Oh to be a kid again! Those endless summer days with no obligations contained all sorts of possibilities.
A favorite memory is grabbing a comic book and lemonade and escaping to the fort made by the branches of the weeping willow. Kid heaven!
In 1955, that heaven was under siege. The American Legion was questioning the content of many comics. They objected to what they described as “too much war, horror, murder and sex”. Members went from store to store to encourage merchants to eliminate the undesirable comics and substitute approved versions.
The Legion worked with schools to reach kids. Readers could bring 10 of the “utterly unsuitable for the eyes and minds of American youth” comics in to trade for one “good” book in exchange.
At the end of the week, about 2,000 “offensive” comics were loaded into a truck, paraded down Main Street and piled up on City Beach. The mayor approved bonfire was attended by lots of the kids, merchants and our volunteer firefighters.
A first edition of Superman printed in 1939 sold recently for $5,300,000. Could one have been in the giant fire that day? Who knows?
The flames of the bonfires across the nation drew attention. The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Book Publishers took issue. They said these burnings were “imitation of totalitarian dictatorships” and “censorship”.
The American Legion decided not to continue the comic exchanges and stopped the community bonfires.
So grab your favorite comic and head to a nice shady spot. You have the fREADom to pick whatever book you want.
