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Kendall Vintroux

Cartoonist Kendall Vintroux (July 5, 1896-July 27, 1973) drew for the Charleston Gazette newspaper. Born at Fraziers Bottom, Putnam County, he grew up on the family farm. Dropping out of high school, he helped run the farm when his father, C. E. Vintroux, became ill. Although Kendall began drawing as a boy, his career as a cartoonist began when he submitted a cartoon to the Gazette about the town of Poca’s first paved road. Only eight feet wide, the road was the subject of many jokes.

The newspaper hired him in February 1922. By the 1930s, Vintroux began his emphasis on political cartooning, sketching national leaders such as Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt and depicting state and local topics. His cartoons of the Dog Wagon, a Charleston diner which attracted political and civic leaders, were eagerly awaited by the newspaper’s readers. In his later years Vintroux shared cartooning responsibility at the Gazette with James Dent. After his retirement in 1968, he enjoyed seeing his work displayed in exhibits at Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston, which has many of his original drawings), the Truman Library, and other institutions. Vintroux died in Charleston.

Written by Debra Basham