Joe Easley’s pictorial feature "Along the Iron Pike" broke the worlds’ record for longtime appearance of an artist’s work in any magazine, running from September of 1935 until September of 1971. He also illustrated stories for the magazine using pen and ink and wash, contributed cartoons and hundreds of other pen sketches. Working as a free lance pro, he supplied cartoons to Collier’s, the Saturday Evening Post and other magazines. One of his many customers was the New York Central Railroad for whom he drew pictures commercially for newspaper and magazine ads.

He was a stickler for accuracy, keeping files of newspaper and magazine clippings of railroad scenes. His real resource for true detail came from his colorful life. Joe traveled hundreds of miles on the rails, spending time in Alaska just after the gold rush and in San Francisco on the day of the earthquake. In Seattle he entered a cartoon contest for amateurs and won first prize, two dollars! He took three lessons from a correspondence school and then quit. In New York he attended two art schools but it wasn’t until after 1918 that he earned a living as an artist.