I YAM THAT I YAM:

Where They Really Knew Popeye and Co. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/18/04)

Before Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl and Wimpy were the stars of a beloved comic strip, they walked the streets of this little town where their creator grew up.

Popeye's real-life alter ego, residents say, was Frank Fiegel, a one-eyed pipe-smoking man with a penchant for fistfights. Dora Paskel was unusually tall and thin and wore a bun at the nape of her neck. And J. William Schuchert, a theater owner, so loved hamburgers that he would send his employees out between performances to buy them.

Popeye made his debut in the funny pages 75 years ago, walking onto Elzie Segar's "Thimble Theatre" comic strip on Jan. 17, 1929. The colorful locals from Mr. Segar's hometown had evolved into a pipe-tooting spinach-chomping hero, the "goil" he was always rushing to save and a man with a paunch to prove his passion for hamburgers.

In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building is shining its lights spinach-green this weekend. A 3-D animated movie will be broadcast before Christmas on Fox. And Chester, population 5,200, will hold its annual picnic for Popeye fans after Labor Day.

All for a character who humbly declares "I yam what I yam" and got his start when Mr. Segar cast his eyes around his hometown, about 60 miles from St. Louis.

Locals say they do not know if Mr. Segar ever acknowledged his inspiration. Around town, it seems obvious that Popeye, Wimpy and Olive Oyl got their start in Chester, especially considering Mr. Fiegel's jutting chin, wiry frame and pipe.

One would rather be the model for the burger-loving Wimpy than the scrawny Olive.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 18, 2004 09:41 AM