Cofrin Library Archives to honor memory of cartoonist Lyle Lahey

A memorial service was held Tuesday afternoon in Green Bay for Lyle Lahey, journalist and editorial cartoonist, who contributed biting, satiric cartoons to the old Green Bay News-Chronicle and its sister publications for more than 30 years. He died Feb. 8 at age 81. His daily takes on local, state and national issues were often described as the paper’s most popular feature. His earliest original sketches are also part of local history, and there’s a campus connection. Many years ago, Lahey donated 12 boxes of cartoons to the Area Research Center at UW-Green Bay. (The artist was a UW Green Bay alumnus of sorts in that he attended the old two-year center here following his Korean War Era service and before transferring to Madison. A newsletter displayed at his memorial service showed he was the art editor of the 1956 Bay Badger.) Archivist Deb Anderson says her office will make a display of some of those vintage Lahey cartoons for exhibit in the Library’s 7th floor lobby beginning Monday (Feb. 18).

Lahey archive at UW-Green Bay covers 1960s, ’70s history
Deb Anderson, coordinator of special collections and University archives for UW-Green Bay’s Cofrin Library, says the Lyle Lahey Collection is a unique and valuable resource for local historians and those who just enjoy editorial cartoons. The donated cartoons come from the period 1968-1979. They cover local and state politics, social issues of the time, sports, everyday things like road construction and the weather, and they take on personalities including Nixon and Carter and global conflict from Iran to Russia to Vietnam. Though not digitized, the individual cartoons are readily available for those who want to browse Lahey’s original sketches.