When Broom Hilda debuted, her age was 1,500. Asked about the longevity of Broom Hilda’s publication and why it appealed to readers, Myers said: “The only answer I have seems a bit silly, but I guess they like to read it. That’s all I can think of. You live or die depending on how accepted you are by the public. The public has accepted it so far for 50 years. God bless them.”
What did Myers do to keep them reading?
“I hope I just made them laugh,” he said. “I don’t have a diary. I have my personal political opinions, but I don’t put them in the comic. I’m not trying to teach anyone anything. If people can look at it every day and just sniff through their nose and smile, then I’ve made it.
It’s not political, but Myers made a statement when he asked Broom Hilda to give up cigars in the band’s early years. He did this after receiving a letter from a doctor about Broom Hilda’s cigar habit.
“My mind is kind of in my parents’ generation,” Myers said. “I love old vaudeville comics and stuff. When I started out, I was making drinking jokes and she had a cigar and stuff. Times have changed over the last half century, so this has faded away.
Myers last visited Tulsa for his mother’s memorial service in 2012. He walked past the old brick house of his youth. Except for more trees, it looked pretty much the same.