it’s that lousy good craftsmanship

One of hundreds of letters sent to CBS after “Abyssinia Henry” aired 50 years ago today on March 18th, 1975. Many of them were from young children.

Last summer I started working on a project with these letters where I tracked down and spoke to many of the children who wrote them (now in their 60s). The project is on hold until I finish this school year, but I leaving cryptic messages on the answering machines of America's boomers resulted in some of the best conversations I've ever had. I'll keep you updated. I chose to share this image as the letter writer is anonymous.

Photo by me, “Letters from viewers regarding the death of Henry Blake.” Box 22, Folders 4. M*A*S*H Television Show Collection, 1950-1984, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. https://sova.si.edu/record/nmah.ac.0117/ref359?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=NMAH.AC.0117&i=0

Edit: follow @dearmash1975project for updates

happy “today’s the 15th” 15th