Dick Tracy fans lead a revival fest in Woodstock

Adela Crandell Durkee
Visitors assembled the world’s longest comic strip as part of the Dick Tracy Day festivities in Woodstock on June 2. (Photo by Adela Durkee/ for Chronicle Media)

Visitors assembled the world’s longest comic strip as part of the Dick Tracy Day festivities in Woodstock on June 2. (Photo by Adela Durkee/ for Chronicle Media)

Grandparents may remember the Dick Tracy wrist radio as something at the top of the Christmas list. Chester Gould “invented” the radio in 1946, as part of his Dick Tracy detective comic strip.

Time Magazine calls Dick Tracy’s watch “the most indestructible meme in tech journalism.”

Parents may remember the first Dick Tracy Festival, just a year before “Groundhog Day,” the Bill Murray movie filmed in Woodstock, pre-empted the importance of Gould’s contribution.

The Dick Tracy Museum opened in the Old Courthouse in 1991, six years after Gould’s death in 1985. Tourists from around the world visited and the city launched an annual Dick Tracy Day Festival with more than 6,000 visitors.

As time passed, attendance flagged. Today, the museum exists on-line only (www.dicktracymuseum.com) and the festival took a hiatus in 2004, until this year’s revival.

Matt Karolczak, Ryan Cypher, Susan Stelford, Cayla Learman and Alex Stelford  attend the Dick Tracy Day event in downtown Woodstock on June 2. . (Photo by Adela Durkee/ for Chronicle Media)

Matt Karolczak, Ryan Cypher, Susan Stelford, Cayla Learman and Alex Stelford
attend the Dick Tracy Day event in downtown Woodstock on June 2. . (Photo by Adela Durkee/ for Chronicle Media)

This year, on July 2, the people of Gould’s hometown for 50 years and the Friends of the Courthouse set out to revive Dick Tracy, remember Gould’s history, and create another memorable feat: set a Guinness World Record for the longest comic strip.

The Friends of the Courthouse rallied thousands of volunteers to recreate Gould’s yellow-hatted, chiseled-chinned Dick Tracy who battled crime and put away murderous villains from 1948 to 1952. This is just a portion of the strips created by Gould.

Dick Tracy first appeared in Detroit Mirror, owned by the Tribune Company, Oct. 4, 1931. Gould drew the comic characters, which also appeared in the New York Daily News, then the Chicago Tribune, until Dec. 25, 1977.

The Friends of the Courthouse and volunteers recreated 530 pieces of 10-foot panels in order to reach their goal of a 4,300 foot-long comic strip. The previous record holder, “Big Nate,” measured 3,900 feet.

On display in Woodstock Square on Dick Tracy Day, the record-breaking comic wound around the gazebo and through the park, while on-site visitors added a few more strips to surpass the goal.

The purpose of the Guinness record effort is to celebrate Gould, who began sketching politicians when he was 8 years old, and then Dick Tracy, which is 85 years old this year. The proceeds raised money for Woodstock’s Friends of the Old Courthouse.

Friends of the Old Courthouse is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the historical significance of the Old McHenry County Courthouse and Sheriff’s House on the Woodstock Square, and to raising funds for the restoration of the buildings.

According to Sue Stelford, the events chairperson, “The courthouse is part of the county’s history and anchors the square.” Stelford teaches art history at MCC.

President of the Friends Alan Belcher said, “The Courthouse is one of only two pre-civil war buildings in the state.”

Dick Tracy Day is dedicated to displaying the recreated comic and to provide fun for all members of the family. Attendees green-screened themselves into a comic strip, enjoyed Dick Tracy cookies and cupcakes, and joined in the Guinness record effort by tracing comic strips at the Art Center.

For $1, friends and foe sent people to jail, who were compelled to sing their way out.

The Dick Tracy continuous comic strip created by a team measured over a mile long when completed.