Archie Club News #20 (plus bonus Club Member Comment)

Throughout the nineteen sixties, seventies and eighties, most issues of Archie Comics featured a two-page spread titled Archie Club News. The banner at the top of the page announced, "ARCHIE CLUB MEMBERS send in your reports and be eligible to win cash prizes in the Archie Series Magazines." The results of this venture were generally irrelevant notes sent in like, "Dear Archie, I want to tell you about my cat Winnie." Often what was sent in appeared to be part of a class project. Elementary school children were in the process of learning how to write letters and encouraged by a teacher to send something Riverdale way. Sometimes the letters were weird or even profound and other times prophetic or just silly. This letter originally appeared in Reggie and Me #27, January 1968. This one is NOT profound or prophetic. It is, perhaps, the single most mundane Archie Club News letter I have come across. I imagine this child was one of those drab unpopular children that grew up to be a hipster - or maybe a description writer for the Sears catalogue.

Dear Archie,

This year great attention has been shown towards stockings. Years ago nylons were a synonym for stockings. Today there are whole stores devoted just to the selling of stockings.

The newest fad in stockings is the window-panes. They are similar to fishnets, but the holes are larger. They are more practical than fishnets and nylons. Fishnets tear easily, nylons run, but window-panes are less liable to tear and in my opinion attractive. Fishnets are still in style, but they will probably fade out slowly. Although many people might disagree, we will see what next year's fashions bring.

Maury Grabel
343 East Chester
Long Beach, N.Y.

Maury's letter won first prize of five dollars for this issue.

As a special bonus, here is my favorite opening paragraph from the many Archie Club News I have read this week. I misplaced the issue, however, before writing down what issue it originally appeared in (I am  literally surrounded by several thousand Archie comics in this place).

Dear Archie,

Since summer is here you should know a little about butterflies. The reason I picked this topic is because one day I caught a Spicebush Shallowtail Butterfly. I had it for only two days and it died. Now on with my report!

Mary Zeuner
Phila., Pa

 

Also my oft-linked-to piece about Spire Christian Comics and Al Hartley's line of 1970's Christian Archie comics has been revised, updated, expanded and completely revamped. You can read a new and improved piece about Christian Archie comics over here.

Comments

[Austin]

I'm enjoying these Archie Club letters very much. Please continue to post them. I regret to say that I was never a member of the Archie Club, so, in a sense, I'm finding out what I missed out on.

[Taxman]

Fishnets are still in style, but they will probably fade out slowly.
-
Seems they survived longer than window-panes. I couldn't come up with anything on google. What do they look like?

[Arch Enema]

Dear Archie,
Here you can hear, dig the backing track - it's hipstermania, about how that praying, to one god anywho, got started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7iQRFP_e90

Go Riverside,
Arch