Gee, John

John Gee Curley (1895-1977) was born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, and served in WWI, reaching the rank of Sergeant. Curley was struck with a bad case of spinal meningitis during the war and spent many months recuperating in a hospital. After the war, Curley studied at the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia, working with J. Frank Copeland. Copeland worked with many returning veterans and noted that Curley had a bright future in front of him as an illustrator. Shortly after, Curley began teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was a colleague of Thornton Oakley and J. Allen St. John. Curley sailed to Europe in 1925, spending a summer studying artwork before returning to teaching duties in Chicago. By the early 1930s, Curley had relocated back to New England, working professionally as an illustrator. He had been signing his work as “John Gee” for 15 years, so in 1932 he decided to make it permanent, and filed a petition in probate court to change his legal name to John Gee. This was contested by members of the Chinese community in Boston, also named Gee, but the court allowed for the name change.

In addition to the legal name-change, also in 1932, Gee illustrated a book featuring a wooden family titled The Timbertoes. Written by Edna Aldredge and Jessie Mckee, the book was published by The Harter Publishing Company. A later edition was published by Beckley-Cardy in 1943. Highlights for Children, a magazine that began publication in 1946, added The Timbertoes to its lineup of features in 1951. John Gee wrote and drew the feature, which starred the wooden family, Pa, Ma, and Tommy. Daughter Mabel, and pets Spot and Splinter arrived later. Gee would write and draw the monthly feature for approximately 25 years.

I grew up reading Highlights for Children and have a special nostalgic place in my heart for The Timbertoes. Like Davey and Goliath, there is a charm about The Timbertoes, one that continues to this day.