The Story Behind the Smile

Book Reviews

The Story Behind the Smile
By Lynn McMahon
Blue Ridge Summit, PA: Globe Pequot, 2023
Softcover, 166, 27.95

Reviewed by Harold Aurand Jr.

In 1933, Bob Wian sold his DeSoto roadster to buy a 10-seat hamburger stand in Glendale, California. Soon, he created a double-decker hamburger and adopted a chubby, cartoon kid with red-and-white checked overalls as a mascot. The Big Boy chain was born.

Unlike modern franchises, which build identical stores everywhere, Wian sold regional rights to use his iconic burger and advertising imagery to different people. You could get a Big Boy at Elby’s in West Virginia, or Shoney’s in the South, or Frisch’s in Ohio.

Hand Painted

Book Reviews

Hand Painted
By Tom Palazzolo
Self-published, 2024
Softcover, 100 pages, $25

Reviewed by William Swislow

The golden age of roadside neon is, of course, long past, but at least the surviving signs are increasingly recognized as local, even national, treasures. Another once ubiquitous roadside art form, the hand-painted shop sign, has received much less recognition despite its even more precipitous decline.

SCA Pioneer Peter Richards Gone but Not Forgotten

SCA News Online

By Douglas Towne: Peter Richards, 80, recently passed away at his home in Maine. He was described in his obituary as a “lifelong, beloved teacher, an enthusiastic prankster, and a creative, generous soul who counted ‘prospecting for gold in Greenland’ and ‘playing banjo for an X-rated movie soundtrack’ among his favorite odd achievements.” In Peter’s final months, he gave the SCA one last gift.