2021 Chessie Calendar: The Chessie Family Album
This year, for her 88th calendar edition, Chessie is featured, along with her two look-alike kittens, and Peake, her "Old Man," in many of their poses over the years 1933-1949.
After Chessie was such an unexpected and fantastic advertising success in 1933-34, C&O gave her two offspring in 1935. They were, in fact, just smaller representations of the Chessie etching. Then in 1937 "Peake" was added, so that the family was complete.
Peake enjoyed his greatest attention during World War II when he served in the army's Transportation Corps.
The many emotionally evocative illustrations used during the 1934-1958 era are again featured in the calendar, along with a current one as well. For December, we are using one of the brand new images created especially for the children's book we published last year. We see Chessie getting a Christmas gift from C&O President W. J. Harahan, one of the characters who figures in the book's story. The book: Chessie Takes a Train Trip, is available as KBK-19-938.
This calendar helps us remember other days, but also to know that Chessie is still with us after all these years.
She was there during the Depression, supported the home front for the great fight of WWII, and tried to stem the tide against the decline of the postwar passenger trains. Now she can be a beacon of innocent hope in our future trials.
