50 Years of Happiness Errata

As one would expect with a book laden with so many facts and figures, the first edition of 50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz had its share of typos and flat-out mistakes. The good news is that most of these have been corrected as each new edition has been published; the bad news is that you sharp-eyed fans keep spotting a few new ones! (It's enough to make a conscientious author tear out his hair...)

Sometimes, thankfully, the necessary changes aren't my fault, as when the contact information for Project Linus changed. Additionally, many of the changes made between the first and second printings reflected Charles Schulz's death; he still was with us when the book initially was completed, so numerous references existed to "ongoing" events, such as Schulz's frequent appearances at the annual Peanuts Christmas Ice Show at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena, or occasional references to ongoing (or even anticipated) behavior by characters. I went back and re-phrased many such references, but since these aren't really factual errors, such grammatical improvements won't be noted here.

Mistakes and typos are different. In the interests of absolute accuracy -- knowing that this book is used as a reference of authority -- of course I want it to be as precise as possible. In that spirit, then, the following document is intended to address and correct any and all errors as they're called to my attention. Depending on which edition of the book you own, clip the top third, top two-thirds, or all of what follows, and slide the page(s) into the back of your book.

And yes, when it comes time for a fourth edition, rest assured that I'll clean up everything else ... and pray that (fingers crossed!) we've finally nailed 'em all!

If you own the Charles M. Schulz Museum edition (printed March 2002)...

...then the following corrections apply:

• Page 16 -- The date on the first line should read February 22, 1948 (not February 2).
• Page 28 -- The date for Thibault's debut should be June 4, 1970 (not June 5).
• Page 90 [Timeline] -- The date for Snoopy's debut on two legs should be 1/9/56 (not 1/5).
• Page 90 [Timeline] -- The date for the debut of the "wall of contemplation" should be 7/7/54, which means it'll be on an entirely different page.
• Page 90 [Timeline] -- Although the "iconic" version of Snoopy's "happy dance" does indeed debut as shown, leading to several ongoing storylines, this isn't the first time Snoopy dances in this fashion. His first "dance for joy" actually takes place on 10/19/52, which will require both clarification (on this page's timeline) and a new entry on an entirely different page.
• Page 94 [Timeline] -- Charlie Brown first mentions that his father is a barber on 9/1/58, which means this entry also will be on an entirely different page.
• Page 102 -- Snoopy first pretended to be Beethoven on 9/3/52 (not 11/25/55).
• Page 104 -- Snoopy's debut as the World-Famous Wrist Wrestler should be 4/24/68 (not 4/22).
• Page 105 -- Snoopy's debut as Joe Motocross should be 2/18/75 (not 5/10).
• Page 108 -- The musical instrument cited in the second line of the final paragraph should be a trombone (as correctly stated on Page 65), not a trumpet.
• Page 133 -- The date for the 1992 football gag should be 10/11 (not 11/11).

If you own the second Peanuts Collector Club edition (printed September 2000)...

...then, in addition to the corrections above, the following corrections also apply:

• Page 33 -- Marbles first was mentioned on September 23, 1982 (not September 24).
• Page 45 -- The number of unreprinted Sunday strips for 1981 should be 8 (not 9).
• Page 85 [Timeline] -- The gang first plays baseball on 3/6 (not 4/6).
• Page 130 -- The date for the 1963 football gag should be 9/1 (not 9/8).
• Page 161 -- Karen Loucks-Baker (mentioned by full name in the second paragraph) changed her name back to Karen Loucks.
• Page 163 -- Although the Web site for Project Linus remains the same, the address has changed to Project Linus, P.O. Box 5621, Bloomington, Illinois 61702-5621. The phone number is (309) 664-7814.

If you own the first Peanuts Collector Club edition (printed April 2000)...

...then, in addition to all the corrections above, the following corrections also apply:

• Page 64 -- Change parenthetical aside at the end of the third paragraph to read (see sidebar, previous page).
• Page 99 [Timeline] -- Change the text in the 1/22 box to read "Snoopy first ice skates on a pond"
• Page 103 -- Change the penultimate listing (2/23/64) to read "A ice-skated (on a frozen water dish)."
• Page 104 [Timeline] -- Change the text in the 6/13 box to read "Joe Cool unofficially debuts."
• Page 105 -- Change the 5/27/71 listing to read Joe Cool (officially). [This is not in the timeline.]
• Page 110 -- Change the ninth bullet from the bottom to read "Snoopy's vet, and the vet's receptionist."
• Page 131 -- In the 1970 listing, delete "flat on his back" and conclude the sentence after the word "wails."
• Page 134 [Timeline] -- Change the date of the entry marked "April" to 5/10.
• Page 134 [Timeline] -- Change the date of the entry marked "Summer" to 9/12.

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