The Yale Record 1958

In his senior year at Yale, Dad was chairman of The Yale Record which turned out "nine laugh-packed issues a year". He oversaw a Playboy parody and met Charles Schulz whom they honored with some kind of prize. I guess you could say The Record was Yale's version of the Harvard Lampoon. But I wouldn't say that out loud within 50 miles of New Haven.

In the staff photo Dad is seen holding a stuffed owl, the Record mascot. It may be the same stuffed owl he kept in his office. In any case, word got around that Dad liked owls and for the next five years or so there were many owl themed birthday gifts, Christmas gifts and even wedding gifts.

Growing up, we were surrounded by tiny owl trinkets, ashtrays, sculptures, ornaments...etc.

Here are two more owls that Mom kept all these years.

The one on the right was a gift from famed prankster Hugh Troy. Below an ink and water color owl by Ann Wiseman that is truly one of the touchstones of our childhoods.

As I go through the boxes I'm sure I'll come across an example of Dad's humor in an issue of The Yale Record and I will pass it on.