I remember the cartoon character ‘Red Rider’ with Thunder, his mighty horse, and his feisty Indian friend ‘Little Beaver’. I faithfully followed his adventures each week in the Sunday comics and dreamed of being part of their adventures.
Fred Harman was not only a cowboy and a cartoonist but a painter of fine western art. I could almost see him working here in his studio…
Today we met the artist’s son, Fred Harman lll. He’s the curator of the museum that houses the memorabilia of his father’s illustrious career.
The artist was a friend of Walt Disney in their youth and among the fantastic stories Mr. Harman tells about his father are tales of that friendship. One that painted a picture in my mind is Fred hanging on to Walt’s leg while Disney balanced on the wing of a BI-plane trying to film in the rush of wind.
Fred Harman…both the cowboy and artist came alive to me today in this wonderful little gem of a museum.