A 'Peanuts' Honor

11/23/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

As the nation prepares for the end of "Peanuts" on Jan. 3 (and a final Sunday strip on Feb. 13), city officials in cartoonist Charles M. Schulz's hometown of St. Paul, Minn. are seeking ways to honor him. The creator of Charlie Brown and company, who announced his retirement last Tuesday, grew up in St. Paul and was a 1940 graduate of Central High School. Since Schulz, who is battling colon cancer, announced the end of the "Peanuts" comic, there has been a public outpouring of people asking, "What can we do?" said Erich Mische, an aide to St. Paul's Mayor Norm Coleman. Even President Clinton has hopped on the "Peanuts" bandwagon. He said last week, "The characters Charles Schulz created are more than enduring icons. Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, Pig Pen and Lucy taught us all a little more about what makes us human."