The first episode of 'Sandy Sage', published in The Sage Sentinel, 11 February 1944.
Paul Berlin was a (presumably American) mid-20th century comic artist. While working as an employee for Hanford Engineer Works in the 1940s, he made a comic strip called 'Sandy Sage' (1944-1945) for the company newspaper The Sage Sentinel.
Life and career
Very little is known about Paul Berlin. Before coming to Hanford, he worked as a commercial artist and illustrator in Denver and Salt Lake City, according to the introduction article in the Sage Sentinel of 4 February 1944. While in Denver, he also designed the International Rotary Convention poster in 1941. By 1944 he was working in the Material Control Office of Hanford, while also serving as staff artist for The Sage Sentinel together with Anne Mason.
'Sandy Sage'. The Sage Sentinel, 14 July 1944.
The Hanford Site was a nuclear production complex in Hanford, South-Central Washington, established in March 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. The site housed the first full-scale plutonium reactor in the world. The company's plutonium production was used in the first nuclear bomb, and in the "Fat Man" atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in the morning of 9 August 1945. Hanford Engineer Works was operated by the DuPont Company until 1946, when operation was transferred to the General Electric Company. The Sage Sentinel was the weekly company newspaper for Hanford's nearly 45,000 employees, appearing from at least late 1943 until 9 February 1945.
Paul Berlin drew this cartoon when the paper's format was enlarged in September 1944.
Sandy Sage
Paul Berlin's comic strip 'Sandy Sage' first appeared in print on 4 February 1944. The main character, Sandy Sage (who originally had no name) is a cigar-smoking employee at Hanford Engineer Works. His adventures revolve around everyday life in the company. From 21 April on he received his name, the result of a contest among company workers to submit a name suggestion. The winners were Avis Forsyth and W.F. Coors, who both received a $25 War Bond. Sandy Sage's adventures ran until 9 February 1945, when he literally climbed back in an ink bottle.
Legacy
It is unknown what happened to cartoonist Paul Berlin after he bid his character farewell.
Final episode of 'Sandy Sage' on 9 February 1945.