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8 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, Sept. 18, 1984 Frise's Birdseye Center comes to life on stage as a musical comedy "Birdseye Center" leaves thé pages of history and comes to life on the stage of Town Hall 1873 on Oct. 18,19, 20,25,26 and 27, as the Ontario Bicentennial presentation of the Bor- elians, Scugog Memor- ial Public Library and Town Hall 1873. Based on the cartoons of Jimmie Frise, the musical comedy has been written by Les Parkes and Zoe Allan. If you are under forty, you may not be familiar with this popular Canad- ian cartoon series. As traditional as Hockey Night in Canada or Saturday night shopp- ing, it came to an abrupt end 37 years ago. Birdseye Center, a rural village with its bridge, stream, old swimming hole and in- habited by an interest- ing collection of warm- hearted townsfolk and characters, was the in- vention of James Llewellyn (Jimmie) Frise. In his words it was "any Canadian village....any Canadian village with a hotel, a gasoline station, a barber shop and a town pump". But folks around these parts still aren't too sure. Some say rit was Seagrave. Didn't that bridge look like the one over the Nonquon River? Others say Port Perry. The citizens of Birds- eye Center was warm, humorous, everyday people. Old Archie (and his pet moose), Pigskin Peters, The Chief, Eli and Ruby Doolittle and Wes Clipper (the barber) were some of the characters that lived in this village. Even though they came from Jimmie's fertile imagination, many people still feel they portrayed real Scugog area personalities. And it's no wonder. SCUGOG ISLAND Jimmie Frise was born in 1891, the son of John Hannah Frise. Without having any formal instruction in art, he created Birdseye Center and became Canada's greatest and most affectionately regarded cartoonist. On June 13th, 1948 at the age of fifty-seven, Jimmie Frise died of a heart attack and Birds- eye Center became history. As an only child on a small Scugog Island farm, Jimmie, in his early years, had plenty of time to just look and think. In those days, access to Port Perry, Seagrave and Myrtle (he eventually went to school in each of them) was difficult especially when the dirt roads or causeway became im- passable. At school, he filled the margins and other available spaces in his - ) mA 2244 al thal] pan] [ES i al '\ ™ Pa | gr - hil i 4 va TRYIN = 5 Ai «PICK A HahT i] A " WITH THAT MOOYE | Zz / TA ) npho TH Docs yas oT MOUNTED HIS ow ARCHIES PET MOOSE GONE WILD 4 abi a ic. Santali The memorable characters from the pen of cartoonist Jimmy Frise will come to life in October with six stage productions of "Bird- notebooks with sketches and many a dusty or frosty window pane received the embellish- ment of a quick sketch of some local character. Most of the characters that became friends to millions across Canada had their beginnings in such early tracings. Although his natural talent was soon recog- nized by his teachers and others who urged him to study art, there was little money for such things. But he eventually was bitten by the bug and, in 1910, decided to look for work in Toronto where he could earn enough money to study draw- ing. Rolph, Clark, Stone, had a contract with the CPR to produce maps for Saskatchewan settlers, and Jimmie landed the job of ruling off the sections, half- sections and quarter- sections on the maps for each area involved. Wherever a property had been purchased, those sections of the maps had to be shaded with diagonal lines across them. Jimmie drew those diagonal lines, until the contract vas completed six months later. While working at Rolph, Clark, Stone, Jimmie Frise became intrigued by a series of exchanges in the editor- ial pages of the Star (one of the six daily newspapers in Toronto at that time). It seems that as a result of some editorials expounding the joys of rural life, a dissenting farm hand from around Cobourg challenged the editor to switch jobs. This amused Jimmie so much that he drew a cartoon showing the editor milking a cow from the wrong side and mailed it to the Star. STAR CARTOON Each day for a week, Jimmie looked for his cartoon in the paper. But no cartoon. Then, on a Saturday afternoon, ten days later, there it was. First thing Monday morning at eight o'clock, an excited Jimmie Frise appeared at the Star office and waited until the Editor- in-Chief arrived. "So you are Mr. Jas. Frise!" he said. "We have been searching all over the city for you. You forgot to give us your address!' Jimmie Frise was hired immed- iately. In his art department of the Daily Star, he spent most of his time. pasting up photographic layouts and lettering but, every now and then, the burgeoning Star Weekly would borrow him for some art or illustration work. In 1916, he left the Star for a job in a Montreal engraving house that promised more opport- unity. Shortly there- after, however, he en- listed in the artillery of the 43rd Battery and went to war. In World War I, all of the field artillery was drawn by six-horse teams. Once the guns were in place, the horses were used to deliver the ammunition. Being a farm boy famil- iar with horses, Jimmie naturally became a driver. At Vimy Ridge, an enemy shell tore off the third finger and part of his left hand. If it had been his right hand, Birdseye Center might never have been creat- ed. Although his father bought a larger farm near the village of Columbus for him to return to, Jimmie went back to the Star. On his return, he married Ruth Elizabeth Gate and quickly had four daughters (June, Ruth, Edythe and Betty) and then a son, John. Within a few months, he began illustrating and cartooning full time for the Star Weekly. His first half-page cartoon "Life's Little Comedies" appeared in 1921. Less than a year later it became "Birds- eye Center'. The urbanization of Canada was in full swing. Those on the farms were moving into towns, townspeople were moving to the cities. These were the sad, hard times of the great Depression and Jimmie"s little village seemed to have that magical ability to raise a person's spirits. Jimmie portrayed the agreeable homey events of small-town Canada with a gentle humour and homespun philoso- phy in a way that had never been done before. ERNEST HEMINGWAY During his years at the Star, Jimmie Frise accumulated a wide range of friends and admirers - writers (in- cluding Ernest Heming- way), editors, publish- ers, statesman, sports- men, bookies and "'down-and-outers" looking for a handout. seye Centre." Jimmy Frise was one of Canada's best known and best loved cartoonists when his work appeared in the Star Weekly. None was ever dis- appointed. In fact, it has been said that most of his cartoons were drawn to the accompaniment of friendly chit chat, much to the peril of his editor's deadlines, One name inexorably linked with Jimmie Frise is that of Gregory Clark. Also at the Toronto Star, Greg's column contained a series of humourous down-hn.ne stories and anecdotes. The styles of the two men were so complimentary that it was natural for them to form a lasting friend- ship. While Greg wrote of the adventures and misadventures of he and Jim, the latter, in add- ition to Birdseye center, provided the illustra- tions for the stories. The antics and situations that they got into, whether real or imagin-- ary, prompted many chuckles or smiles as their readers saw them- selves in similar positions. LEAVES STAR In 1947, Jimmie Frise was offered the opport- unity to have his car- toons produced in colour and he moved from the Star Weekly to Mon- treal. Because the Star' Weekly declined to release the "Birdseye Center' title which it had copyrighted, his cartoon appeared as "Juniper Junction' in the Montreal Standard (predecessor to the Weekend Magazine). Juniper Junction was published in full colour in both Canadian and American papers until his death 18 months later. Over three decades, Jimmie Frise gave a whole generation the smiles and laughter that saw them through some of the darkest periods of our history, the great Depression and World War II. And in all that time, he never spoke an evil word about anybody - he never hurt a soul. This presentation offers a rare opportun- ity to renew old acquain- tances. See you at Town Hall 1873? NEED PHOTO COPIES? We can do them for you! PORT PERRY STAR 235 Queen Street 985-7383 1 Pair Kayser PANTY HOSE "FREE" With $10 00 or More Purchase Winahelarniy.; Sale! \ SEPTEMBER 20, 21 & 22, 1984 ot EFS 150 CAKE & COFFEE ort 7 ms Ps 4