Medicine Hat pennants- no more?

Back in October 2008, I posted about 14 of the felt & silk pennants from my hometown of Medicine Hat. I've got well over 30+ of these things and decided to show off a few of the select gems. I'll find them in garage sales, estate sales, flea markets, eBay and just about anywhere I can score one. A few years back upon a trip back to Alberta, I managed to obtain one from an antique shop directly across the street from where my dad's restaurant was.

Here are a few more from the collection but for whatever reason I haven't been able to find any more of these pennants. I've searched high & low with no such luck. Could it be I've snagged them all or are they just so obscure an obtuse that people just pitch them after they get dingy? If anyone comes across a Medicine Hat pennant, feel free to drop me a line. Who knows? I might not have it in my collection.

Draper Hill (1935 -2009)

Upon entering college I had visions of becoming an editorial cartoonist much like Draper Hill of The Detroit News. I had always enjoyed the editorial & journalistic bent of cartooning. When I was in middle school I wrote a term on paper editorial cartooning where I detailed such people like Thomas Nast, Bill Maudlin, Jeff MacNelly, Mike Peters, etc.. I knew that a simple image could change how people perceived things. I always read the comics in the newspaper but was always fascinated with the spontaneity and timely nature of editorial cartoons; they weren't cartoons done weeks or months in advance- they were often done the evening after a major event. The people who came up with these little artistic gems had to have a quick decisive style, wit and were technically sound.

Last week, one of my inspirations, Draper Hill passed away at the young age of 73. I never met him, wrote to him in admiration or had any contact with him other than enjoying his art on a daily basis. I'd study his approach to caricature (as he was wickedly accurate in depicting then mayor, Coleman Young), his brush work, his lettering, his tone and just about anything I could do to emulate that style. From what I've read about Draper Hill, he truly was a gentleman and a huge repository of knowledge & historical data on cartooning. To me, he will always be one of my earliest influences and inspirations to becoming an artist. He will be missed.