The "The Revival Of The Saturday Evening Post" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at my latest edition of The Saturday Evening Post.  Have subscribed once again to the magazine that made Norman Rockwell a name known to millions of Americans.  The Saturday Evening Post was founded in 1821 and grew to become the most widely circulated weekly magazine in America.  It actually began as The Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9th, 1754 and if you stretch it a bit you could say it began on October 2, 1729 when Benjamin Franklin and Hugh Meredith bought Ephraim Chambers' Cyclopaedia and began to print the paper.  The Saturday Evening Post published current articles, editorials, human interest pieces, humor, illustrations, a letter column, poetry by readers, single-page cartoons such as Hazel and stories by leading writers of the time.  It also commissioned lavish illustrations and original works of fiction.  

Norman Rockwell (courtesy of Deborah Solomon)

The illustrations are what made Norman Rockwell a household name.  The magazine was published until 1969 when the company lost a landmark defamation lawsuit and had to call it quits.  But, in 1971 it was revived as a limited circulation quarterly publication.  Then in the late 2000s it began to publish six times a year by the Saturday Evening Post Society.  In 2013 the magazine was redesigned.  When I first saw a copy of it a few months ago during one of my many doctor's visits, I went to the nearby bookstore to purchase it and found they didn't have it on their shelves.  I finally found the magazine online and am now thoroughly enjoying my new prescription.  As far as Norman Rockwell, he became a household name with his beautiful covers of The Saturday Evening Post.  I published a story about Norman a few weeks ago when I posted famous Veteran's Day covers of the magazine.  Today's covers are from his Thanksgiving Day collection and maybe you might remember some of the covers that follow.  Enjoy the covers as well as have a Happy Thanksgiving.  For those reading today's post and don't happen to live in the United States, I realize you may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but you still may enjoy the artwork of Norman Rockwell.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Thanksgiving Day Blues.  November 28, 1942,  This Army cook hs just completed preparing a sumptuous holiday feast for 137 soldiers at Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont.  This is one of the few Rockwell covers that corresponds with an article in the magazine.  "Woes of an Army Cook" was written by famous newspaper columnist Earl Wilson.

Refugee Thanksgiving. November 27, 1943.  Norman Rockwell chose to paint a somber but hopeful scene in 1943.  The painting features a young girl in war-torn Italy draped in the coat of a passing G.I.  Through this image, he asked Americans to remember others less fortunate than themselves.

Home for Thanksgiving.  November 24, 1945.  Norman Rockwell went to Maine for this 1945 cover, harboring the belief that that state boasted the most homelike kitchens to be found.  The artist did his preliminary sketches in Maine and returned to Vermont for his model search.  The result: Dick Hagelberg, who was a bombardier with 65 missions over Germany to his credit, is happily pulling K.P. duty with his real-life mother.