— Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 2,1977
100
Meet the man who created the cartoon
thrives on farm humor
“Little Luke,” the farmer who
regularly stars in "Rural Route,” was
created five or six years ago by Tom
Armstrong. Up until March of last
year Armstrong kept the little fellow
strictly within the family on greeting
By DIETER KRIEG
SELLERSVILLE, Pa. -
For more than a year now
readers of Lancaster Far
ming have been laughing
with and at a little farmer
known as “Little Luke.”
He’s the main character of
the cartoon strip “Rural
Route”, which appears
weekly and exclusively
within the pages of this
newspaper. “Rural Route’s”
creator is free-lartce artist
Tom Armstrong who lives
near this Montgomery town
with his wife and (wo sons,
Keith 18, and Scott 13.
When Armstrong in
troduced himself and his
cartoon to Lancaster Far
ming’s editor last year, the
idea was an instant hit which
spread quickly throughout
the staff. After all, who could
resist laughing at a little
fellow ("ho finds himself
before a judge saying “No
your honor, I did not know
the milk inspector was
behind me when I engaged
the manure spreader.”
III
W'
*4 *
“Rural Route" creator Tom Arm- strip," says Armstrong, who has been
strong has his roots on the fer/n and contributing the popular weekly
spends some of his spare" ' cartoon 'to”Lancaster Farming for
his sheep. "As long as there is life. I’ll more than a year
never run out of ideas for the cartoon
< f(iiralrlXo ute 9
■v
More recently, the in
novative little character
allowed for ten acres of
coffee trees in his cropping
program.
Week after week, he treats
his audiences with laughs.
Armstrong is a 1955
graduate of Penn State
University with a degree in
animal science. He was a
member of the livestock
judging team and had at one
time been herdsman of one
of the largest purebred
Angus Aerds jn the East.
Then eight years in
agricultural business with a
farm machinery dealer
brought him in direct contact
with many farmers. Those
ties have never been broken
and are a source of many of
the ideas Armstrong puts
down on paper in the form of
witty cartoons.
“I’ll never run out of ideas
for “Rural Route” as long as
there is life.” Armstrong
assured this writer recently
during a visit at his home,
studio, and mini-farm. Yes,
nt $
jt
'* v t
•*
* *
cards. “Little Luke” himself is an
extension of his creator, while many
of the ideas are based on Armstrong's
own experiences in agriculture and
agribusiness.
Armstrong still maintains a
strong interest in the land
and keeps several sheep in
his old Montgomery County
bam. That probably does not
come as a surprise to most
followers of “Rural Route”
since “Little Luke” tells it
pretty much the way it is.
Some examples follow:
Standing by Ids workbench
attempting to fix some
unrecognizable contraption,
“Little Luke” loses patience
with himself, exclaiming
“This is the last time I wait
’till Spring to put together
something I took apart in the
Fall.”
In another strip, “Little
Luke” made new hex signs
for his bam - one for fer
tilizing, one for crop abun
dance, and one for the milk
inspector. The latter showed
the prongs of a pitchfork.
Then there’s the one about
the knotter on a baler which
was giving him trouble. The
baler had just finished
making a super long bale
when “Luke” voiced his
irritation.
On another occasion the
busy little farmer came into
the house completely bushed
and was ready to relax for
hours. “Ahhhh... does this
chair feel good,” he sighed,
“it would take World War HI
to move me now,” he" says
while settling down to
complete comfort. Just then
his son opens the door and
hollers “Hey Dad!!, You’d
better come out to the bam.
We got some ewes gonna
lamb.”
Armstrong creates his
cartoons in three stages, a
process which takes ap
proximately 1% hours per
strip. First he plans things
mentally. He always has a
notepad at his side, and jots
down ideas as they enter his
mind. Aside from visualizing
the ideas themselves, Arm
strong must also decide how
the story can best be told.
That determines the number
of panels a particular strip
will have.
jf
The next step is to make a
pencil sketch of the cartoon,
along with the wording.
Finally, he does the com
plete drawing in ink, with
grammar being checked for
accuracy by his wife.
“The ideas come from my
experiences,” Armstrong
said,' who now earns his
living by working as a free
lance artist. The cartoon is
just more or less a hobby.
The bread and butter career
involves putting his artistic
talents to work for ad
vertising agencies.
“I’ve always pictured
“Little Luke” as myself,”
Armstrong continued. “I
created the little fellow
about five or six years ago.”
He evolved on home-made
Christmas cards, and Arm
strong never dreamed of
having him appear in a
newspaper. “Nobody in the
family ever gets a com
mercially produced greeting
card,” the cartoonist said
with a note of self
satisfaction. He creates his
own cards and sent one of
them to Lancaster Farming
for Christmas last year.
Armstrong says he has
been drawing since he was a
kid, becoming a professional
in 1961 when he joined an
advertising agency as art
director. For the past three
years he has been working as
a free-lancer.
“Rural Route’s” creator
describes the main
character as “an honest,
hard working man with
perhaps an above average
dislike for bureaucracy, red
tape, and the interferences
by others in his chosen
profession ”
The whole idea behind
“Luue Luke and Rural
Route” is humor. Armstrong
explained that some things
may not seem funny at the
moment they happen, - like
the knotter which is turning
out extra long bales - but it’s
funny afterwards and we
should all be able to laugh at
our problems and
frustrations. “ILthere’s no
humor, you TSt iff
I Continued on Page 103]
SOOKfSR
ADAMS CO.
0. C. RICE, INC.
Biglerville, PA
717-677-8135
YINGLING’S IMPLEMENT
RDI Gettysburg. PA
717-359-4848
BERKS CO
N.H. FUCKER A SONS INC.
Maxatawny
Ph. 215-683-7252
STANLEY A. KLOPP INC.
Bernville
Ph. 215-488-1500
MILLER EQUIPMENT
Bechtelsville
Ph. 215-845-2911
SHARTLESVILLE FARM SERVICE
RDI, Hamburg, Pa.
215-488-1025
H. Daniel Werner, Prop.
ZIMMERMAN’S FARM SERVICE
Bethel
Ph. 717-933-4114
BRADFORD CO.
CARL L. PIERCE
RD2
Columbia Cross Roads, PA
717-297-3513
WYNNE'S GARAGE
Canton. PA
717-673-8456
BUCKS CO.
C.J.WONSIDLER BROTHERS
Trumbauersvilleßoad
Quakertown. PA 18951
215-536-1935
PAUL HISTAND CO., INC/
397 North Mam Street
Doylestown, PA
215-348-9041
CECIL CO.
AG INDUSTRIAL
EQUIPMENT CO.
Rising Sun. Md
301-658-5568
CHESTER CO.
CHAS. J. McCOMSEY t SONS
Hickory Hill. PA
215-932-2615
L. L. ECKROTH FARM EQUIP., INC
STOLTZFUS FARM SERVICE New Ringgold
Cochranville. PA Ph. 717-943-2367
215-593-5280 . STANLEY’S FARM SERVICE
M. S. YEARSLEY A SONS RD. Klmgerstown
Westchester Ph. 717-648-2088
215-696-2990
COLUMBIA CO.
ORANGEVILLE FARM EQUIPMENT
Orangeville, PA
Phone 717-613-5311
WILLIAM F. WELLIVER
Jerseytown, Pa
717-437-2430
CUMBERLAND CO.
ERNESTSHOVER
FARM EQUIPMENT
19 West South St.
Carlisle PA
717-249 2239
DAUPHIN CO,
SWEIGARD BROS.
RD3, Halifax. PA
Ph. 717-896-3414
FRANKLIN CO.
CHAMBERSBURG FARM SERVICE, INC
975 S Mam St
Chambersburg PA
717 264 3533
IMPLEMENTS, INC*
GreencasHe. PA
717 5977176
AT
HARFORD CO.
ROBINSON BROTHERS
Cardiff. Md.
Ph. 717-456-5215
WALTER G. COALE, INC. -
Churchvifle. MD 21028
301-734-7722
LEBANON CO.
A. C. HEISEY FARM EQUIPT. INC
RDI, Jonestown
Ph. 717-865-4526
UMBERGERSMILL
RD4, Lebanon (Fontana)
Ph. 717-867-5161
LANCASTER CO
ROYH. BUCHJNC.
Ephrata, RD2
717-859-2441
A.B.C. GROFF, INC.
New Holland
717-354-4191
A. L. HERR A BRO.
Quarryville
717-786-3521
LANDIS BROS. INC.
Lancaster
717-393-3906
LONGENECKER FARM SUPPLY
Rheems
717-367-3590
N. G. HERSHEY A SON
Manheim
717-665-2271
LYCOMING CO.
RICE FARM SUPPLY, INC.
Jersey Shore. Pa
717-398-1391
MONTGOMERY CO.
WENTZ FARM SUPPLIES
Route 29
Palm, PA
215-679-7164
NORTHAMPTON CO.
GEORGE V.SEIPLE A SON
Easton. PA
215-258-7146
NORTHUMBERLAND CO
NECKLET'S LIMESTONE
PRODUCTS, INC.
Herndon. Pa
717-758-3915
SCHUYLKILL CO.
SNYDER CO.
ROYER’S FARM SERVICE
ROl, Winfield
New Berlin • Middleburg Hwy
Phone 717-837-3201
TIOGA CO.
CANYON IMPLEMENT, INC.
Mansfield. Pa
717-724-2731
matUL
MARSHALL MACHINERY
Honesdale, PA
717 729 7117
WYOMING CO.
ACE-JURISTA, INC
Tunkhannock. PA
Ph. 717136-2610
YORK CO.
AIRVILLE FARM SERVICE
Aitville, PA
717-862-335 S
ANDERSON BROTHERS
New Park PA
717-312-4272
GEORGE N. GROSS, INC.
RD2 Dover. PA
717-292-1673