Wade Mainer

Wade Mainer first recorded music in 1936 when he was 29 years old. Today he is still living at age 102, and still performs occasionally. He picks the banjo in an old-time style and performs songs that if you close your eyes you'll think you're back in the hills of North Carolina 100 years ago. His wife Julia, who was known in the 30's as "Hillbilly Lilly" is 90 and has been accompanying him for decades.

The picture on the top shows him in the 1930's (he's at the bottom) when he was in his brother's band "J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers." The one on the bottom shows him and his wife when they were performing at "Uncle Dave Macon Days" in Tennessee in 2002 when he was 95 years old.

James Stewart, Had a Wonderful Life

Jimmy Stewart was one of the most successful and respected actors in Hollywood. He was a natural at playing the "Little man" - the regular "Joe" who despite things being stacked against him, comes out ahead in the end. "It's a Wonderful Life" is one of his best known films.

When his wife passed away in the 1990's, Jimmy became very depressed. He did not come out in public much after that, and stopped answering fan mail. His hometown of Indiana, PA opened The Jimmy Stewart Museum in the late 1990's. My dad went out there for the day and ended up helping out with some of the festivities. He took my drawing out there with him. Jimmy declined the invitation to attend due to his health, but his two daughters were there. My dad spent some time talking to them, and told them how much he and I both loved their dad's films. He gave the drawing to them to take home with them, and they told him they'd have their dad sign it for me. Sure enough, a few weeks later it came back with his autograph. I can't thank his daughters enough for their kindness, knowing that he was not in good health at the time.

Millvina Dean, the Last Titanic Survivor

Millvina Dean had the distinction of being the youngest survivor of the Sinking of the Titanic. She also ended up being the last. She passed away the other day at age 97, on the anniversary of the date the ship was launched in Belfast.

She was thrust into the limelight in the last 10 years of her life, as she was the only remaining survivor who was willing to talk about the disaster. She would spend hours every day answering letters that poured in from people all over the world. I wrote to her several times in the late 1990's, and she always replied and several times even wrote me letters back.

This drawing was done from a photo taken a few years after the disaster. Millvina's father was lost in the sinking, and you can see the pain of his loss on the faces of his family.

Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer is one of the greatest Golfers in the history of the game. Despite his fame, he is still the same man who grew up in Western Pennsylvania 70+ years ago. He lives in Florida now but lived around Latrobe PA most of his life. His accomplishments on the course speak for themselves.

Eddie Dean- Singing Cowboy

Eddie Dean was born the 7th son of a 7th son of a 7th son- That must have been a lucky thing, as he enjoyed a long life and a long and successful career as an actor and singer. When he died in 1999 at the age of 91, he had been singing professionally for 80 years. He continued to perform and record long after he retired from acting, and many of his fans commented he sounded even better in his old age!

He was very cordial in his response- writing "Thanks a lot! A good friend and good likeness when I was young." Ironically, I drew this picture exactly two years to the day before he passed away.

Gregory Peck- Captain Ahab

Gregory Peck was one of the all-time great American Film actors. He is probably best remembered for his role as Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird" but I always loved the film "Moby Dick" and his role as Captain Ahab. Even in his later films, he still brought a commanding presence to the screen. His final film role was as Father Mapple in a re-make of Moby Dick- a fitting end to an illustrious career.

Edward J. Smith, Captain of R.M.S. Titanic

Ok so it's not a drawing, but definitely one of my most prized items.

Nearly 100 years ago, the largest and most luxurious ship in the world struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. This was to be the final voyage for Edward J. Smith, Captain of the Titanic- After reaching New York, he would return to England and retire.

Some people have blamed Capt. Smith for the sinking of Titanic- claiming he ignored ice warnings and was going to fast- some even claiming he was drinking. The blame does not lie with him, or with any one person- there are countless "what-ifs" -any one of which would have created a different outcome. Capt. Smith's decision to keep the water tight doors closed saved many lives- Had he opened them in order to let the ship sink evenly, it would have rolled and prevented the launching of many of the life boats.

This Happy New Year card was sent in about 1910 to "Maurice," a friend of his- perhaps a fellow ship's Captain. He signed his distinctive "E J Smith" at the bottom of the card. I get chills every time I think that about 100 years ago, this very card was in his hands- he touched it- read it- His eyes looked upon it just as mine do now.