Treasure Chest
I'd never heard of these before, but there are dozens on this site from 1946 to 1963. It obviously has some religious association, so I googled it and found that it ran until 1972, with over 500 issues (including summer issues). It was a Catholic publication that was sold by subscription into Catholic schools, rather than on the newsstands.
I went to a state primary school, rather than a church school, and we used to get school magazines four times a year that included stories and poems, but I don't recall any comics. I probably would have liked a comic like this more than our school magazine. It also would have made a good Sunday School paper back in the day.
PuzzlesI was a nerd and would have done the puzzles page.
The Champ's Treasure HuntIt's a bit hard to gauge as this is just Part 1 of this story, though I gather Frumson is a character that reappears a fair bit. Nothing like a bit of fat-shaming and stereotyping to get the ball rolling. Promises some adventure, but not a lot to go on in this installment. Maybe he saves the day and they realise they've misjudged him.
Acts of the ApostlesWould have been good for Sunday School or Religious Education. I would have found it more appealing than just reading a written account. Incidentally, one of the graphic novels I bought last year was
The Action Bible, which is a comic book version of the whole Bible (or at least the key sections). More than 700 pages of illustrations by Brazilian artist Sergio Cariello, who has worked for both DC and Marvel. I picked up a virtually new copy at my local book exchange for just $8. Maybe it was somebody's unwanted Christmas present. I was more than happy to take it off their hands.
https://theactionbible.com/Unique BirdsA pretty good educational feature if you live somewhere where you can spot these kinds of birds.
JGS's Scratch PadWell this is kind of like the editor's column, but he's no Stan Lee. Sounds like he's laying a guilt trip on kids for not writing in and saying what they like and don't like. As in this quote: '... some of the things you'll be seeing in TREASURE CHEST during the year ... were suggested by people who
did write, so you can see that in this case the minority rules, which isn't at all democratic. But then, it's
your fault if it isn't.' Mmmm, I wonder how many wrote in next time?
Science LabOkay. I'll take their word for it that these work.
Chuck WhiteApparently he was one of the recurring characters, and one thing that made him a little different is that he was the product of a mixed marriage, Catholic and Protestant (shock, horror). Though I imagine that was a pretty edgy topic back in the 40s when this comic started. Apparently, his storylines also featured interracial friendships at a time when that wasn't common. However, in this story, we start out with him as one of the counsellors at a summer camp. One of the kids doesn't want to be there. As this is Part 1, we don't get very far into it, but we can guess that he'll help turn the kid around.
Fun PaceCorny gags but okay,
Talking It Over with Father JohnAn article on the benefits of prayer, by using the examples of some famous people, including Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, J. Edgar Hoover (which surprised me), and boxer Gene Tunney. Might seem unusual for a comic book, but in the context of a magazine for Catholic school students, it fits quite well. There was mention of a call for a day of prayer and fasting for all the colonies in about 1774. I think a lot of countries still have a National Day of prayer, including Australia, the US and the UK. I didn't realise it went back that far.
Patsy MannersObviously a feature to help instill good manners in children, this time by learning to be good and polite passengers when travelling in cars. Maybe if more people were taught this at school, there'd be less road rage today. Though not the most riveting of comic book stories.
How to Make a Play DeskCraft idea showing you how to make a little desk out of matchboxes for your bibs and bobs. This is something I probably would have liked to try, but alas, neither of my parents smoked so I never would have saved up enough match boxes.
Hannibal BearGood sight gag.
OverallAn interesting little comic. Some of it certainly seems dated today, but it would have served its purpose back in the day (1959). I probably would have liked it when I was a kid going off to Sunday School, though I'm Protestant not Catholic. Interesting selection, Panther.
Cheers
QQ