| Bill Sanders was one of the orignal
creaters of the Jem doll line. Bill along with Barbara
and Joe Hyland took their idea for Jem, more then like
named "M" at that time, to Hasbro. Hasbro
picked up the line, made many changes and the rest is
history.
• • • • •
June 14th, 2003 -
I finally made the 112 mile drive to Bill Sanders final
resting spot, and home town. I had been planning on
going there for over two years ... I always thought
it was going to be a really long trip. Come to find
out, he grow up much close to where I grew up then I
realized. It as very easy to get down to the area since
the main route close to Walnut Hill is the same route
that is 2 blocks from my house.
The closer I got the harder it was to find the town
and cemetery. The map showed a road going in from the
north, and one going in from the west. There where no
signs telling you how many miles to the left or right
was Walnut Hill. I got to where I need to be and it
was like the town never existed. I drove aways, and
know I past the road I needed. I turned around and just
picked a road to try. It was the right road. I came
down to a stop sign and saw the water tower.
That was not the end of line for me. I drove through
the town, hit a fork in the road, and followed the main
road out. I did not see any signs of the church. I turned
around and went back through town again, looking even
closer ... still nothing. I went back though again and
saw a little white sign pointing to the left. I followed
it and end back at the fork in the road again. I decide
just to try the other road...and minutes later I found
it.
It is very small cemetery, I thought it would be. It
only took me minutes to find what looked like the right
head stone. I was very excited to see flowers at the
stone. I know one cousin was still on friendly bases
with him when he died, so I was not expecting much,
since his surviving family was to happy about his life
style. If I was one day later going down, I would have
never seen the flowers because they might have been
removed the very next day.
I'm assuming that the local barber shop building had
a roll in young Bill's life. I don't know which house
he grew up in, but if it's still standing I saw it.
As I went down all 3 streets just to check it out. There
is not much else that could be said about Walnut Hill
then there is about twenty homes or so ... and that's
that.
I originally was going to drive down there for inspiration
in my own work, but I got to the point where I realized
I did not need this trip for inspiration. Although I
did compare and contrast Bill's life and mine (so far)
and figured out that he never settled for anything less
then what he wanted. He left this small town, went to
college and became a successful advertising professional
in Chicago, and didn't stop there. It's really sad to
think what more he could have given us if he would have
lived 5, 10, 20 years longer. But at least he gave us
Jem!
An interesting side note. Bill Sander did draw the
sketches of Clash, Danse, and Video along with the "M"
plane. They are signed and dated 1985...before the 1st
issue dolls came out. All three dolls had changes, but
most interesting change is Clash from the black hair
with sliver streaks to the purple hair, because Hasbro
reused that idea for Jetta.
For any friends or family of Bill Sanders I would love
to find out as much as I can about him. If you have
sketches and/or work, I would love to see photo copies
or originals. I'll pay for the copies and shipping.
A Fan of Bill Sanders.
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