HARTLAND – Al Batt says Hank Ketcham changed his life.

Sunday, June 03, 2001

HARTLAND – Al Batt says Hank Ketcham changed his life.

&uot;He was just a really good teacher,&uot; Batt said. &uot;A good fellow.&uot;

Ketcham, the creator of &uot;Dennis the Menace,&uot; died Friday at the age of 81.

Batt, a freelance writer and storyteller, started writing for &uot;Dennis&uot; in 1975, and that’s where he said his life took a new turn. He ended up writing most every non-Sunday &uot;Dennis&uot; cartoon and even writing for the &uot;Dennis the Menace&uot; live-action movie with Walter Matthau, released in 1993.

&uot;He was a wonderful guy, and he treated Dennis and anybody to do with Dennis like it was his own child,&uot; Batt said. &uot;Everything with Dennis had to be just right. Dennis has his own personality, and being a writer for that strip, you had to zero right in on that.&uot;

Although Ketcham turned the day-to-day comic strip over to other writers and cartoonists when his health started failing, he always had a role in the cartoon, Batt said.

&uot;He still had the last say on everything to the end,&uot; Batt said.

Batt credited Ketcham for making Dennis a cultural icon.

&uot;You always hear it from people: ‘That’s kids a Dennis the Menace,’&uot; Batt said. &uot;But Dennis wasn’t really a menace. He was a mischievous kid, but he was kind and good-hearted.&uot;

Batt started writing for &uot;Dennis&uot; after a friend of a friend told him to send some of his writing. Ketcham told Batt to keep it coming, and he has been involved in the strip ever since. The cartoon will continue now that Ketcham is gone, Batt said.