See You in the Funny Papers

Hard to believe that Charles Schulz was only a little over halfway through his 50-year run on Peanuts when the strip pictured here ran sometime in 1976 (actually December 29, 1974, the date tracked down by the detective work of Al Hunt; thanks, Al!) - what a shame the photo's resolution isn't quite high enough to discern the exact date on The Brandon Sun in my hands! This was taken at my maternal grandparents' farmhouse near Virden, Manitoba. How carefree those childhood days seem now.