The Open Road for Boys facts for kids
The Open Road for Boys was a popular magazine for young people. It encouraged kids to enjoy the outdoors and adventure. The magazine was published from November 1919 until the 1950s. For its first 20 years, it came out every month. After that, it was published ten times a year.
The magazine started as The Open Road. In October 1925, its name changed to The Open Road for Boys. Later, in April 1950, it became Open Road: The Young People's Magazine. In its last year, starting with the July 1953 issue, it was called American Boy and Open Road.
Clayton Holt Ernst was the main editor of The Open Road. The magazine was first published by The Torbell Company in Boston, Massachusetts. The company's name, Torbell, came from the first letters of the magazine's name and the last names of its founders: T[he]O[pen]R[oad]B[lackett]E[rnst]L[oomis]L[td]. By 1940, the magazine was very popular, with over 300,000 copies sold each month. From 1944, Jack Murray was the art director. He also worked for other magazines like Outdoors and Child Life.
Stories and Articles for Young Readers
The Open Road for Boys featured many exciting stories and articles. Writers like Ellis Parker Butler and Alpheus Hyatt Verrill contributed to the magazine. Some authors, such as Capwell Wyckoff, also wrote for Boys' Life magazine.
Besides adventure stories, the magazine had many articles and ads about building model airplanes. The magazine's appeal, especially an ad for the Red Ryder air rifle, was remembered by author Jean Shepherd. He wrote about it in his short story, "Duel in the Snow, or Red Ryder Nails the Cleveland Street Kid." This story was part of his book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, which inspired the classic movie A Christmas Story.
Jean Shepherd described how the magazine sold "dreams, fantasies, incredible adventures." He remembered its Christmas issues were very thick. They were "crammed with the good life of male juvenalia." This made young readers want to own everything they saw advertised.
Fun Cartoon Contests
A very popular part of Open Road was its cartoon contest. The magazine would show a drawing of a problem or situation. Then, readers were asked to draw a follow-up cartoon showing how the problem was solved.
Many famous cartoonists got their start in these contests. These included Paul Coker, Mort Walker, and Bill Yates. The contests also influenced artists and painters. For example, the painter Wayne Thiebaud said he got interested in cartooning because of Open Road for Boys. He remembered sending in cartoons when he was about 15 or 16. He even had a couple of his drawings published and won a dollar prize.
Magazine Artists and Clubs
Many talented artists created the covers for The Open Road for Boys. Some of these artists included Jacob Bates Abbott and Charles Hargens.
In 1927, the magazine started a special club for boys called the Open Road Pioneers. The club had an official pin. It was gold and dark blue and showed a picture of an adventurer. This adventurer looked like Davy Crockett, wearing a coonskin cap and carrying a rifle.
