Passing Scene – March 1, 1969

As March slowly draws to a close, I figured I’d better squeeze this in. It’s yet another serving of the classic "Passing Scene" weekly comic strip, created by Journal Staff Artist Gene Patrick and appearing weekly in the Lorain Journal during the 1960s and early 70s.

As usual, the strip – which ran in the Journal on March 1, 1969 – humorously covers a variety of local events of recent weeks.

Courtesy Oberlin College

The reference to Oberlin College protesters in the first panel seems to be the most timely, since protesting is in the news almost every day now.

In this case, the Oberlin College students were demonstrating against Marine recruiters on campus. As explained on the Oberlin College website, "An estimated 200 students jammed Peters Hall on February 20, 1969, for a sit-in to prevent 13 classmates from meeting with Marine Corps information officers about careers in the armed services. The commotion forced the officers to leave.

"Oberlin’s then president, Robert K. Carr, said rather than call local police, he chose to handle the matter in house and “let the situation run its course.” Administrators threatened to bring charges of improper behavior in an academic community against the students who participated.”