Responding to Sister Toni Harris’ letter “Insulting `Injun’ ” (Voice, Oct. 14): As a boy growing up in Chicago in the ’30s, I looked forward eagerly each autumn to the return of John McCutcheon’s classic picture story “Injun Summer” in the Tribune magazine.
I’d read it and then my dad would ask me to close my eyes and he’d read it back to me, making the story even more vivid. We’d even drive a few miles west of the city later in the day to see sheathed corn stalks and I’d visualize myself sitting around a campfire and seeing shadows come to life.
The story McCutcheon told in beautiful autumn colors and falling night-time’s smoky shadows begged the imagination of every young boy. He was a consummate story teller, the dean of newspaper cartoonists the country over. We saw no denigration or negative stereotyping in his memorable work, contrary to Harris’ comments. It may sound inconceivable to many who have followed us, but our generation did not focus on the negative as we grew up, nor did the cartoon conjure up a “racist attitude.”
Others of my generation who grew up with the Tribune also must be pleased that the paper reprinted McCutcheon’s epic work (Magazine, Oct. 5). This timeless story reflects back on our childhood dreams, including Injun summers.