The name “Van Eisley” probably immediately conjures up images of fun animated movies from your childhood. Most of us have been to Eisleyworld at least once in our lives. The proliferation of the Eisley brand is inescapable. But what many people don’t realize is that Mr. Vanderbilt Eisley spent his final few years isolated at his ranch right outside Carson Hills. He was within a stone’s throw of Emerson Valley.

What was he doing there? If the rumors are to be believed, he was trying to find a way to prolong his life. They say that Van was obsessed with protecting his legacy and didn’t trust anyone else to do it. Not even his nephew Oxford, Jr. was allowed to make decisions that affected the company’s future. The exact nature of what Van attempted in an effort to stay alive is unknown. All we can say for sure is that it cost a lot of money and it didn’t work…or did it?

When Van first created Calico Jack in the silent animated film Calico Jack and the Pirate King, no one knew what an icon the character would become. By the 1950s, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing Jack’s face on everything from t-shirts to watches to backpacks and lunchboxes. He was everywhere back then and he still is now. While Eisley Pictures has produced a plethora of new animated characters to wring every last dollar from, Calico Jack remains the original face of Eisley.

Rumors have persisted since Van Eisley’s death in 1970 that he somehow managed to succeed in his endeavor, but a select few members of his inner-circle kept it quiet all these years. Some say his head was frozen and is held in a cryogenic vault deep beneath Eisleyworld. Others claim he accidentally sent himself to the future, and he’ll reappear to lead Eisley Pictures into a new golden age of animation. Does that all sound like bunk? Of course it does. That’s not what happened at all.

The real story is that Van Eisley found a way to merge his soul with his original creation. He transmogrified himself into his own cartoon character. Now he can be everywhere for all time. Every image of Calico Jack contains a piece of his creator’s soul. Time is irrelevant—from those first iconic images of Jack swinging from the mast of a pirate ship, cutlass in hand, to the latest 3D animated version, Van is within Jack. In that way, he got exactly what he wanted. He will be able to watch over his brand until the end of time.

-Ashton Rook, Lifestyle, Emerson Valley Gazette