“Early Morning Feeding” by Howard Scott

"Early Morning Feeding"
Howard Scott
January 27, 1945

Sydney Field, copywriter for an ad agency and a short story writer, was having lunch with Post artist Howard Scott one day. It struck the artist that his friend would make a great befuddled dad on a Post cover. As his soup grew cold, he studied and sketched his lunch companion, and the next thing we knew, the writer was on the cover of our favorite magazine in January 1945 having a bad “heir” day.

“Swing Set” by Amos Sewell

"Swing Set"
Amos Sewell
June 16, 1956

Another Post cover artist, Amos Sewell, saw a father struggling to put together a swing set—and another Saturday Evening Post cover was born. We can understand the impatience of the kids, but for safety’s sake and the sake of their innocent little ears, perhaps they should stand farther back. This is from 1956.

“Sleepy Inning” by Earl Mayan

"Sleepy Inning"
Earl Mayan
April 23, 1955

I love this cover from 1955. It’s tied up at the top of the ninth, but the game is called for Dad on account of a conked-out kid. Well, pops, there’s always the radio. Artist Earl Mayan did ten Post covers depicting life in the suburban 1950s, including the next one.

“Amusement Park Carousel” by Earl Mayan

"Amusement Park Carousel"
Earl Mayan
August 9, 1958

In an amusement park in 1958, Dad is anything but amused. That string of tickets he’s wearing declares this is only the beginning. As he risks whiplash on the Whip or tries not to toss his cookies on the Screamer, he dreams of what a great day this would be on the golf course. Face it; you owe him for this one.

“First Prom Dress” by Kurt Ard

"First Prom Dress"
Kurt Ard
April, 18 1959

Speaking of owe… is that the going price for a prom dress these days? Poor pops—he not only has to foot the bill, he probably had to sit through the modeling of sixteen frocks… before mother and daughter decided on the first one after all.

“Fathers’ Homework” by John Falter

"Fathers' Homework"
John Falter
May 7, 1960

“If one furrow-browed parent spends x hours failing to solve the quadratic equations of one boy,” asked the editors of the Post in 1960, “how long would it take two furrow-browed fathers to fail to solve the quadratic equation of two boys?” Hey, you, kid in the red sweater—the smirk is not helping. Artist John Falter admitted to being hopeless at algebra. No matter. He solved the problem of what to do for a Saturday Evening Post cover 129 times.

“Brushing Their Teeth” by Amos Sewell

"Brushing Their Teeth"
Amos Sewell
January 29, 1955

Dad seems to be waiting patiently in this 1955 cover—but if he doesn’t get in to shave soon so he can get to work, there will be no toothpaste for anybody. So, dads, for your patience, attempts at homework, baseball games, and prom dresses… we humbly thank you and wish you the best ever Father’s Day!

Classic Covers: Thanks, Dad! The Saturday Evening Post

Soldier and Daughter by K.R. Wireman – December 14, 1918

Soldier and Daughter
K.R. Wireman
December 14, 1918

#1 – The Grateful Dad:Dad was often a prominent feature, like this WWI soldier coming home to his daughter. It’s a rarely-seen remembrance of this era from a great artist little known today: K.R. Wireman.

Dad at Bat by Alan Foster – June 1, 1929

Dad at Bat
Alan Foster
June 1, 1929

#2 – The Sportsman: This is one of those covers that resembles the style of Norman Rockwell, but it was by artist Alan Foster. Dad must have just come from the office, according to his clothing, but he’s game for the game. Good batter stance, Pop.

Tea for Grandpa by C. Gager Phillips – February 18, 1933

Tea for Grandpa
C. Gager Phillips
February 18, 1933

#3 – The Good Sport: If tea is served in a doll-sized teacup, then by golly, dad (or granddad) will do his best to drink it. If it’s the 1930s, you can bet the little girl will have a Shirley Temple-type hairstyle. This beautiful cover is from February 1933 and was by little-known artist C. Gager Phillips.

Report Card by Frances Tipton Hunter – March 25, 1939

Report Card
Frances Tipton Hunter
March 25, 1939

#4 – The Intimidator: If your report card was not up to snuff, you would hear about it. It’s 1939 and somebody may be about to lose his radio privileges. Even the dog is concerned. We just hope the news in the evening paper isn’t that bad. Artist Frances Tipton Hunter did a number of Post covers featuring adorable children. For more of these, go to: http://www.curtispublishing.com/artists/Hunter.shtml

Bike Riding Lesson by George Hughes – June 12, 1954

Bike Riding Lessons
George Hughes
June 12, 1954

#5 – The Teacher: Remember all the things Dad taught you. This 1954 cover shows a kid having a great time on his bike. But Pops seems a little panicky about the stopping part. Oh, just wait, Dad. In a few years you’ll be teaching him to drive a car.

Happy Father’s Day by Howard Scott – June 19, 1943

Happy Fathers Day
Howard Scott
June 19, 1943

#6 – The Deserving Dad: And which dad isn’t deserving of special recognition? We think getting that cake into and out of the lunchbox in perfect condition displayed a bit of artistic license, but the sentiment is spot on. If you can’t read “Pop’s” button even after clicking for a close-up, it is his ID badge to show he works at Plant 46.

Classic Covers: The Six Types of Fathers The Saturday Evening Post

At the time of the article — 1958 — the Joachim (pronounced Joe-ACK-im) children included twelve girls and five boys ranging in age from 18 months to a 24-year-old.

The logistics of raising a family this large were impressive. The annual milk budget was $1,300 a year for milk (over $7,000 in 2010 dollars.) Getting roughly 50 meals a day out of one not-too-modern kitchen was strategically daunting. “But we have all the gadgets we need,” Rose (Mom) told the Post, pointing to her brood. Dad added, “And when they’re through, they don’t clutter up the kitchen. They go outside to play.”

That Dad was Jack Joachim, Sr., who made ends meet by holding down two jobs, one as a supervisor at the local telephone company, the other at a retail hardware business, where he was a partner. He mastered plumbing, electrical work and photography.

“When he took up something, he went all the way,” Marylyn reports. “He learned developing with the photography and built a warehouse as a darkroom studio.” Since there was a military base nearby, Jack Sr. was often developing up to 500 rolls of film a day, making his hobby a paying one.

Jack Joachim is still around at age 93. “I have to go to the gym for an hour each day just to keep up with him,” his daughter, Marylyn jokes. He joined some of the kids on a trip to Italy when he was 89. He still drives and family members take him to dinner and a movie every Friday. Jack Sr. has a home health nurse, “but sometimes the nurse has a hard time catching him,” according to his daughter (well, one of the daughters).

The Joachims at breakfast. The menu: cereal (cold in summer, hot in winter), milk, juice, toast, jam.

He still enjoys photography and is “on his fifth digital camera.” The kids call him the Gadget Man. And yes, the 93-year-old patriarch can use a computer. He can get frustrated with it (like the rest of us) but the kids help him with e-mails.

At the time of the article, the parents had “coped with about every problem that mothers and fathers can face, including the tragic death of a son who was struck by an auto.” Since the article, there were two more births, so the child count was a total of 20.

The extended dinner table pictured in the article had to be custom-made, Bill notes. A carpenter came to the house and met the Joachim’s specifications of “three feet wide and ten feet long.” Sometimes, a young classmate of a Joachim child would slip in for a meal. “Nobody noticed an extra body or two,” Bill says.

A new baby in the house was nothing out of the ordinary, according to the article. One time, Mrs. Joachim went to the hospital for a day to treat a minor ailment. Upon her return, a bored child yawned, “Well, what did we have this time, mamma?”

Son Bill, now 60 years old (“I was number 12”), reports a Joachim family appearance on the TV show I’ve Got a Secret. The host was Harry Morgan that week, since Garry Moore was on vacation (“We think he saw us coming,” quips Bill). But the trip to New York, where they were “treated like royalty,” was a memorable treat to the wide-eyed Biloxi children.

Some of the complications of a large family still follow the siblings. “Someone will talk to me, and obviously they know me, but I don’t know them,” Bill says. When he asks them to jog his memory, “they’ll say, ‘I went to school with your sister.’” (Word of advice when talking to a Joachim: be specific.)

Today, the “kids” range in age from 49 to 75. And some have as many as five children. Three have retired from the same phone company that employed their father for 46 years (“When you find a good horse, keep riding it,” says Bill). One owns a successful cookie and chip distributorship, and one is an executive with a major insurance company. Most remain in the Biloxi area. “We’re all still speaking to each other,” Marylyn jokes. They get along great and happily share in helping dad out.

Jack’s many interests also include motorcycles. “He always went all out,” said daughter Marylyn, “Of course it had to be a Harley.”Photo courtesy of the Joachim family

Do they have family reunions? we asked. “More like mild riots,” Bill says. They get a church or other public gathering place, since this much of a crowd is too much for most homes. This usually happens Christmas Day, which happens to be Dad’s birthday. Although sadly, Rose Joachim passed away in her 80s, she is fondly remembered on the family website. Through the website, the children dote on Jack Sr. A photo of “Paw Paw” in a classic car bears the caption, “A true classic…the car’s nice too.” We agree and we’re happy to be able to say to Jack Joachim, along with the rest of you Superdads out there: Happy Father’s Day!

View the original 1958 article, “How to Bring Up a Multitude” [PDF].

Father’s Day Times Seventeen The Saturday Evening Post

I confess to a certain pride
That I won’t attempt to hide.
I’ll admit that it delighted me to hear
That the Father’s Day Committee,
Which is based in New York City,
Has named me one of the Fathers of the Year.

No, it’s not the least bit bad
To be honored as a dad.
Although, you may wonder what I did to win it.
If you ask how I do it,
I will say there’s nothing to it.
To explain it now will only take a minute.

It is absolutely true
That there’s nothing that I do
To make the Father’s Day Committee name me.
It all has to do with Jean
And five kids named Kathleen,
Winston, Annie, Emily, and Jamie.

Three lasses and two laddies,
I’m the luckiest of daddies.
They are wonderful as any kids could be.
And though often I’m not there,
They can hear me on the air
And also see me there on the TV.

I’m sure Jean was pleased to hear
That I’m Father of the Year.
It must thrill her as she goes about her life
To be informed that I am such a splendid guy—
And she’s the Father of the Year’s wife.

Every morning she gets up
To a day that never lets up
To pack lunches for the kids to take to school.
She does that every day,
Although I am far away.
I’m long gone to work by that time,
As a rule.

Yes, it must seem really keen.
I’m sure it must to Jean.
It must fill her with satisfying cheer
To hear that in the city
The Father’s Day Committee
Has picked me as a father of the year.

When she drives them all to school,
Trying hard to keep her cool,
As the rush hour traffic slowly moves along,
She must give a little smile
At this little daily trial
And wonder if she’s doing something wrong.

She tends to them when they’re sick;
When they’re hurt comes running quick.
It is she who helps them with the violin.
I would do it if I could,
I am certain that I would,
Were it not that I am very seldom in.

It is Jean who drives them places,
And makes sure they wash their faces,
And finds their missing jackets and their shoes.
It is she who does it all,
While yours truly has the gall
To be off somewhere gathering some news.

Jean breaks up each fight,
Reads stories every night,
And when they have troubles, takes time to hear.
She does that, truth to tell,
And she does it all so well.
That’s why they named me Father of the Year.

I eagerly await, any day now, a call from the National Grandfather’s Day Committee. Jean will be so pleased.

“Father of the Year” The Saturday Evening Post

A 1949 Post article salutes Utz, delighted that he and artists like him could “disprove the old canard that Art doesn’t pay.” Thanks largely to magazines like yours truly, artists moved “out of the garret and into the ranks of the regular eaters.” And Utz and family were able to eat well. The article happily reports that last year his net income “topped $30,000.” If you’re not impressed, be hereby reminded that the average salary in 1948 was $3,600. It would appear that Post readers readily identified with Dad going to work in the morning and coming back whipped (6/28/52) or how one dad just gave up on yard work and painted the patio green (5/2/1953). Were those neighbors envious of his ingenuity–or did they think he was nuts? These were among the many multiscene covers, such as Mr. Mom from May 12, 1956. Nine scenes show us Dad getting up early, fixing breakfast, putting in a full day at work, getting the kids to bed and getting his payoff–a visit to his newest pride and joy.

As a gawky 12-year-old himself, Utz started out with a comic strip he handed out to neighborhood kids. High school was Memphis Technical, where he studied his craft. With an equally enterprising classmate, he did display work for the Memphis Mid-South Fair, splitting the $3 a week they earned. They knew they wanted to be illustrators like J.C. Leyendecker, but had no idea how to accomplish this. “Either of us could probably have been talked out of the whole idea if we’d been offered a good job driving a laundry truck.” When we see the vacationing family from the June 18, 1960 Post cover, we’re delighted no laundry truck appeared just then. Pipe in mouth, fishing gear in hand, Pops is out the back door of the cabin retreat before Mom and the kids even have the car unpacked. Which is our wish for all dads out there on their well-deserved day–do what you darn well want!

Classic Covers: Thornton Utz, A Salute to Dad The Saturday Evening Post

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Dad's Night (PDF)

Dad’s Night The Saturday Evening Post