The Passing Scene – March 1968

Here’s something I haven’t done before: present a whole months’s worth of Gene Patrick’s "The Passing Scene” cartoons in one post. All of March 1968’s strips from the Journal are presented here for your nostalgic enjoyment.

Gene seemed to really be on a roll this month with some really great, funny commentary about what was going on at that time in Lorain and the surrounding area.

It seems that at that time, Lorain was unveiling proposal after proposal of various projects (including a new civic center and arena). Gene must have been getting pretty tired of it, since nothing ever seemed to get built. The March 2, 1968 strip (below) includes a rare bit of opinion in the first panel.

The strip from March 9, 1968 (below) contains a rare instance of Gene crediting someone with the suggestion of a gag used in the strip. In this case, his fellow Journal coworker – Staff Writer Dick Panania – apparently contributed the funny mannequin gag in the second panel.

The March 16, 1968 strip (below) is unusual in that a self caricature of Gene Patrick himself appears in the last panel, in which Gene good-naturedly pokes some fun at his pal Dale Scherfling. The strip also includes a reference to the article about the proposed Sheffield Lake rec center that I mentioned here on the blog a few days ago.

The March 23, 1968 strip (below) is really great. It includes not only a spot-on caricature of Robert F. Kennedy, but a cameo appearance of our old pal Reddy Kilowatt. 

Lastly, the March 30, 1968 strip (below) ends the month with some good, old-fashioned funny gags, as well as a reference to L’Auberge du Port, a French restaurant in Vermilion.