Eulogy for Harold L. Goodwin

by Ernie Kelly

Editor’s Note: Most Rick Brant fans never had a chance to meet Hal Goodwin, many discovering the true identity of John Blaine well after Hal’s death. One fan who did get that chance was Ernie Kelly. Not only did he get to meet Hal but he came to call him friend. Upon Hal’s passing in February 1990, the Goodwin family asked Ernie to say a few words on behalf of the Rick Brant fans at the memorial service.

The following is Ernie’s eloquent and heartfelt eulogy that I think expresses the feelings that most of us felt and perhaps still feel for Hal Goodwin, without ever having physically met the man.

My name is Ernie Kelly. I was deeply honored when the family requested that I deliver a eulogy for Hal at this service. After saying that I would do it, I got a bit insecure when thinking about the fact that I had known Hal far less time than most of you. You see, I only met Hal for the first time about six years ago, although, in a sense, I feel like I have known him for thirty years. In spite of this relatively short period of time I feel as if I got to know him pretty well, and perhaps some of the things I noticed about him are things that you all have known for a long time.

When I began considering this assignment one of my first thoughts was to wonder what Hal would think about it. I immediately came to the conclusion that he would probably have looked up “eulogy” in his Webster’s dictionary and, confirming that it involved high praise, would oppose it. Faced with the fact that a eulogy was unstoppable, I know he would have said, “Well, at least keep it upbeat.” So that is what I will try to do.

Making friends with Hal was easy. Like most everything else, it seemed, he was an expert at it. The story of how I ended up at Hal’s doorstep one day is illustrative. In order to set this up I need to digress for just a minute.

Most of you are aware of Hal’s scholarly writings but perhaps you may not be aware of the books he wrote for young people. Hal was a juvenile series author. This is the field of writing that includes the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, etc. Hal’s creation was the Rick Brant Science Adventure series by one John Blaine. It was one of the most successful series of this century. Hal wrote his series between 1946 and 1968, usually penning one title per year. Millions of these books were sold.

Now to the story. My own father had died some years ago and I had gone home one last time to clean out all my childhood stuff, as my mother was moving to a smaller house. Up in my old bedroom were my Rick Brant series books. I had loved them above anything else I read as a kid.

Well, I didn’t throw them out. I took them back to Washington and I read them again. They were still great. I was later to find out that they are widely available today in used bookstores, highly coveted by collectors and considered by experts as being among the best series books ever written.

Some weeks later I was sitting in an alcove at the Library of Congress when a book jumped out of the shelves at me. Something About the Author. I thought to myself, I wonder if John Blaine is in here. I looked up the name and discovered that it was a pseudonym for author Harold Goodwin who lived in Bethesda. I’m one of those dying breed of people who still believes in praising folks for jobs well done. So I wrote him a fan letter and he wrote right back and literally invited me over to his home to be his new friend.

After meeting Hal for the first time, I remember saying to myself, “What an extraordinary person.” Here was a man who was obviously very involved in science and technology but he was also just as deeply involved in the humanities. On top of this he was an avid sportsman, a lover of nature and obviously a devoted family man. No matter what topic we discussed he was knowledgeable in the subject matter. He clearly was a cut above the average person. He had so many varied interests. A lover of life I said to myself. A true renaissance man.

You know, getting to know someone at the end of their life is a unique experience. Almost the entire time I know Hal he was fighting the good fight, as he put it. It made our relationship special. I really paid attention to what Hal had to say about life and his experiences. He had so much to impart. I couldn’t get enough of him.

I found him to be a guy who had had a full and exciting life. He loved science, discovery and inventions. I could tell he had been a very competent professional. He loved to read and to write and to travel. All these interests kept him going. He was no armchair observer of life. He got out there and got into it.

Above all else he seemed to be the kind of person who was a real father figure. He was strong and tough as evidenced by the way he fought his illness but he was also very kind, naturally good-natured and really a romantic at heart. He was a caring person. He would bear others problems but not burden them with his own. He was loyal and steadfast. He was honest. He was opinionated. He probably trusted his instincts more than the average scientist and they were usually right. He was a leader, a person you looked up to and one you knew you could trust. The Marines have a phrase for it. Hal was the kind of guy you wanted to have in the foxhole with you when things got heavy.

And what a great writer. He wasn’t the kind of person who blew his own horn much but he was justifiably proud of his writings and in particular the Rick Brants. In many respects a young people’s audience is the most important and endearing audience an author will ever reach. Think about it. You may remember little from a book you finished only last month, but you probably well remember the first ones you read as a child. Hal knew he had written some great books but other adults probably never could fully appreciate that. There was, however, one other group who knew how good a writer Hal was. The kids knew.

The fan mail poured in over the years. Countless letters. Nothing made him feel better than to get those fan letters, particularly the ones after the series had folded, from young fathers who said, “I loved these books when I read them as a kid and they are just as good when I read them to my kids.” What a tribute. Hal’s work was standing the test of time.

Obviously, Hal Goodwin has touched each of us with his life. But I can assure you there are many others out there that have been touched as well, even though they may only have known their benefactor as John Blaine. Like the ones who first learned the enjoyment of reading because of the Rick Brant series. How do you measure that debt of gratitude to Hal Goodwin? What more can a man do to leave the world a better place?

And I can also assure you that somewhere tonight there is a kid reading a Rick Brant, and saying to himself, “boy would I love to meet the author of this!” Well I did and I will always feel lucky that I did. I know that for many of you the sorrow at Hal’s passing is hard to see past right now. But he has left us so much. I feel confident that it won’t be long before we will begin concentrating on how fortunate we are to have known this great man. I know that Hal would not want it any other way.

And, oh yes, there is one other thing that Hal would not have wanted if he had known there was going to be a eulogy. He probably would not have wanted me to ramble this long. So let me close by saying, on behalf of all of us here and the countless other friends of Hal’s, known and unknown, thank you for your wonderful gifts to us.