Norman Rockwell’s “Soda Jerk” is one of his most well-known paintings, and one of many that features his family. In this case, it’s his youngest son, Peter, who worked at a soda fountain in real like (and is where Rockwell got the idea).
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Comments
Peter was right. He wasn’t that goofy looking. But my father was! Edgar Pike. The final result is a hybrid of Peter and my father, and it’s Dad’s cousins that are the young ladies at the counter. We have one of the photos, and somewhere online there is a video of Dad posing at that makeshift counter. Dad passed due to cancer in 2008. Several members of my family in East Arlington, and their friends, made it into Norman’s art.
Another interesting beind-the-scenes look at one of Rockwell’s classic covers. Hopefully his son (years later) looks back on the cover and the making of it, with fondness and pride; also realizing he doesn’t look goofy either.