News of Yore: Henry McCarn

Henry McCarn Will Draw Cartoons For The Dispatch

The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina), 11/26/1963

Editorial cartoons of particular interest in North Carolina and the South will be published regularly in The Dispatch, through arrangements with Henry McCarn of Charlotte. He is the operator of "State Cartoon Service" and his work has brought honors to the newspapers he serves and to himself.

McCarn developed the cartoon service while he was assistant manager of Belk's, in downtown Charlotte. He sketches political and newsworthy events for editorial pages, designed to meet the needs of North Carolina editors and publishers.

"Editorial cartooning is a tremendous responsibility," McCarn says. Keeping up with news developments, he spends many hours reading newspapers and magazines and listening to newscasts.

He draws with a happy combination of newsworthy ideas and unmistakeable evidence of deep conviction, plus delightful humor. "A cartoonist should be a good reporter, illustrating history in the making," he says. "A cartoonist's work is tied in with the stuff of life—politics, the needs, successes, joys and sorrows of people."

Some of his cartoons have appeared in "Editor and Publisher" and in a number of other publications in addition to the newspapers he serves. In 1954 the Julius Mathews Newspaper Service of New York honored him with an award for his editorial cartoon on the cancer crusade, which appeared in the Raleigh News and Observer.

Mr. and Mrs. McCarn live at their country home known affectionately as "Pine Acres". His studio is located at 428 Hawthorne Lane in Charlotte. The McCarns are members of Hawthorne Lane Methodist Church, where Henry, is close associated with the church school activities, and has a deep sense of Christian responsibility, and says: "With the help of God my best cartoons are in the future." They have two sons, Ural and Robert Gabriel. Ural lives in San Fernando, California. Robert lives in Charlotte. Mr. and Mrs. McCarn have three grandchildren.

[A photo and an editorial cartoon are here. Henry McCarn was born in Belmont, North Carolina, on March 13, 1904, according to the North Carolina Birth Index and his World War II draft card at Ancestry.com. In the 1910 U.S. Federal Census, he was the sixth of seven children born to Jacob and Laura. They lived in South Point in Belmont, North Carolina. His father was a picker at a cotton mill. In the 1920 census the family remained in South Point.

Ten years later, McCarn, an older brother and parents lived in Belmont at 57 First Street. He was a warper at a cotton mill. Information about his art training has not been found. Hill's Charlotte City Directory 1938 had a listing for him: "McCarn Henry (Myrtis G) artist Charlotte Engraving Co r Mount Holly". The date of his marriage to Myrtis is not known. His panel, Carolina Hall of History, appeared in 1938, and was recorded in the Catalog of Copyright Entries, Part 1, Group 2, Pamphlets, Etc., 1938 New Series, Volume 35, Number 11.

He signed his World War II draft card on February 16, 1942. He worked at the Knit Products Corporation in Belmont. He was five feet five-and-a-half inches tall and weighed 118 pounds. He had blue eyes and brown hair. In the 1944 directory, he worked for in the advertising department of the Ed Mellon Company. According to the 1945-46 directory, he remained at the same company and resided at 428 Hawthorne Lane. McCarn passed away May 23, 1981 in Charlotte, according to the North Carolina Death Collection at Ancestry.com.]