WEEKEND PICNIC HONORS POPEYE'S CHESTER CREATOR

Travelers approaching the Mississippi River bridge from the Illinois side at Chester are greeted by a giant statue that towers some eight to 10 feet high, Chester's homage to the popular cartoon character Popeye.

Popeye, who has been described as a one-eyed, potato-nosed, pipe-smoking, spinach-eating sailor, was created more than six decades ago by Chester native Elzie Chrisler Segar and has been widely featured in comic strips, comic books and movies.

People far and wide visit Chester, particularly in September, says E.F. "Ernie" Schuchert, a Popeye memorabilia collector and a co-chairman for the annual Popeye's Picnic, which will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Among those out-of-town visitors this year will be Mike Brooks and his wife Debbie of Bartlett, Tenn.

"We visit `Popeye Country' on occasion," said Brooks, who is president of the National Popeye Fan Club. "We'll certainly be there for the annual Popeye Picnic."

Another visitor to Popeye country will be Fred Grandinetti, who will travel about as far as you can in this country. Grandinetti, another officer in the fan club, will be in from New York.

"We'll have Popeye collectors from all over the country and Canada for the annual observance," said Schuchert. He added that the celebration will include a special Popeye Museum, parade, arts and crafts and flea market and other events.

Events are scheduled all three days, starting at 4 p.m. Friday with the opening of the carnival and food stands. Friday's events will be highlighted with a king and queen coronation and dance.

The Popeye 10K run will be held at 8 a.m. Saturday with the American Volksport Walk at 9 a.m. the Popeye Museum opens at 10 a.m. and a parade will be held at 11 a.m.

Sunday events include a car show, baseball card show, concert and fireworks.

Popeye came into being on January 17, 1929 when he suddenly appeared on the lake dock in the comic strip entitled "Thimble Theater," a comic strip created by Segar, who was born Dec. 8, 1984 in Chester.

Segar left Chester at the age of 20 and found work at the Chicago Herald newspaper drawing a cartoon strip called "Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers."

It wasn't until 1921 that Segar created "Thimble Theater" with a cast of Olive Oyl, her brother Castor Oyl and Ham Gravy, Olive's boyfriend.

Ten years later, Segar involved his three main characters in a trip to Dice Island. When Castor and Ham went down to the waterfront to hire a crew for a boat they had purchased, they spotted an odd-looking swabbie standing on the dock.

That swabbie was Popeye, and the rest is history.

Popeye immediately became the star of the strip and went on to star in several animated movies, as well as having his own television show.

More than 1,000 products that bear Popeye's likeness everything from pencils to pajamas are on the market. Popeye comic strips still appear in more than 250 newspapers around the world and are translated into 12 languages, including Greek, Italian, Danish, Spanish and Norwegian.

Many of the older products, comic strips and other books are among those of interest to Popeye collectors. A special two-day Popeye Museum will be the highlight of the celebration this year in Chester.

"Collectors like to show their memorabilia," said Schuchert. "This museum gives them an opportunity to display their items."

The museum will be in the St. John's Parish Hall. "One of the dealers will be bringing in an old toy doll of Popeye," said Schuchert. "It's a mechanical toy, and what makes it so interesting is that when Popeye eats his spinach, the metal swells up."

Of course, Popeye's strength comes from spinach. His "spinach-eating-for-strength" image has boosted spinach sales over the years and has been the reason many a youngster has gobbled down though somewhat reluctantly his greens. The hero's appetite for spinach came from his early days in Chester.

"Segar told people that his mother used to harp at him to eat his spinach," said Schuchert.

Segar always denied using real people as patterns, except for hamburger-happy Wimpy.

"Wimpy was patterned after my great uncle, J. William Schuchert," he said. "My uncle was a portly guy and hamburgers were his favorite snack."

Wimpy in the comic strip eventually became the number two character. The fat, mustached chap in the derby hat was noted for his remark, "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

The word from Chester is that Popeye was fashioned after a Chester resident, Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, who was known as a scrapper and the kind of guy who got into more than his share of sticky situations.

"He (Fiegel) wasn't a sailor," said Schuchert. "But people say Elzie Segar had a liking for Rocky's brashness and put him in the sailor's role."

Those in the know say another character in the strip, "Olive Oyl, was patterned after a Chester resident who ran the general store near the opera house.

Segar ran a projector at a movie theater for five years. He later became a house painter and sign painter. He also snapped pictures for the local newspaper.

When Segar learned of the big salaries paid for cartoons, he decided to take a course in cartooning. He finished a correspondence course from a company in Ohio in 18 months and with his handsomely engraved diploma in hand, he headed for Chicago.

Segar died in 1938 but Popeye lived on through the artwork of other cartoonists, including Bud Sagendorf, who had become a friend of Segar.

Popeye items have become collectibles, and like most collectibles, the older Popeye paraphernalia is the most expensive. A metal, multi-colored bank, marked "Popeye Daily Quarter Bank," of the 1950s carries a price range of $75 to $125. Another Popeye bank, "Popeye Knockout Bank," with Popeye fighting the bad guy, can cost a collector up to $300.

Popeye books of the 1930s can still be found. Several little books starring Popeye can be found in the $20 to $40 range, but a 1935 pop-up book, "Hag of the Seven Seasons," may top the $100 mark.