Where are you Charlie Brown?
“My name is Charlie Brown. All my friends refer to me as ‘Good Ol’ Charlie Brown.”
Story by Karen Misuraca (including excerpts from the book, Secret Sonoma: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful & Obscure)
In the heart of the Sonoma Wine Country in Northern California, the city of Santa Rosa is the hometown of the Peanuts comic strip and its creator, Charles Schulz. First appearing in the 1950s, the cartoon ran nonstop until 2000, with a readership of more than 300 million in more than 2,500 newspapers in 75 countries. The main character, Charlie Brown, would have said, “Good grief!”, as he often did when he endured yet another endearing setback in his love life, his baseball career, and with his gang of friends.
Today, sales of Peanuts merchandise around the world continue to top more than a billion dollars a year, and movies and TV programs are now classics. Among the many expressions of their popularity over the years, the command module of Apollo 10 was named Charlie Brown and the lunar module was Snoopy, Charlie’s pet beagle, who always wanted to fly.
In Santa Rosa, you can’t fail to notice that Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Woodstock, Schroeder and the rest are seen all around the town and the county. These kids are everywhere — at the airport, on street corners and in parks, at hospitals, golf courses, and shopping centers — in than a hundred larger-than-life-sized bronze, ceramic, and fiberglass statues of the Peanuts gang.
The late cartoonist Charles Schulz (aka “Sparky”) lived and worked here for decades. He was a beloved and generous contributor to the community, from building an ice arena to funding the Charles M. Schulz Museum, which today is a major tourist and family attraction.
Peanuts fans embark on pilgrimages around the county, searching for their favorite kids. Helping out at the Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County Airport, Lucy offers her 5 cents, while Charlie Brown gives directions to passengers at check-in, and Snoopy stands tall in his pilot’s helmet; while Woodstock calmly perches on his nest. Several of the gang are at Kaiser Medical Center, including Woodstock reading The Life of a Bird. At the Historic Railroad Square railroad depot, Charlie and Snoopy stand in elegant bronze splendor above the plaque, “In celebration of the life and works of Charles M. Schulz from the people of Santa Rosa and his fans across the world.” Here also at the California Welcome Center, Lucy is decked out in her official outfit for welcoming tourists.
Peanuts Sightings
At the Warm Puppy Café in the Redwood Empire Ice Arena(“Snoopy’s Home Ice”), visitors enjoy hot dogs and ice cream while watching the action on the ice. An ice hockey player, Sparky designed and built the arena, and in the cafe, one table remains reserved for him. He walked from his studio to dine here most days, watching the skaters through the large windows. Peppermint Patty hot chocolate, Charlie Brownies, and Good Grief Grilled Cheese are popular menu items. As Charlie said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.”
Snoopy’s Gallery and Gift Shop here is a mecca for Peanuts devotees, with a stained-glass rose window and murals featuring Snoopy and Woodstock. On offer are dolls, logo clothing (like Charlie’s zigzag shirt), toys, books, and more.
Who is Sparky Schulz?
The Charles M. Schulz Museum celebrates the lives of the Peanuts characters and Sparky Schulz. Within 8,000 square feet of impressive contemporary architecture is the largest collection of Peanuts artwork in the world. 100+ original comic strips are on view at any one time, along with extensive memorabilia; plus, a re-creation of Schulz’s studio, and dramatic art installations, from a massive bas-relief sculpture to a 22-foot-long mural composed of 3,588 Peanuts images on little ceramic tiles.
Youngsters head right for the theater to watch animated TV specials and movies, from A Boy Named Charlie Brown to The Peanuts Movie, and holiday specials such as A Charlie Brown Christmas. In the education building, kids (and parents) learn to draw and animate cartoons, make an origami doghouse, and participate in special learning days. Selfies are sensational in the courtyard by the “kite-eating tree” and replicas of all the characters. Look down into birdbath to see holographic images of Snoopy and Woodstock.
Peanuts Down by the Tracks
In Santa Rosa’s Historic Railroad Square, Peanuts characters turn up at the California Visitor’s Center, and throughout the neighborhood of boutiques, bars, and eateries. Railroad Square looks much as it did in the late 1870s when Northwestern Pacific Railroad trains arrived from the shores of San Francisco Bay. Italian stonemasons built the depot and warehouses, canneries, hotels, and breweries, and rebuilt many of them after the 1906 earthquake. Today, the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) arrives at the 1904 depot, which is now a Welcome Center where you can see memorabilia and vintage photos, and get walking tour maps.
Up the block are emporiums of curiosities and collectibles, including Whistlestop Antiques, in a circa-1920 edifice packed with vintage finds. In the old stone baggage claim building, Aroma Roasters is a refuge for caffeine addicts who are greeted by a mustachioed Snoopy, while Woodstock guards the tiled entrance to the Omelette Express restaurant, and Batcave Comics & Toys lures kids and comics fans into their basement lair.
In my new book, Secret Sonoma: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful & Obscure, you will find lively descriptions of the Peanuts kids and where to find them throughout the county! Purchase the guidebook at your local bookseller, on Amazon, or at ReedyPress.com (free shipping).
Here are a few hints:
· Downtown Charlie Brown (Central Santa Rosa Library)
· Joe Cool Bowler (Double Decker Lanes, Rohnert Park)
· Alter Eagle (Vitalant Blood Donation)
· The Eagle Has Landed (Rincon Ridge Park)
· Woodstock, Doyle Scholar (4th Street Exchange Bank)
· Lucy In the Sky with Diamonds (county offices on Administration Drive)
If You Go
Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2301 Hardies Lane, Santa Rosa, CA. (707) 579–4452; www.schulzmuseum.org. Free ages 3 and under; $5 ages 4–18; $8 ages 62 and over; $12 adults. Historic Railroad Square, (707) 568‑0743; www.railroadsquare.net. Visit Santa Rosa, www.VisitSantaRosa.com
