Historical Record, Vol. 6

I hope you are enjoying the "archive e-news letter" mailings. This installment includes two attachments containing scans of a serial cartoon strip which features hemophilia in its story line. Contained in the hemophilia "archive" are 77 panels from a cartoon strip entitled "Mark Trail”, page 1 and page 2, written by Ed Dodd and introduced in newspapers in April of 1946. The story featured in the attached scanned images, which ran from October, 1970 through January of 1971, centers around "Tommy Vine", who is described in the strip as a "victim of hemophilia".

In the story, "Tommy" is confronted with bullying from school mates and conflict with his girlfriend involving his overwhelming desire to keep his hemophilia a secret. Those living with hemophilia are often reluctant to inform others about their condition, a phenomenon that was vastly compounded by the spread of HIV/AIDS among hemophiliacs, which did not occur until ten years after the publication of this cartoon strip.

With the encouragement of his parents and his doctor, "Tommy" eventually discloses his hemophilia to the public after meeting Mark Trail following an untimely hunting accident, and the story ends happily.

I've included eight panels excerpted from the catoon series, all of which will be posted on our website in the future. More information about the Mark Trail cartoon strip and its creator, Ed Dodd, can be found on the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Trail

The distribution list for the "archive" mailings now exceeds 100 and, as always, anyone wishing to subscribe or unsubscribe, can do so by contacting me by email. All mailings are sent by BCC for privacy.

Regards,

Barry Haarde