‘Ding’ cartoon of the month
By 1938, Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling had been a professional political observer for decades and had become wary of political promises, particularly where conservation was concerned. Not a lot has changed in the political field since he penned this “Don’t Say It — Sign It!” cartoon. As the three-ring circus known as election campaigning starts to heat up, keep in mind Darling’s advice to “get it in writing” where it pertains to wildlife conservation. He went on to see to the preservation of Sanibel’s wetlands and the establishment of the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge in 1945. After his death in 1962, locals petitioned to have it renamed the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge named for a person. The “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge owns the copyright of the “Ding” Darling cartoons.