For those few who are long-time subscribers to Family Handyman (I followed in the tradition of my Dad, and actually you do find some interesting info in it from time to time), Roy Doty’s Wordless Workshop has appeared in each issue (in every issue I can remember for at least 10 years), but not in the latest issue (it wasn’t even listed in the table of contents like it usually is, while the other “cartoon” feature Greatest Goofs was).
No news of interest in either Doty’s own website, or the Family Handyman website, or even Wiki, so anyone know why no Wordless Workshop this issue?
OK, I only built one tip printed in the feature, the sliding rack for winter door screen storage, but still other ideas were potentially useful…
Well, according to his website he’s still taking commissions. Yes, he’s in his 90s, but I’d figure he’d do 2 or 3 of the workshop features (in reality cartoon strips) at one sitting (he must be able to draw that family in his sleep by now), stack 'em up for future use in case something goes wrong. The people who contributed the ideas wouldn’t necessarily know if there was a delay or not.
I wonder which of the three; Wordless Workshop, IKEA Assembly Instructions, or European Pictorial Traffic Signage came into existence first - from what I could find they were all around by the mid-1960s…
Just bumping this semi-zombie, as this month’s Family Handyman has the answer as to what happened to Wordless Workshop, and it’s the expected depressing reason; Roy Doty passed away earlier this year (wiki now says March 18), and Family Handyman gave him a sort of retrospective tribute (which stated the most popular reader submissions included storage/organization tips and lawn/garden tips - also, many uses of PVC pipe). They stated they picked up Wordless Workshop after Popular Science dropped the feature in 1990 (I do remember reading WW in my Dad’s PS’s during the 70s and 80s)
I guess now that suburban nuclear family with the most organized, decorated and contraption laden house in history will now fade away…