The Snoopy statue dubbed "Jolly Golfer" is shown in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 15, 2000.
When all the statues were auctioned off by Sotheby's on October 1, 2000, this one took the highest bid: $35,000.
(AP photo/St. Paul Pioneer Press/Chris Polydoroff)

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These articles are arranged from the most recent down, so you'll always find the newest news about Charlie Brown and his friends toward the top; older articles will be located further down, or on previous pages.

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See the Pup, Pronto

The elusive 'Explorer Snoopy' will make one of its roving appearances today, along with several other Snoopy statues, for 'Peanuts on Parade Day' at the State Fair.

August 30, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Today is "Peanuts on Parade Day" at the Minnesota State Fair, giving Snoopy fans and others a chance to see and take a picture of the elusive "Explorer Snoopy."

The 5-foot-tall statue of Snoopy is attached to the top of a 1964 Land Rover and is mobile. This makes it one of the more difficult Snoopys to find among the 101 statues created for St. Paul's summer-long tribute to the late Charles Schulz, the cartoonist who drew "Peanuts" for nearly 50 years.

But today "Explorer Snoopy" will be part of the daily parade through the Fairgrounds, from 2 to 3 p.m.

St. Paul has claimed Schulz as a favorite son; the cartoonist was raised in a building at Snelling and Selby avenues (now O'Gara's Bar and Grill) where his father had a barbershop.

Finding and photographing all 101 statues is the goal of many who are often seen flocking St. Paul, maps and cameras in hand. These fans say they are out "Snooping."

However, "Explorer Snoopy" rarely stays in one place. Sponsored by the Capital City Partnership, his public appearances are at civic functions, community parades and other gatherings.

"He's up so high, people often don't see him until we pass by," said Roy Power, who has been the summer's regular Snoopy driver. "Then they yell, wave and have a good time. We've had people follow us for blocks to get us to stop so they can take a picture."

When not out and about, "Explorer Snoopy" and his Land Rover are kept in a secret underground location in downtown St. Paul.

"We have to be careful driving in and out. We think his ears are 13 feet above the ground. We don't do the drive-through bank with him," Power said.

Power said driving a vehicle that is two years older than he is, with a 300-pound dog attached to the roof, has not been a difficult duty -- yet.

"Haven't had to drive him in a real stiff wind, though."

There will be several other Snoopys on display today with "Explorer Snoopy" in an area called State Fair Park, in front of the Grandstand off Carnes Avenue. Among the statues will be "State Fair Snoopy," which normally guards the State Fair's administrative offices.

Along with the dogs, other activities of the day at the "Peanuts on Parade" site will be

Art activities for youngsters, who can create their own "Snoopy on a Stick."

Snoopy coloring for youngsters.

A display of how the "Peanuts on Parade" celebration came about.

Costumed characters from Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America in Bloomington.

"Peanuts on Parade" memorabilia for sale. Sale of the items helps raise funds for a permanent bronze sculptural tribute to Schulz in St. Paul. The merchandise includes postcards, T-shirts and posters, which feature photographs of 35 Snoopy statues.

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Good grief! It's Charlie

August 30, 2000

By Bill Fleischman
Philadelphia Daily News

What's a lovable loser like Charlie Brown doing in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

The fabled hall in scenic Cooperstown, N.Y., is for baseball's greats, players such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.

Charlie Brown, the forlorn figure in the immensely popular "Peanuts" comic strip created by the late Charles Schulz, is known in baseball for the continuing ineptitude he and his teammates displayed on the field. Has Lucy, the clueless outfielder, ever caught a fly ball?

"You're in the Hall of Fame, Charlie Brown!" is an exhibit that runs through the end of the year.

"The reaction is overwhelmingly positive," said Jeffrey Idelson, the Hall of Fame's vice president of communications and education. "The great thing about Charles Schulz is that his work relates to multiple generations. Although the humor is meant for grownups, kids relate to it as well. You see a smile on everybody's face.

"Everybody has their own baseball memories and stories and feelings for the game, and the great thing about Schulz is, everybody can relate to it. I don't think you'll find anybody who's been a better ambassador for the game than he."

Of the nearly 18,000 "Peanuts" strips Schulz produced, 10 percent focused on baseball.

Idelson said one of the hall's strengths is "the ability to show how baseball has transcended American culture for so many years."

"As such, with Charles Schulz's work being such a part of the fabric that's made up our culture over the last 50 years, it's a natural for the museum," he said.

"Not only are you going to find bats and balls of Mike Schmidt back to Chuck Klein in Philadelphia, you're going to find Charlie Brown, who deserves to be recognized for everything that he's meant to fans."

Said Dale Petroskey, the hall's president "We want this exhibit to capture the humor and spirit evident in [Schulz's] work, which entertained millions for half a century and kept baseball in front of readers, even in the comics."

Schulz died Feb. 13, but Idelson said Schulz was involved for several years in discussions with the hall about planning the exhibit.

"From everything I have heard, he was very elated," Idelson said. "We have his glove on display, as well as a pen that he crafted strips with and a ball."

The "Peanuts" exhibit is in the hall's library atrium. In the hall's bullpen theater, there are two 30-minute television baseball specials "Charlie Brown's All-Stars" and "It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown."

"Peanuts" continues to run in newspapers throughout the nation, bringing smiles to the faces of readers each day. And Lucy still hasn't caught a fly ball.

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101 Snoopys Updated list helps fans track statues

August 30, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
St. Paul Pioneer Press

St. Paul's 101 decorated Snoopys -- from the brightly colored to the accessory-covered -- all aim to capture the fanciful spirit of the famed dog.

They will be on display the rest of the summer as part of the city's tribute to the late "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up here.

St. Paul is inviting everyone to come see and enjoy the 5-foot-tall Snoopys, but officials also are pleading with visitors not to climb on the statues. Although relatively sturdy, several have been damaged, in some cases apparently by exuberant climbers.

The Snoopys will be on display until October, when there will be an auction of the statues that are donated back to the project by sponsors. Money raised will be used to help create a bronze grouping of "Peanuts" characters in downtown as a permanent tribute to Schulz.

Proceeds also will be used for a scholarship fund at the Art Instruction School in Minneapolis, where Schulz attended and later taught, and for an endowed chair of illustration at the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul.

This page lists all 101 dogs -- the first 75 plus the additional litter of 26 -- and their locations. For an on-line version, check out our Web site at www.pioneerplanet.com/snoopy.

Also, the Express section is featuring a different Snoopy each day Monday through Saturday.

Here's the latest list for all 101 Snoopy statues that are part of the city of St. Paul's "Peanuts on Parade" tribute to hometown cartoonist Charles Schulz

1. "Celestial Fantasy Snoopy," Ford Plant, inside main gate

2. "Heeeeere's Snoopy," 2163 Ford Parkway

3. "Diamonds are a Dog's Best Friend," Cleveland Avenue and Ford Parkway

4. "Commencing the Celebration," College of St. Catherine, banks of Dew Drop Pond

5. "Jumpin' for Joy," Mattocks Park, Macalester Street and Palace Avenue

6. "Slapshot," Highland Ice Arena, 800 S. Snelling Ave.

7. "Jolly Golfer," Highland Golf Course, by clubhouse

8. "Fun in the Sun Snoopy," 2140 W. Seventh St.

9. "Patchwork Snoopy," 1106 W. Seventh St.

10. "Dream Builder," 200 Grand Ave.

11. "Little Green Booties," Children's Hospital, Grandview Medical Campus

12. "Summer of Love," 982 Grand Ave.

13. "Snoopy's Garden Party," 1738 Grand Ave.

14. "Sir Lunch A-Lot," 164 N. Snelling Ave.

15. "Red Brick Snoopy," Snelling and Hewitt avenues

16. "1939 St. Paul Saint," Midway Stadium, 1771 Energy Park Drive

17. "Rockin' 'Round the Clock," Minnesota History Center, John Ireland and Kellogg boulevards

18. "State Fair Snoopy," administration offices at State Fairgrounds

19. "Stanley," Midway Parkway at Snelling Avenue

20. "Key to My Heart," Como Zoo

21. "King Boreas," Landmark Center by Rice Park

22. "Giggles by the Park," Lexington Parkway and Energy Park Drive

23. "Stargazing," Rice Street and Cook Avenue

24. "Scottish Guard," Johnson Parkway at Maryland Avenue

25. "The Doctor Is In," 1456 White Bear Ave.

26. "Fishin' Snoopy," East Seventh and Kittson streets

27. "Better Inside and Out," 640 Jackson St.

28. "Joy of Learning," St. Paul Technical College at John Ireland Boulevard*

29. "Snoopy in the Wild," 317 Washington St.

30. "Joy to the World," RiverCentre, Kellogg Boulevard entrance

31. "Joe Technology," Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza

32. "Hometown Hero," Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza

33. "The Tourist," Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza

34. "Dairy Dog," Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza*

35. "Rainbow Snoopy," Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza

36. "All-American Digital Dog," Central Library, Kellogg Boulevard side

37. "Renaissance Dog," Central Library, Fourth Street side

38. "A St. Paul Love Affair," US West Building, Fourth Street side

39. "Snoopy's Come Home," Rice Park

40. "Snoopy Reflecting Us All," Rice Park

41. "Top Hat & Tail," Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

42. "Comic Relief," The St. Paul Hotel, Fifth and St. Peter streets*

43. "Snoopy Night," Hamm Plaza, Sixth and St. Peter streets

44. "Children's Garden Snoopy," 385 Washington St.

45. "Dancing With Flowers," Minnesota Children's Museum

46. "Gumball Snoopy," Minnesota Children's Museum

47. "The Nature of Healing," St. Joseph's Hospital

48. "Monsieur Snoope Le Voyageur," 505 N. Wabasha St.

49. "Kirby!" World Trade Center, Cedar Street entrance

50. "Bull's-eye," World Trade Center, Wabasha Street entrance

51. "On the Town," Dayton's, Wabasha Street entrance

52. "River Captain Snoopy," 25 W. Sixth St.

53. "Lunar Snoopy," Fifth and St. Peter streets

54. "A Symphony of Snoopy," Fourth and St. Peter streets

55. "Snoopy Goes to Dia de Los Muertos," 15 W. Kellogg Blvd.

56. "Joe Clean," Ecolab Plaza, Fifth and Wabasha streets

57. "World Citizen," Ecolab Plaza, Sixth and Wabasha streets

58. "Where's Snoopy and Where Are You?" Norwest Center, skyway lobby

59. "Nose for News," 345 Cedar St.*

60. "Snoopy Greets Visitors to St. Paul," 11 E. Kellogg Blvd.

61. "Good Neighbor Snoopy," Kellogg Boulevard and Wabasha Street

62. "Babyface Snoopy," 215 S. Wabasha St.

63. "Baker Snoopy," Kellogg Boulevard and Minnesota Street

64. "Love Snoopy," First National Bank, skyway

65. "Groovy Snoopy," Firstar Center, skyway

66. "Corn Dog," Fifth and Jackson streets

67. "Universal Snoopy," US Bank Trust Center, Fifth Street

68. "Extra! Extra!" Mears Park plaza

69. "Classic Snoopy," Union Depot, Fourth Street

70. "River Dog," Lambert's Landing, Warner Road

71. "The North Star Flying Ace," Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

72. "Shopping Hound," Mall of America

73. "Mall's Best Friend," Mall of America

74. "Dog-gone Fun Times," Camp Snoopy at Mall of America

75. "Explorer Snoopy," Locations to vary*

76. "Amore!" 531 W. Seventh St.

77. "Snoopy's Wish," 995 W. Seventh St.

78. "Hip-Hop Snoopy," Johnson High School, 1349 Arcade St.

79. "What's Your Sign?" Irvine Park, Ryan and Walnut streets

80. "Snoopy Delivers," Kellogg Boulevard and Jackson Street

81. "Snoopy the World Traveler," Wabasha Street and Seventh Place

82. "Rink Rat Snoopy," Fourth and Washington streets in Rice Park

83. "Scholar Snoopy," Central High School, 275 N. Lexington Parkway

84. "The Joy of Nursing," 1265 Energy Park Drive

85. "Welcome Home, Woodstock," Skyline Towers, 1247 St. Anthony Ave.*

86. "Memories," University of St. Thomas on Summit Avenue

87. "Away We Go," Fifth and St. Peter streets*

88. "Eagle Beagle," near Como Park Golf Clubhouse

89. "Joe the Grinder," 211 W. Seventh St.***

90. "Pig's Eye Snoopy," Fifth and Wabasha streets

91. "Dog-Gone Healthy," Landmark Center, Market Street side

92. "Salty Dog," Highland Water Tower, off Snelling Avenue*

93. "Ski-U Mah," St. Paul campus, University of Minnesota, Student Center**

94. "Dancing in the Rain," 345 Plato Blvd.

95. "Vulcanus Rex," Landmark Center next to King Boreas

96. "Union Snoopy," Minnesota Labor Center, 411 Main St.

97. "Back to School," Metropolitan State University, Founders Hall, 700 E. Seventh St.

98. "Bundle of Joy," 1137 Grand Ave.

99. "Thespian Snoopy," 1029 Hudson Road

100. "Picasso de Cocoa," Sixth and Wabasha streets

101. "Lumberjack Snoopy," Fifth and Wabasha streets

* Expected to be at the State Fair today for "Peanuts on Parade Day"

** Will be on display Thursday

*** Will be on display by Friday

Source St. Paul Office of Promotion and Marketing

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"Peanuts" items going on sale

T-shirt, poster, postcards are part of St. Paul's Schulz tribute

August 25, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
The St. Paul Pioneer Press

A line of souvenir items for St. Paul's popular "Peanuts on Parade" will go on sale Saturday at the Snoopy Doghouse information booth on the Science Museum of Minnesota Plaza on Kellogg Boulevard.

The items, to be formally announced at a news conference today, include a T-shirt, a poster and postcards that feature images from the 101 artist-decorated Snoopy statues that are part of the city's tribute to the late cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up in St. Paul.

The shirt features a full-color montage of decorations from 18 of the statues. Designers at Tivoli Too, the St. Paul design firm that manufactured the statues, put the artwork together.

The poster features seven rows of five photos each, showing 35 Snoopy statues on location. Megan Ryan, director of marketing and promotion for St. Paul, said the 35 were selected from the 101 statues to reflect various attractions in and around St. Paul.

Three postcards, each with eight small photos of Snoopy statues, also will be available but not until next week.

Sales at the doghouse booth will be cash only, with no checks or credits cards accepted, Ryan said.

To handle the anticipated crowds, the hours of the information booth are being expanded because of the items, Ryan said. It now will be open from noon to 6 p.m. daily.

The items also will be sold at the Camp Snoopy store at the Mall of America in Bloomington and at several special events, including Wednesday's "Peanuts on Parade Day" at the Minnesota State Fair and the Sept. 9 grand opening of Harriet Island Regional Park.

Profits from the sales will be used to help pay for several permanent tributes to Schulz. These include a bronze statue of the "Peanuts" characters in downtown St. Paul, an endowed professorship at the St. Paul College of Visual Arts and a scholarship fund at Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis, where Schulz attended and later taught in the late 1940s.

A souvenir book of the 101 statues -- requested by Snoopy fans -- is also in the works, as is a catalog for the planned Oct. 1 auction, Ryan said.

She is negotiating with the Chicago branch of the well-known Sotheby's auction house to conduct the sale.

The timing of the auction is uncertain, Ryan said, because publication may be scheduled to include coverage of all Schulz tribute events.

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Snoopy makes it to the State Fair

August 25, 2000

By Joe Kimball
The Minneapolis Star Tribune

They're everywhere! Even the State Fair has its own Snoopystatue -- Snoopy with Corn Dog -- near the Administration Building on Cosgrove Street. And, as in other locations all around St. Paul, this Snoopy is a people magnet. Streams of picture-takers wander over, mini-donuts in hand, to pay homage to the pooch and late cartoonist Charles Schulz, whom the statues honor.

State Fair officials put their Snoopy on a fine-looking pedestal made expressly for the long-eared beagle.

There's also a Snoopy statue -- holding a turkey -- across the street from the fairgrounds at Midway Parkway and Snelling Avenue. Habitat for Humanity also has a Snoopy statue at its fair exhibit near the 4-H building. And about a dozen more of the popular statues will be brought in next week and placed in various fair locations.

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St. Paul Snoopys get special delivery

1 man in charge of placing statues

August 20, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Roger Borchard stops traffic just about everywhere he goes these days, not because of his looks but because he's the Snoopy deliveryman.

He drives a Kraus-Anderson construction company dump truck, pulling a flatbed trailer that carries a chained skid-loader and six to 12 Snoopy statues.

"I work for Peanuts," Borchard jests.

He is actually a Kraus-Anderson laborer, and the company is donating his time and its equipment to "Peanuts on Parade," St. Paul's summerlong tribute to the late cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up in the city.

With 87 statues on site and 14 more to be delivered -- probably this week -- Borchard said the duty has been pure fun.

"People wave, smile, stop and watch. They've even followed me in their cars," he said last week while on an afternoon run.

Borchard said he does not know how many times his picture has been taken this summer, but photos of the Snoopys and "Snooping" around town for statues have become a mania in St. Paul.

As Borchard carefully unloaded the 400-plus-pound "Rink Rat" Snoopy at Fourth and Washington streets, at least four people snapped photos of the event.

Jim Stringer, a St. Paul Cos. employee, was one of those who pulled a small camera from a pocket.

"My son Conner and I are kind of on a safari to find and photograph all of the Snoopys," Stringer said. Like many, they are planning a scrapbook of it all.

A second typical reaction to Borchard's work came from Collee Smith, almost 2, who pointed and yelled, "Snoopy!" at the sight of "Rink Rat." She was with her mother, Deede Smith of Afton, scouring downtown to find the dogs.

The placing of a Snoopy is done delicately.

Borchard lifts the statue and its concrete slab with the tines of the skid-loader and slowly maneuvers the machine. He climbs over curbs, between parked cars and trees carrying the statue to its appointed spot.

"Some people think I do this well, but I learned from the best -- Ron Pauley, who just retired. He could remove glass from a window with this thing," Borchard said.

Megan Ryan, St. Paul's director of promotion and marketing, said that without the delivery service donated by Kraus-Anderson, "we could not do this project."

In all of his deliveries, there has been only one accident. While locating "Snoopy Greets Visitors to St. Paul" in front of the Radisson Hotel on Kellogg Boulevard, the skid-loader slipped off a curb and the statue did a face plant and broke a little.

"It was my fault," Borchard says. But he does not like to talk about the incident.

On the Market Street side of the Landmark Center, Borchard's act drew an audience of about a dozen. After he got the statue on the sidewalk, they applauded as he carefully nudged it into a square someone had drawn as the site of "Dog-Gone Healthy Snoopy."

In the audience were Nick Bevins, 15, and his brother, Joe, 13, from State College, Pa. In St. Paul to visit relatives, they pronounced the Snoopys "cool" and a good way to honor Schulz.

Finding where to put the statue is not always so easy. "Rink Rat" Snoopy was supposed to be at Como Park, but because of time constraints and other issues, he was later slated to be placed at the end of Fourth Street between the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts and the Touchstone Energy Place convention center.

But when Borchard arrived, there were objections that the statue might be in a construction zone and that fans might wear out the grass around the dog.

So Borchard drove it across Washington Street and placed it in Rice Park.

"I usually call the next place I'm going so someone can meet me and tell me exactly where Snoopy goes," he said.

When he dropped off "Pig's Eye" Snoopy at Fifth and Wabasha streets, a crowd that reached nearly 20 gathered to watch.

Two white-haired sisters who identified themselves only as E. and C. Tussing of St. Paul had followed Borchard in their car for about four blocks to watch.

"We are downtown Snooping," said C. Tussing as she snapped a picture. She then got back in the car and her sister drove off.

Also in the crowd was Sandi Smith of Mesa, Arizona, who came to St. Paul on a two-day trip specifically to see "Peanuts on Parade."

When told that the statues cost $3,000 to $4,000, Smith said, "Oh, then I guess I won't be back for the auction," which will end "Peanuts on Parade" in October.

Wilson Bradshaw, president of Metropolitan State University, also was passing by and stopped to watch "Pig's Eye" Snoopy placed. He noted that the East Side college was slated to get a Snoopy soon for its courtyard.

"It will reflect our nontraditional students," he said.

Borchard, 39, who has been working for Kraus-Anderson for 20 years, said if he were not delivering dogs, he would be working general construction or cleaning up sites with the skid-loader.

"That usually is a cloud of dust and no one to talk to," he said.

New Snoopys

There are now 87 Snoopy statues throughout St. Paul and the surrounding area. Locations for the remaining 14 Snoopys -- for a total of 101 -- are expected to be finalized next week.

Here are the latest 12 statues to go on display:

"Pig's Eye" Snoopy, River City Agency, Fifth and Wabasha streets, southwest corner.

"Dog-Gone Healthy," Colon/Rectal Surgery, Market Street side of Landmark Center.

"Rink Rat" Snoopy, Fourth and Washington streets in Rice Park.

"Union" Snoopy, Minnesota Labor Center, Fifth and Main streets.

"What's Your Sign?," Historic Irvine Park Association, Irvine Park.

"Amore! From Snoopy," Mancini's, 531 W. Seventh St.

"Bundle of Joy" Snoopy, Baby Grand/Cradle of Hope, 1137 Grand Ave.

"Scholar" Snoopy, Central High School, office.

"The Joy of Nursing" Snoopy, Minnesota Nurses Association, 1625 Energy Park Drive.

"Eagle Beagle," the Norqual Family, Como Park Golf Course clubhouse.

"Jumpin' for Joy" Snoopy, Myrontobach Inc., Mattochs Park.

"Sailor" Snoopy, Gracia and Merril Kueller, Highland Park Water Tower at Snelling Avenue and Ford Parkway.

Also, the "King Boreas Snoopy" has been moved from Como Park to the front of Landmark Center on Fifth Street across from Rice Park.

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Day in doghouse helps to unlock secret of Snoopy

August 20, 2000

By Laura Billings
St. Paul Pioneer Press

After admitting recently that I couldn't quite understand the wave of Snoopy loopiness unleashed across this city, a number of readers suggested my editors ought to rub my nose in something stinky and chain me to a tree. "I feel sorry for you that you can't understand the magic of Snoopy," said one caller. "You are in the doghouse with me, missy."

Hmm, maybe some time in the doghouse was just what I needed to get my tail wagging the right way. So I volunteered one recent morning in the red information booth that the visitors bureau has set up on the plaza of the Science Museum and handed out free Snoopy maps and tourism information to 316 interested visitors. Here's a look at my doghouse diary:

10:07 a.m. (total visitors 22): The preferred mode of transport when taking in the Snoopys is a red Radio Flyer wagon (three counted so far) pulled by your mother. If you are older than 4 or weigh more than 40 pounds, however, you are required to walk yourself. "Whyyyyyyyyy?" cries a grade-schooler from Inver Grove Heights. "Becaaaaaaause," says her mother.

10:18 a.m. (t.v. 34): The visitors bureau's Greta Bahnemann arrives with more red map pins for visitors to mark their hometown on the nearby world map. Since the booth opened, Bahnemann has had to buy 12 boxes (100 pins a box) to accommodate tourists from as far away as Venezuela, Lithuania, and Taiwan. Visitors from the Chicago area have been especially assertive in their pin placement, however, nearly gouging out the center of the U.S. map. "Can you believe?" Bahnemann asks. "And New Yorkers are just as bad!"

10:36 a.m. (t.v. 48): A 23-year-old Minneapolis man who signs "Nathan" in Snoopy's Guest Book stops by to kill time before a job interview. Though he appears employable in his pressed khakis and tie, he is stumped when I ask him the eternal job interview question: "What three adjectives would you use to describe yourself?" "Uhhhh," he says. He admits that he has not visited St. Paul in several years and offers this critique: "Wow, it's ... wow."

10:50 a.m. (t.v. 93): Doghouse discovery: Number of grandmothers who mention the possibility of ice cream to their Snoopy-chasing charges: five. Number of mothers who promise this: zero.

11:15 a.m. (t.v. 114): A family of four English tourists arrive at the booth looking peevish. "Where can we rent bikes for touring the lakes?" the father asks, adding that the guidebook had mentioned something about abundant paved trails linking a chain of urban lakes, perfect for biking and 'blading, with people watching aplenty in one of the trendiest youth districts around. I try to interest them instead in St. Paul's abundant Snoopys, state-of-the-art Omnitheater, old-world cathedral and intact Victorian homes, further sweetening the pot with a two-for-one deal on the Jonathan Padelford riverboat. They are not amused.

"I think we just got our cities mixed up," the mother says apologetically before asking for directions to Minneapolis. Hoping to draw them back with the magnetic appeal of the Snoopys, I route her family past 11 statues between here and the freeway.

11:28 (t.v. 132): An agitated man asks if we're taking job applications for RiverCentre here in the doghouse. When I tell him no, he grabs three Snoopy maps and runs.

11:32 (t.v. 138): Doghouse discovery: Number of visitors who say the booth needs a Red Baron on top: 11.

11:36 a.m. (t.v. 141): A woman from Missouri asks to know the name of the wild grass growing in the plaza garden. I don't know. "So why does it say 'information,' then?" her husband grumbles.

11:51 a.m. (t.v. 163): Doghouse discovery: When an 11-year-old girl writes her name in the Snoopy Guest Book, there is a six in 10 chance her name will be Heather.

11:57 a.m. (t.v. 178): Though quite a number of visitors mention they were one-time residents of St. Paul, no one seems especially sorry about leaving. Much like Charles Schulz himself. "I don't miss it one little bit," says Marge, a retired bus company employee who now lives in Reno. "Gaawwwwd, the humidity!"

12:11 p.m. (t.v. 201): A disoriented man with a Chicago Cubs hat and a tattered Snoopy search map asks, "Is this St. Paul or Minneapolis?" He does not appear relieved by the answer.

12:25 p.m. (t.v. 225): Doghouse discovery: Number of people who visit the booth and say St. Paul should install permanent year-round Snoopys: 31.

12:47 p.m. (t.v. 299): After nearly three hours in the doghouse, I finally meet the woman I hope can explain the secret of Snoopy to me. She is Geraldine Wiman, a 79-year-old Snoopyphile who drove from her farm in Robinson, Illinois, specifically to meet our dogs. Though she started her Snoopy collection just three years ago, she can no longer count the knickknacks she has amassed (though her son notes "they fill four of those big tubs you buy at Wal-Mart"). This weekend, after she has sniffed and circled every dog in town, she will head to Appleton, Wisconsin, to attend a Snoopy swap meet. The pickings should be especially good, as her No. 1 Snoopy Rival ("this woman just buys every Snoopy she sees just so you can't have it") won't be in attendance.

I tell Geraldine that I've been having trouble understanding what motivates people like her who move through town with their noses buried in the Snoopy search map, who call the city demanding to know when the decapitated dogs will be back on display, who form instant crowds the minute a new Snoopy comes on the scene. I beg her to tell me the real secret behind the Snoopys' seductive power.

"Tell you what I think it is," she says, leaning in conspiratorially, close enough so I can see the second hand tick on her Snoopy watch.

"They're just sorta cute."

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Charles Schulz's children also like St. Paul's Snoopys

August 13, 2000

By Kevin Duchschere
The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Lindsey Schulz, 12, reached out to twirl the juggling pins on the Renaissance Snoopy statue in front of the St. Paul Public Library.

And somewhere, in a place where kites don't get snarled in trees and footballs are always kicked far and true, her grandfather must have smiled.

St. Paul's colorful parade of Snoopys received some special visitors Saturday, as two children of the late "Peanuts" cartoonist and Twin Cities native Charles Schulz came to town with their families to see for themselves St. Paul's tribute to their father.

They were delighted by the artistry and whimsy of the statues, and touched to see how much fun other families seemed to be having with them, too.

"This is the best tribute to him of any I've seen so far," said Jill Schulz-Transki, one of Schulz's three daughters, who was with her husband, Aaron, and their daughter, Kylie, 2. "To have Snoopy out and about for people to continue to enjoy is the greatest tribute he could have."

Her brother, Craig Schulz, agreed. With him were his wife, Judy, and their daughter, Lindsey.

"This is a fantastic idea," he said, snapping pictures of the teeter-totter Snoopy in Rice Park. "We're thinking about a tribute to Dad in Santa Rosa [California, where Schulz lived], and it's a shame Santa Rosa didn't think of it. But this is the right place for it."

The Schulz children and their families arrived Friday from California for the Snoopy tour conducted by Randi Johnson, whose Tivoli Too sculpting studio designed and produced the 75 Snoopys in and around St. Paul. The idea has proved so popular that another 26 statues are in the works. All will be sold at auction for charity in October.

Schulz, who was born in Minneapolis, grew up in an apartment above O'Gara's Bar on Snelling Avenue, in a building that also housed his father's barber shop. He attended Central High School in St. Paul and took art lessons in Minneapolis. The "Peanuts" strip began in October 1950, while he was living in the Twin Cities. He remained in the area until the late 1950s, when he moved the family to California.

Schulz announced his retirement late last year, to combat colon cancer. He was involved in planning for the Snoopy parade in St. Paul, but died on Feb. 12 -- the night before his final strip ran in newspapers around the world.

Picking favorites

On Saturday, his children stopped for a visit at the family's former home on Minnehaha Parkway in Minneapolis and then set out in search of Snoopys. They checked out the Garden Party Snoopy on Grand Avenue, the Celestial Fantasy Snoopy at the Ford plant and Sir Lunch-a-lot outside O'Gara's Bar.

The favorite so far? "The Snoopy caddy one" at Highland Golf Course, Schulz-Transki said. "That's the unanimous choice."

Lindsey also loved the colors on the Snoopy outside the Qwest Communications building, which shows the St. Paul skyline below a midnight-blue sky.

The families plan to leave the Twin Cities today, but will return for the Snoopy auction this fall. Other Schulz children also plan to see the statues in the near future, Schulz-Transki said.

"We were talking to a man and his wife, and they were saying that they appreciated the ["Peanuts"] strip more than ever after seeing these," Schulz-Transki said.

She looked across the street, where a bride and groom were posing in their wedding finery with a Snoopy in top hat and tails outside the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, and smiled.

"It makes me happy to see this, and makes me sad that our father isn't here to see this," she said. "He didn't like to travel much, but he would have loved to see this."

Craig Schulz nodded. "He would have totally enjoyed it," he said.

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Fans await Schulz museum

Web site updates "Peanuts" lovers around the world

August 12, 2000

By Laura Casey
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Although the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center off West Steele Lane does not yet have walls, it already has created a buzz.

Museum Director Ruth Gardner Begell said she has received many letters and e-mails from Schulz fans anxiously awaiting opening day.

"They have said they want to visit Santa Rosa once the museum opens," Begell said.

No precise date has been set for the museum opening, but Begell said she anticipates work being completed by winter 2001.

This week, workers continued building forms for the concrete walls and the building is generally beginning to take shape.

Within the building skeleton, the slope of the 100-seat theater easily can be defined.

"It's going to be a beautiful building when it's done," said Dean Hunt of Oliver and Co., the general contractor.

During the past seven weeks, workers have removed the land's original adobe dirt and replaced it with construction fill. A month into construction, storm drains and plumbing were laid and foundation work began.

The first really substantial layer, a concrete slab that will eventually be the museum floor, will be laid within the next three weeks.

"Then you can get a really good feeling about the size of the building," she said. "Then the dimensions will really be obvious."

The 27,834-square-foot museum has been in the works for more than two years.

The mission of the museum will be to preserve and interpret Schulz's work over 50 years of drawing "Peanuts" and examine his influences and inspirations.

It will also be a place for fans to learn about the man behind the "Peanuts" comics.

An on-site research center will be available to students and scholars interested in Schulz's life. The site also will house classroom space and outdoor displays.

"The predominant theme of this museum is to preserve his legacy and teach people about his influence on American culture," Begell said.

When completed, the museum will be self-supporting and visitors will pay an admission fee.

Before coming to Santa Rosa, Begell was the director of the Vacaville Museum for 17 years. She has a master's degree in anthropology from Sacramento State University.

She said when she first applied for the job as museum director, she didn't know how far-reaching Schulz's legacy was.

"People from all educational levels and all socioeconomic groups identify with him and are fans of his," she said.

Fans have been able to keep up with the museum construction through the museum Internet site, www.charlesmschulzmuseum.com.

"People are really excited about the fact that they are building a museum," Begell said. "There are a lot of fans and people interested in the project internationally, and I think that's the easiest way to communicate."

Premiering online before the June groundbreaking ceremony, the Web site offers pictures of the museum model, weekly construction site photo updates and explanations of what the workers are doing at One Snoopy Place.

It also helps a number of museum board members from around the world keep in touch with the workers' progress.

Lucy Shelton Caswell, a museum board member and curator of the Cartoon Research Library at the University of Ohio, said the Web site gives her a chance to watch as the museum grows from the initial pile of dirt into an $8 million Schulz mecca.

And she doesn't have to travel 1,000 miles to see it.

"It's wonderful to be part of a project from conception to realization," she said. "I can see how and what they've done related to the architectural drawings that we have seen, so it's kind of fun to see that."

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Two Schulz kids say Dad would have loved local Snoopy display

Son, daughter from California say siblings coming in October

August 12, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
The St. Paul Pioneer Press

Two of cartoonist Charles Schulz's children toured St. Paul on Saturday, acting like other tourists, taking pictures of the many Snoopy statues scattered around town.

The two, with their families, made a weekend trip from California expressly to see the statues of "Peanuts on Parade," a tribute to their father, who created Charlie Brown and drew him and his friends for 50 years. Schulz, who died in February of colon cancer, grew up in St. Paul.

"Father would have loved this. This is the best tribute to him I've seen so far," said daughter Jill Transki of Santa Barbara.

Her brother, Craig Schulz of Santa Rosa, echoed that, calling the exhibit of 75 Snoopys impressive.

"It's fantastic to see the different artistic work and the creativity that went into them," he said.

In a brief interview downtown, as their spouses took pictures of their children with "Snoopy Night" Snoopy at Hamm Plaza, they said other family members will soon visit St. Paul, and all of Charles Schulz's five children and two step-children will be on hand for the Oct. 2 observance of the 50th anniversary of the first publication of the "Peanuts" newspaper comic strip.

All of the Snoopys statues -- there will be 101 in all -- are to be at that event, but Craig Schulz said they wanted to come before that to see the statues on public display.

He was part of the team in Santa Rosa that selected the designs that would be allowed on Snoopy. There were some restrictions -- no corporate logos, for instance -- but for the most part Craig Schulz said the art on the statues reflects a lot of "freedom of expression and a creative process."

Transki said it was important to see the Snoopy statues in their public settings.

"They are enjoyable, and half the pleasure is seeing the pleasure that everyone gets from them. Kids run up and hug them; everyone takes a picture," she said.

Craig Schulz said he and the staff of the Schulz business complex in Santa Rosa -- where the cartoonist lived since the early 1950s -- enjoyed watching the public interact with the Rice Park Snoopy at www.larsen.com on the Internet.

"It's just plain fun," his sister said, adding that their father often said people seemed to be losing their ability to have fun. "Dad would have loved this, appreciated the different expressions of art. The sad part is that he's not here to walk around and appreciate this also."

Accompanying Craig Schulz on this trip was his wife, Judy, and daughter, Lindsey, 12. With Transki were husband Aaron and daughter Kylie, 2.

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It's a dog's life here in Snoopyville

August 8, 2000

By Laura Billings
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's a dog's life here in Snoopyville

Last week, two teen-age girls were tossed into juvenile detention for assaulting several pieces of fiberglass with an unlicensed felt-tip.

In other cities, this sort of small-time crime might not merit a mention, but here in Snoopyville it makes headlines. In this one-dog town, we don't take kindly to folks with no respect for fiberglass beagles. We have embraced the dozens of pooches tied up around town as fiercely as little Linus clings to his security blanket. And anyone who dares lift his leg on our plastic pet will end up in the doghouse.

I learned this the hard way, at a party recently, when a fellow guest asked me where I stood on "that whole Snoopy thing." I replied that some of the Snoopys were sort of cute, that kids obviously loved them, and that they had attracted many visitors to our fair city, filling sidewalks on some summer nights until well past 6 p.m.

I should have left it at that.

But when an awkward social silence ensued, I felt the need to fill it. So I went on to wonder aloud why a town that still stings from Morley Safer's slander that we are "the most boring place in the United States" would follow the same big-fiberglass-thingy trend that every city is trying this summer, with giant cornstalks in Lincoln, mermaids in Norfolk, pigs in Cincinnati, horses in Lexington, moose in Whitefish and cows (recycled from Chicago?) in New York City.

And if it's "Peanuts on Parade," I went on, why just dancing Snoopys, and no piano-playing Schroeders, the doctor-is-in Lucys or bewitching Little Red-Haired Girls?

Besides, I continued, why were we going to such effort to commemorate the boyhood home of a cartoonist who left St. Paul in 1952 and returned only twice? If we're going to celebrate famous folk who never came home again, why not go whole hog (or whole dog!) and honor St. Paul's greatest novelist with a Summit Avenue statue of F. Snoopy Fitzgerald?

The other partygoers looked at me like I'd just piddled on the rug.

"What's wrong with you?" a guest sniffed. "Everybody loves the Snoopys." I left with my tail between my legs.

Don't get me wrong. I am pro-Peanuts. I once slept on Charlie Brown bedsheets. My Aunt Barb sends me a Snoopy birthday card every year. I believe that happiness is a warm blanket.

I just wonder if this dog's bite hasn't made us a bit rabid. Is it possible we're all getting a little Snoopy loopy?

Consider the otherwise normal adults I know who are clipping the "Peanuts on Parade" corner of this newspaper and laminating them for future generations. "They could be worth something," says a friend of mine creating just such a craft project. "Like Beanie Babies, maybe..."

Consider the "international Snoopy aficionados" said to be flying in from foreign countries to get a bead on these beagles when they go up for auction in the fall.

Consider the Snoopy-snapping woman I saw standing in front of Pazzaluna the other night, unable to see the forest for the fiberglass. "I suppose we could have dinner in St. Paul," she told her companion. "But where?"

Consider reports suggesting that repairs on 20-some Snoopys were required because the public has been loving them too much. (One Snoopy was beheaded, giving new meaning to the phrase "tough love.")

Consider the public relations problem that city marketing director Megan Ryan is already predicting now that Snoopy sponsors across town are bonding so closely to their beagles, they're reluctant to auction them off for adoption, as was the original plan.

"The issue I'm finding is people don't want to give them up," says Ryan, who may have to add "dog catcher" to her list of duties. "I may have to rely on some good old-fashioned public shaming."

Good grief, St. Paul. When the dog days come to an end, please, unleash your Snoopys.

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Snoopy and science right combo for weekends

Downtown St. Paul businesses benefit from tourist hot spots

August 6, 2000

By Nancy Ngo
St. Paul Pioneer Press

The dog days of summer aren't so lazy this year, thanks to Snoopy.

"Peanuts on Parade" has drawn upwards of 250,000 visitors to downtown St. Paul since debuting in mid-June, changing streets normally sleepy on the weekend into tourist destinations.

And businesses are reaping the benefits.

The occupancy rate of St. Paul hotels are at 80 percent, 12 percent more than last year and the highest in five summers.

Park Square Theatre at Seventh Street Place Plaza offers two productions each summer; both shows this season sold out for the first three performances. "We've never in the five to six year that I've been here sold out in the first week," said Eric Herr, audience services director.

Restaurants also have had to respond to increased foot traffic.

"On Saturday afternoons it's very noticeable," said Mark van Wie, owner of Great Waters Brewing Co., also on the plaza. He has added weekend staff to accommodate the 50 percent increase in customers his business has seen.

John McDonough, owner of Wild Tymes restaurant and bar across the plaza, said weekend business has quadrupled, forcing him to double the number of staff.

"A lot of family and friends are coming to see the Snoopy statues," said Eileen McMahon, president of the St. Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau.

She said the Science Museum of Minnesota, which opened in December, also has been a big draw, as has been the classic car show Friday and Saturday nights on Wabasha Street, which police officers estimate draws anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people.

The variety of people coming to St. Paul has not been difficult to measure. A Snoopy doghouse outside the Science Museum offers a map where visitors can mark their hometown with pushpins.

McMahon said in a six-day period ending Wednesday, 30 states and 14 countries were represented. Some were visiting from as far as New Zealand and Japan.

Soonjeong Moon of Seoul, South Korea, was visiting a friend in Minneapolis with her three children. They decided to visit St. Paul before leaving the Twin Cities Saturday because her daughter wanted to see the Science Museum after reading a tourist book. They shopped at Dayton's while downtown.

Joan Lennon, her husband, Jon Brook, and their two daughters, 12-year-old Sallie and 10-year-old Penny, are from Steyning, England. They were visiting friends in St. Paul for two weeks.

Lennon attended the University of Minnesota until1981. This was her third visit to the Twin Cities -- but her first to downtown St. Paul. "If it hadn't been for the Snoopys and the science museum, I don't think we'd be here today," she said. They later stopped by Subway sandwich shop for lunch.

The increased traffic hasn't been a problem for St. Paul police, spokesman Michael Jordan said, but other city departments have noticed a difference.

"We do see more litter and debris than we usually do after the weekend," said Tom Scaramuzzo, street maintenance manager with the city's public works department.

What happens once the Snoopy statutes are auctioned off Oct. 2?

"I think people (will) come back even after Snoopy is gone," said St. Paul resident Suzanne McCurdy, who brought friends from Minneapolis and Chicago to see the Snoopys, "because they see there is stuff to do in St. Paul."

But downtown beat cop Sam Ballard isn't so sure. The area's upscale restaurants and bars exclude two groups -- families with kids and the middle-class, he says. When asked to recommend a cheap burger, for instance, he often directs people across the river.

"If they keep going the way they're going, by taking away (affordable) businesses," he said, "St. Paul will turn into a parking ramp for Minneapolis."

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Two girls are arrested for defacing Snoopys

Witnesses reported vandalism; damage minimal to four statues

August 5, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Two teen-age girls were arrested and taken to the juvenile detention center Thursday afternoon after several members of the public saw them defacing Snoopy statues in downtown St. Paul.

Damage to the statues was minimal, but the St. Paul girls, ages 13 and 14, face delinquency charges.

"They wrote their initials and other messages on the Snoopys with an ink pen and felt-tipped marker," said Megan Ryan, the city's director of marketing and promotion who has been overseeing the summer-long "Peanuts on Parade" tribute to the late hometown cartoonist Charles Schulz.

Ryan said the marker will wash off and the ink can be covered over.

The girls wrote on at least four of the Snoopy statues -- two on St. Peter Street and two on Wabasha Street -- and were reported to police about 2 p.m. Thursday. The girls have been released to their parents, according to a police spokesman.

"That people called in shows the public has embraced this project and are protective of it," Ryan said. "We hope they continue to keep an eye out for us."

About one-third of the nearly 75 statues so far on display have been damaged, by youngsters climbing on them, by "overzealous huggers" or by "blockheads."

Seventeen of the statues have been repaired in the field by a special "Snoopy paramedic team" from Tivoli Two, the St. Paul firm that manufactures the 5-foot polyurethane dancing dogs. Ten other statues have been damaged enough to require in-house treatment, said company owner Randi Johnson.

"Some have been attacked, but for the most part we think it is the heavy attention that is damaging them," Johnson said.

She said the tails on the dogs seem to be the first place youngsters step when trying to climb onto a Snoopy. This can pull the tail away from the body, requiring on-site epoxy repairs. And the big ears can be pulled off if someone swings on one, a wound that can alsobe repaired on the spot.

But being bashed or pushed over requires a trip to the factory.

"We have four in for repairs now," Johnson said Friday.

They are:

"Red Brick Snoopy" from Snelling and Hewitt avenues.

"Stargazing Snoopy" from Rice Street at Cook Avenue.

"River Captain Snoopy" from 25 W. Sixth St.

"Scottish Guard Snoopy" from Johnson Parkway at East Shore Drive.

Johnson said the statues' removal frustrates people who are trying to visit or take pictures of all the dogs. She said those needing repair likely will be back next week, as well as the last of the original 75 statues of "Peanuts on Parade."

The second litter of 26 statues is being manufactured, city officials say, and will be decorated over the next two weeks and put on display by Aug. 25.

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A chance at Charlie: Pohl recalls his first meeting with the 'Good Man' revue

August 5, 2000

By John Hayes
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Good grief! Producer Jude Pohl has added comic strip characters to a thespian realm that cable channel VH1 calls his "entertainment empire in Pittsburgh."

Pohl says his current production of the 1960s revue "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" is his second handling of the show. Through a bit of dogged sleuthing suitable for a World War I flying ace shot down behind enemy lines, Pohl says that in 1968 he landed the first production of the show outside its New York premiere.

Here's his story:

"I was in Japan at Atsugi in the Navy, petty officer second class. When I got there, there was a little theater on the base. No organist, just an activities director who did shows occasionally. My first day there in 1967, I auditioned for 'The Odd Couple' and got the part of Vinny in the first amateur production of it in the world. It was sort of because of that that we tried for 'Charlie Brown.'

"I had heard about the show, but we didn't know the concept, though we thought anything with Peanuts characters would be great. We wrote to Charles Schulz and the producer, Arthur Whitelaw, and asked for permission to it. At first we were turned down. We wrote back and said we wanted to do it at the hospital for the guys who were in Vietnam and were going back home, and they gave us permission to it.

"But we had no idea how it was done. In rehearsals, the cast had just taken lines directly from the comic strip, so there was nothing written down. When it opened off-Broadway in this little 99-seat theater, they got a couple of secretaries to sit down and write it all down. They sent us mimeographed copies of that and the songs. No stage directions or anything.

"I decided to come home on leave to New York and see it. I went to get a ticket and the guy laughed at me. It was sold out for the next six months.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. I just flew here all the way from Tokyo to see this, and I have a show scheduled.' He was no help, so I went to a pay phone, got a telephone book and looked up Arthur Whitelaw's office. Before I dialed I thought, 'I have to play this real cool.'

"I said, 'This is Mr. Pohl with the Japan production. I just flew in from Tokyo and I need to talk to Arthur right away.'

"[The receptionist's] response was, 'The what?' I heard her turn around and yell across the office, 'Mr. Whitelaw, do you know anything about a Japanese production?'

"He got on the phone and then he remembered me. He turned around and shouted, 'Charlie, call over to the theater and have them put in a seat for Mr. Pohl.'

"So I went to the show three times, sitting in a wooden chair placed right in the middle of the aisle and took 25 pages of notes. Probably violated every Equity production rule by going over 99 seats."

Although the Holiday Inn stage is too small to accommodate the original show, Pohl is using a scaled-down set based on copies of sketches from the original set pieces. Among his "empire" of actors, Pohl says he's found the perfect Snoopy and Lucy in Corey Nile Wingard and Rebecca Wade.

"And with Schulz dying this year, we're doing it as a tribute in a way," he says. "We give him the final bow."

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" is at the Holiday Inn South Dinner Theater in Bethel Park, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays (with dinner at 5:30 p.m.) and 4 p.m. Sundays (followed by dinner) through Aug. 27. Tickets are $28.95 and include show, dinner, tax and tip; 412-279-3881.

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More Snoopys en route

August 4, 2000

By Joe Kimball
The Minneapolis Star Tribune

The latest -- and last -- batch of polyurethane Snoopy statues will be painted this weekend and put out on the streets in a week or so.

The 26 statues now in production will bring the total to 101 Snoopys on display around St. Paul as a tribute to the late Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schulz, who grew up in St. Paul. The 101 number was intentional, a little play on "101 Dalmatians."

People are having fun with the displays, hurrying from statue to statue, marking them off on their lists and taking pictures. Said one jubilant city official: "There are actually tourists downtown on the weekends!"

People from 30 states and 14 foreign countries already have checked in at the neat Snoopy information booth -- the big red doghouse put up just last week in front of the new Science Museum of Minnesota.

And Trent Mayberry, the college intern in charge of keeping track of the statues and reporting vandalism and structural problems, is getting his 15 minutes of fame. After a feature about him in this column last month, he was interviewed and photographed by People magazine. A publication date for the article has not beet set.

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Internet sites luring fans of "Peanuts"

St. Paul's tribute generating traffic

August 2, 2000

By Karl J. Karlson
St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's impossible to get an accurate count of the hordes of visitors who are descending on St. Paul streets in search of the city's popular Snoopy statues.

But there's no denying that Charles Schulz's beloved beagle has become an online star, generating remarkable Internet numbers for "Peanuts on Parade," St. Paul's summer-long tribute to the comic strip's late creator.

By Tuesday afternoon, for instance, the "Peanuts on Parade" Web site (www.snoopy.com) had recorded more than 626,000 hits since it went online June 10 with images from the inaugural paint-in, when artists decorated many of the 75-plus 5-foot-high Snoopys in the "Parade." The site is hosted by Connecting Images, a St. Paul Internet design company.

While the Web sites are posting big numbers, so is the city's new "Snoopy's Doghouse" information center on the Science Museum of Minnesota plaza on Kellogg Boulevard.

Visitors there can indicate with a pushpin their hometown on a map of the world or a map of the United States.

By Tuesday -- five days after the center's opening -- visitors had stuck pins in 40 of the 50 states and in 16 European countries, six South American countries, six Asian countries and three African countries.

They also can share their visit with folks worldwide through the new "SnoopyCam" trained on a Snoopy statue in Rice Park.

On Monday alone, the Web site got more than 10,700 hits. In the 11 days since the camera began posting a new image every five seconds (www.larsen.com) has received about 70,000 visits to check on the "Snoopy -- Reflecting Us All" statue.

The camera site is operated by Larsen Design & Interactive, the Minneapolis firm that sponsors the mirror-covered statue. Traffic on the company site has increased 700 percent because of the Snoopy images, according to Elise Williams, a spokeswoman for the firm.

The Pioneer Press Web site (pioneerplanet.com) also is drawing strong traffic for its clickable Snoopy map and photo gallery. The feature has generated more than 850,000 hits since it went online June 14.

Weekly traffic on the St. Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site (www.stpaulcvb.org) also has spiked, doubling to 48,000 last week from April levels. The site features a Snoopy kit that includes a "Peanuts on Parade" map, information about St. Paul attractions and a coupon book.

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Ad touts Snoopys

The Minnesota Office of Tourism is promoting St. Paul's "Peanuts on Parade" with a radio advertisement on 63 area and outstate stations.

Tourism officials said the following 60-second commercial by Carmichael Lynch will air more than 2,500 times by Aug. 6, when the promotion ends:

Female announcer: "Last week I hear the big Snoopy statues are finally done and are now at their various locations in and around St. Paul. ... So with map in hand, I jump in the car and start out....

"I see the World War I flying ace out at the airport. I visit Snoopy Le Voyageur ... Fisherman Snoopy ... a Gangster Snoopy with pinstripes and a violin case ... Snoopy as van Gogh and a Snoopy completely covered in comic strips of all things...

"Everywhere I go, I'm amazed at the energy and creativity that went into those statues...But by the end of the day, the thing that struck me the most was the huge outpouring of affection for the friendly little beagle and the St. Paul native son who created him.

And now, standing here in front of Snoopy No. 75, I can only think one thing ... You're a good man, Charlie Schulz."

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All PEANUTS characters pictured are copyrighted © by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. They are used here with permission. They may not be reproduced by any means in any form.