Everett Taylor: Taylor's Yarns

By EVERETT TAYLOR

For a major part of the past century Sam Nash was a familiar name associated with the Tyler Paper, and his work was seen daily not only in the newspaper but also throughout the community.

Sam was the Tyler Paper's editorial cartoonist, and his work was widely recognized as being on a par, or perhaps above, a lot of others who were with much larger papers or whose cartoons were syndicated for national distribution. Our personal assessment is there were none better.

Word now has come from Waco that some of Sam's cartoon work will be included in an upcoming exhibit being organized at the W.R. Poage Legislative Library at Baylor University.

Erin Wolfe of the Poage Library said the exhibit of original editorial cartoons will include eight from Sam "while he worked as the editorial cartoonist for the Tyler Courier-Times." That covers all of his newspaper cartooning years.

While attending Tyler Junior College, where he was in the first graduating class, Sam did some cartooning there and still as a youngster started working with the Tyler Paper in a long career interrupted only by a period of World War II service duty.

Most of Sam's cartoons to be featured in the Waco exhibit are from the 1940s, and Wolfe said a catalogue for the exhibition is being created and the plan is to include images of the cartoons to illustrate the text. It will be distributed to friends of the library and visitors of the exhibition.

As a youngster, Sam learned the art of sign painting from his father, and his reputation in that area also was at the top level. Through most of the 20th century, his signs were visible in all sections of the city, on cars, businesses and delivery vehicles. His skill at doing gold leaf printing of names on business office doors was in high demand.

Examples of his sign and lettering work likely still remain in some locations around the city.

He also was generous with his lettering and drawing skills in contributing to many a good cause by producing signs for church or charity bazaars.

In addition to learning some of the basic elements of sign work from his father, Sam picked up other fundamentals at the Chicago Art Institute.

Sam's cartoon artistry perhaps is best remembered by many for "Old Man Tyler," a caricature symbol of the city's leaders often featured in local editorials. There was a lot of speculation about which real Tyler personality Sam originally modeled the character after, but he always claimed he didn't even know himself.

Some of his most popular work featured caricatures of prominent people, including governors, senators, congressmen and even presidents. Often the subject of the cartoon would express interest in the original, and Sam would accommodate them. Some still could be on display in high places.

Recognition of Sam's cartoon genius didn't extend to himself; he always seemed nonplussed when his efforts drew hearty praise, often from well-known personalities, or were singled out for special merit.

So Sam's reaction to word that some of his cartoons were chosen for inclusion in the upcoming exhibition at Baylor's Poage Library would probably have been to wonder why.

It is no mystery at all, of course, to those who were fortunate enough to have observed and appreciated Sam Nash's amazing artistic skills for many of those years.

Everett Taylor
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