Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre
Smorgasbord / Kirt's Cogitations™ #340

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As mentioned in the past, one of the many great aspects of the Internet, and in particular having a website with its contents easily found on a search engine, is occasionally being contacted by people mentioned in one of the vintage magazine articles I have posted on RFCafe.com and AirplanesAndRockets.com, and/or by people related to someone mentioned. In one instance, a guy wrote to give updates on a few of the people featured in a model rocket contest held in Mankato, Minnesota, in 1967.

Readers of Popular Electronics magazine in the 1950's through 1970's (including me) looked forward to Carl Kohler's many humorous electronics-related stories and illustrations a few times each year. Carl's leading man was one of print media's first DIYers, and his wife suffered his often less than successful escapades in a sporting manner. A few days ago, none other than Christoverre Kohler, Mr. and Mrs. Carl and Sylvia Kohler's number two son (of four), contacted me to provide some background on his parents. Christoverre happened upon a couple of his father's articles on RF Cafe while doing a search. He was motivated to write in response to the story entitled, "I Married a Superheterodyne!," where I asked whether the Kohlers might have at one time lived in Syracuse, New York. It was due to a mention of General Electric's famous Electronics Park (which is no more). Christoverre set me straight on that matter, and provided some amazing additional information on his parents. His father's talents were not limited to the electronics realm. Read on, ye lovers of Carl Kohler stories and drawings.

Christoverre Kohler Comments:

July 11, 2022

I just stumbled across a thing on your website attributed to the author "Sylvia Kohler" and in association with illustrations and other articles by "Carl Kohler". Those two were my parents and I think the year of that article was 1952, my birth year.

July 12, 2022

No, I don't think Carl was *ever* even in NY. Sylvia was from MI and joined the Waves (Navy) to get away from home and there, eventually stationed in SF for awhile and then down in Long Beach, where she and Carl met (I think some mutual friends).

At points, both of them worked gigs at some of the (then) "high tech" companies, but around the Orange County and Los Angeles area.

And I'm pretty sure Carl actually wrote that piece and just pen-named it "as" Sylvia. He used to do that combo of "slanted" (topically) humor pieces with cartoon illustrations in a number of different interest categories. He also did some work in the animated cartoon industry (Road Runner, Pink Panther, and he was the model for "Cap'n" in Cecil the Sea Sick Sea Serpent. But he went on to probably his most well known accomplishments as a creator, and contributing cartoonist and editor and comic character in CARtoons magazine published by Peterson Publishing Co. in Hollywood. He played the part of "Unk Kohler and them Varmints". Which became simply "Unk". Then they launched "Hot Rod Cartoons", then "CycleToons", then "SurfToons". Quite a few notable, later rather famous, people did work for those, some began their careers there.

 

Regards,

Christoverre Kohler

Many thanks to Christoverre for his comments!

Other Carl Kohler masterpieces: "The Great Electron-Pedantic Project," "Dig That Reel Flat Response," "I Married a Superheterodyne," "Unpopular Electronics," "Operation Chaos," "Thin Air, My Foot," "High Tide in the Tweeter," "The R/C Cloud," "Hi-Fi Guest List," "Kool-Keeping Kwiz ," "Boner Box," and "McWatts." Also, be sure to read "Carl Kohler's Life & Times per Son, Christoverre."

Posted July 18, 2022