Campaign Posters: Stealing Good Stuff - Truckin' on Down to the Polls

Dave Medaris, Isthmus,was sorting through his stuff and came up on an old Soglin for mayor campaign poster, Souvenir keeps on truckin'  - Rediscovering a vintage Soglin campaign poster

Laying eyes on it took me back to 1971, when I was 11 years old and going door to door, delivering Soglin campaign brochures on the near west side.,,The poster, with the counterculture icon Mr. Natural urging voters to RUSH RIGHT ON TO THE POLL — was aimed at UW students. It was authorized and paid for by the Students for Soglin Committee, 458 W. Gilman, Molly Berigan, treasurer. 

Actually the poster was from 1973 since that was the year we had the campaign office on West Gilman Street.

Yes, though the name is spelled differently, Molly is related to the Berrigan Brothers, Daniel and Philip, war resisters who did so much in the 1960's and 70's.

Dave Medaris contacted Molly Berigan as well as Genie Ogden who were two of six core members of both the 1971 and the successful 1973 campaigns. The others were Peggy Phillips who recently passed away, Dave Clarenbach, Dick Wagner, and Hank Lufler.

There were a few adults in 1971, mostly centered in Crestwood and led by Sophie Zermuehlen who was married to Don at the time and their neighbors. John Patrick Hunter was always lurking about, but kept his distance since he was a reporter for The Capital Times. Helen Vukelich was also deeply involved in 1971 as she was in 1973.

I digress.

The 1973 poster that Genie and the crew worked on with  Mr. Natural was a rip off from underground comic book author Robert Crumb.

But it was actually based on an earlier poster created by David Chandler in 1970 who worked with the crew at the Williamson Street print shop, Revolutions Per Minute (RPM).

Chandler used a bit more than Mr. Natural in his callous disregard of existing copyright laws.

 

The American eagle was lifted from the back of an infamous album* released a few years earlier.  That is not your father's olive branch clutched along side the American Flag.

While the 1970 poster designers for the aldermanic candidate were creative enough, the 1973 rip-off artists showed the greater moderation required of a more serious and mellow mayoral candidate.

I have fond memories of those campaigns. I am glad the others do too.

*Sorry, you have to figure it out for yourself - I am not providing any clues. Someone should be able to identify the album.

Comments

[Steve Vokers]

The eagle graphic is from Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" album.

Damn, I'm old...

[Jeff]

The statute of limitations probably has run out on the use of "Mr. Natural." It's possible, though, that it wasn't copyrighted at the time. Many underground comix were not.

[Molly]

Actually - the Berrigan connection if there is one is probably waaaaaaay back in the old country. In the 60's my mother contacted Jerome Berrigan (Phil & Dan were in prison at the time) in Minnesota... no established connection - but they had a favorite aunt named Molly Riordan. So - that was only speculation.

The famous Berigan I'm proud to be related to - other than my immediate family members - is Bunny (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Berigan) who deserves a statue or plaque somewhere in the vicinity of the 400 block of Doty Street - where my dad grew up and Bunny lived for quite some time.

Hi Paul - yes, good memories.

[Genie]

I just saw this post (very late, right?). Yes, it was from 1973, not 1971. When Dave called me I think he got things mixed up. I also told him about me and Peggy silk screening the blue and white window signs. That was before the "back-room gang" arrived - the folks who previously silk-screened posters for the McGovern campaign.

It was definitely an exciting campaign, though. Down to the wire. Dragging students to vote in Gordon Commons in the middle of their dinner. And of course Bill Dyke and his infamous "decent people" remark at the forum at West High.

As for R. Crumb, I got his autograph when he was in town with the jazz group he helped start - Les Primatifs du Futur - when they played at the Dardanelles last year.