Windows to the Past: Chesty and His Helpers

Two kindergarten students read all about Chesty, a character created by the Disney Studios in 1943 to promote the War Chest effort in Los Angeles. The children featured are Alan Vierira and Helen Ruth Barnes of the Hoover Street School. Although the two were certainly demonstrating their support for the War Chest effort, their expressions seem to indicate some level of irritation with each other. The photograph was dated November 2, 1943.

To learn more about Chesty and to see a complete scan of the booklet that Helen and Alan are holding, check out Disney historian David Lesjak's article Chesty and His Helpers - Los Angeles War Chest at his always informative and meticulously researched blog Toons at War.