to welcome Williams back to his old job and appoint him as Art Editor of the 1947 JAYHAWKER. Gene enjoys his cartooning so much that he ' s given up medi- cine for the Fine Arts School and a major in commercial drawing. As you leaf through your annual, you ' ll know he made a right decision.

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12 THE JAYHAWKER - - apt ecawal It was a quiet night at the front near Metz back in September of 1944. Only an occasional staccato brrrrrrp . . from a Kraut schmeizer gun cut the silence and at clock-like intervals death-loaded shells sliced the stillness above as they sped to a Jerry cross- road on the other side of the river. Joe Dough knew the folks at home were still on the job when he saw the sheet-lightning flash and heard the delayed crackle of splintering steel. We had a great team in those days an unbeatable one to be exact. But a lot of water has flowed down the Mozelle since that night in France, and if Joe happens to be among the other lucky Doughs who made it home, I wonder what he ' s thinking of tonight. If he ' s attending school on the G. I. Bill, there must be a whole lot of thoughts running through his mind as he looks about his classroom. On the surface there ' s very little to remind him of the old days when life meant so little and could be snuffed out so easily. Oh sure, a khaki shirt here and there, a pair of worn-out combat boots or a flight jacket. It ' s sort of hard to realize the fellow in front of him spent two long, monotonous years in a prison camp near Munich. Who would ever suspect the guy beside him with the dirty cords got the Silver Star with the Marines on Iwo Jima, or the serious little girl over by the window had a WAC company in London. It doesn ' t make much sense to Joe when he picks up his annual, reads its dedication, and then glances at a newspaper or turns on the radio. The paper screams headlines of the latest crisis with Tito. The commentator tells of street fighting in Palestine and Trieste, of tension in Korea. Most seem to have for- gotten there ' s a civil war in China and powerful units of Uncle Sam ' s fleet are maneuvering in the Medi- terranean. People still talk occasionally of the A-bomb, but to most the revelation of atomic fission is about as real as the possibility of meeting Lena the Hyena at a mid-week dance. When he stops to think of it, Joe doesn ' t much like the looks of things today. We had a great team a year ago, but today it ' s a different story. Joe can ' t help thinking that something ' s lacking. For lack of better terminology, Joe might call that certain something, Faith. Faith in convictions? Yes, but mostly Faith in the future. Words which pledge peace—whether uttered by Byrnes, Stalin, or the Pope—can be mighty hollow if they ' re not backed up with Faith. Recently Joe received a letter from a fellow named Willy Antowiak who lives in Holland. His outfit had been billetted in Willy ' s town during a rest period away from the front. It ' s a mighty important letter to Joe for it answered a lot of his questions. A part reads as follows: We often think of the terrible wartime and the American soldiers, who came over our houses. I think you will remember those days too. It is already two years ago that you came to Hoensbroek. We shall never forget this time. The French say Partir, c ' est mourir un pen. ' It is possible that the expression is true, but I believe, as long as we live, we shall never forget the friends who came so suddenly, stayed so short a time and left again. It is a great pity not all the soldiers could go home again. Many are buried on a great cemetery in the neighborhood. In whole Limburg and the Nether- lands they honour their remembrance and we shall always take care of the cemetery in Margraten and teach our children to bring flowers and pray there. As I already said, it is going better over here. There is a lot of work to do and we shall solve all the after- war difficulties. Yes, that letter ' s a mighty important piece of paper to Joe for it seems to answer a lot of very puzzling questions for him. Maybe Joe should write to Willy. Maybe he should ask Willy to teach the children to pray for some other people—some Americans who are living. Maybe the children could pray that we, too, like the Dutch, might find that thing called Faith.

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