The Toilets of New York : A Handy Guide to the Best (And the Worst) Public and Semipublic Relief Stations for Those With a Need-To-Know

The definitive guide for anyone visiting the Big Apple with a small bladder! Contains a "tongue-in-cheeks" history of the toilet, going way back to ancient Egypt (which may or may not have any true historical significance). But what's really useful are the walking and trotting maps that identify public lavatories along the way because‹in truth‹a good toilet is hard to find. Each men's and women's facility is given a one- to five-star rating so you'll know which ones to seek out and which ones to avoid. Makes a wonderful gift for anyone planning to visit New York, and the New Yorkers themselves who don't want to be picked up by the city's finest for urinating in public or worse.

Ken was unable to join the National Guard in Alabama, so when he graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, he was whisked away by the U.S. Army to serve time as a Lieutenant in the Military Police. While at UW he became art director and then editor of The Wisconsin Octopus, the campus humor magazine. Meantime, our nation's leaders were trying to hobble together a peace treaty between the North and South Koreans. Then they sent Ken to Seoul. The year he spent there, and the churlishness of his commanding officer, pretty much ruled out the Military as a career option.

So, after a surprisingly Honorable Discharge, Ken enrolled in the old Layton School of Art (now known as the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design) for a year of postgraduate study and acclimation to civilian life. Many years later, Ken was invited to teach an evening course in advertising design at that school, which proved to be a productive learning experience for both instructor and students.

In 1957 he teamed up with two former UW classmates, George Ronsholdt and Kurt Gross, to form ADS, INC., an advertising and design studio. Within a year, Mr. Gross, being the wisest of the three entrepreneurs, fled the struggling business to join the State Department, thus insuring a regular paycheck.

Mr. Ronsholdt hung on for a couple more decades, during which time the agency acquired a lot of business, 25 more employees, and a new office building. Around that time the two owners assembled a stable of graphic designers and established a partnership called UNICOM that specializes in corporate identity, logotypes, annual reports, packaging, and furniture design. Ken published his first edition of a book for written primarily for businesses that use newspaper advertising as a primary medium. It was an instant success, and spurred the publication of two more editions, and invitations to conduct advertising seminars around the U.S. and in Manila, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

A few years after Ken purchased Mr. Ronsholdt's share of both ADS, INC. and UNICOM, he sold the agency operation to its employees. It continues to thrive under the leadership of Mike Tighe.

Today Ken and his wife Dr. Cate Charlton divide their time between Santa Cruz, California where she has a bustling chiropractic practice, and Bayside, Wisconsin, where he conducts his publishing activities under the name of Litterati Books, and continues to do some graphic design work, but mostly for non-profit organizations that couldn't ordinarily afford his exorbitant fees.