ART WAS “MADE IN DEEP RIVER”
C. D. Batchelor (1888-1977)
When we think of the phrase “Made in Deep River,” our minds naturally turn to the extensive history of manufacturing that brought renown, jobs, and prosperity to this town. We don’t often remember that Deep River also housed artists, like portraitist Obadiah Dickinson (1812-1850), visiting painters like George Giguere (1893-1963?), fashion designer and artist Delphine Deuse (1899-1898) and, of course, Pulitzer-Prize-winning cartoonist, C.D.Batchelor. In his obituary, the New York Times described the persona Batchelor had constructed that so effectively distanced him
from his Kansas roots: “Dressed in a homburg, white ascot, suede gloves and walking stick, Mr. Batchelor had a soft-spoken manner. To some he appeared to be a character, a description he encouraged. ‘At a very early age, I learned that it was just as easy to be a character as not to be one – and a hell of a lot more fun,’ he said (7 Sept. 1977). Why did this dapper metropolitan with two Rolls Royces maintain a home in Deep River from 1929 and how did he become such an
integral part of this modest town? Batchelor was born in Kansas in 1888 on April Fool’s Day. He was educated in Chicago and worked his way from Kansas to New York City. He joined the New York Daily News staff in 1931 where he was chief editorial cartoonist until his retirement in 1969. In 1937, he won the Pulitzer- Prize for “Come on in, I’ll treat you right, I used to know your daddy,” which prophetically warned of a second world war.
We don’t know why in 1929 Batchelor came to buy a weekend and vacation home in Deep River. Batchelor bought the Nehemiah Pratt House at 114 Kelsey Road, now on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places. It was built around 1734 and had been the site of a dam and turning mill. For his studio, he transferred a pigeon house from across the road and placed it atop a hill overlooking the mill pond. His good friend, the poet Carl Sandburg, a treasured visitor, renamed the homestead “Far Twittering” because of Batchelor’s habit of placing sunflower seeds for the
birds in the broad rim of his hat.
Whatever his initial attraction to this area in general, and to Deep River in particular, we know that Batchelor’s creativity found varied avenues of expression during his almost five decades here: his home, his cartoons, and his contributions to Deep River.
From this studio he produced the body of satiric, ironic, and astute work that brought him such acclaim, typically seven cartoons a week. Some of the backgrounds in his cartoons feature the environs of Deep River, particularly the “Inviting the Undertaker” series that he began in 1937. These macabre and witty sketches warned of the fatal results of distracted driving and driving under the influence of alcohol. In 1959, in recognition of this work, the state of Connecticut named him an honorary “Special State Patrolman.
Batchelor contributed to Connecticut, particularly Deep River, in other ways. Today he is probably best known for a sight we see daily: the large painting on Main Street of a statuesque Columbia on the World War II memorial Honor Roll, unveiled in 1943.
He was an active member of Rotary, and always willing to supply cartoons to promote local causes, such as the scrap metal drive to purchase a new ambulance and honoring Fire Chief Don Moore for his 25 years as chief of the Fire Dept. For a fellow Rotarian, Herb Pennypacker, he drew an affectionate and amusing triple portrait: himself making the portrait, the portrait of Herb, and Herb as model. Upon the retirement of two friends from the Deep River Post Office, Lester Adams and Carl O. Carlson, he drew a cartoon on the glories of retirement that was signed by all those at the celebration. This world-famous cartoonist was truly immersed in the fabric of the community supplying the advertising poster for a Valley Regional High School production of The Pajama Game. A charter member and board member of the Deep River Historical Society, he corresponded with Princeton University’s famed archivist Julian Boyd about the best ways to found a historical society, knowledge, which he put to good use as DRHS Curator for about a year.
