Buncombe County Special Collections
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • About The Collection
    • Plan A Visit
  • HeardTell Blog
  • Search Our Collections
  • Resources for Researchers
  • Community-Based Archives
    • View Archives
    • Oral History Resources
    • Black AVL History Project
  • Become a Friend
    • Become a Friend
    • Board of Directors
  • Events
  • Contact
© 2021 Buncombe County Special Collections. All rights reserved.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015 / Published in Forgotten People, Local History

Happy New Year To All

Asheville Citizen’s readers enjoyed decades of cartoons and the political views of “Billy” Borne.  Willis “Billy” Gustavus Borne, whose father was from Switzerland, came here from Toledo, Ohio.  He became the Citizen’s cartoonist in 1907 and was referred to as Asheville’s Tom Nast. One hundred years ago Borne gives a nod towards the end of 1915.

borne 12.30

Asheville Citizen, December 30, 1915 with jay bird saying, “I hope he puts me off on easy street.”

Borne’s cartoons were used by the newspaper to accompany presidential election returns which were broadcast on the newspaper’s outdoor screen.

His cartoons were also used in Buncombe County’s “Swat the Fly” campaign that began in 1910. His signature jay bird picked up some Spanish when the same campaign took Borne to San Juan in 1915 where thousands of posters using his work were distributed in Spanish throughout Puerto Rico.

The jay bird was often featured at the bottom of the newspaper’s front page with the day’s forecast.

borne jay bird

Borne was last listed in the 1929 Asheville City Directory, living in the Carolina Apartments. More than likely due to the Depression, he left Asheville and returned to Toledo in 1930, where he lived with his brother Delbert and wife Addie Borne. He died there in 1944 at the age of 60. Borne notes the repetition of the years as 1916 takes the reins.

new year borne 1916

Asheville Citizen, January 1, 1916 with jay bird saying, “I’m going to sware off swearing off.”

Post by Zoe Rhine, librarian.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...
Tagged under: Asheville, Asheville Citizen, Billy Borne, cartoonist, cartoons

What you can read next

The Lost Picture
Asheville Month Long Walkathon-Marathon 1934
Event: CIVIL WAR STORIES BETWEEN HAYWOOD COUNTY SOLDIER JAMES M. HENDERSON AND HIS WIFE MARIA HENDERSON

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Search Our Site

Categories

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,491 other subscribers
TOP
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: