Frank Fiegel never shied away from a donnybrook. The man known as “Rocky” around the quaint town of Chester, Illinois, an hour south of St. Louis, liked beer, naps, and a pipe at the end of his shift at the local saloon. With a protruding chin, a stocky build, and a propensity for demonstrating his strength, Fiegel cut a muscular figure in Chester. In 1929, that figure became known around the world—albeit by a different name.
That year, a little-known 34-year-old cartoonist named Elzie Crisler Segar introduced a recurring character based on Fiegel to his Thimble Theatre comic strip. The character, a sailor with massive muscles and a jutting jaw, was named Popeye. Within weeks of his introduction, Popeye became a national sensation and eventually received his own strip. Although Popeye was certainly the best-known character to originate from the Thimble Theatre series, he was just one of several based on real people from Segar’s hometown.
According to Fred M. Grandinetti’s book Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History, the character J. Wellington Wimpy was at least partially inspired by Chester Opera House manager William “Windy Bill” Schuchert, who gave Segar one of his first jobs. Like his cartoon version, Windy Bill loved hamburgers. He also liked to tell the occasional tall tale. Olive Oyl, meanwhile, was a caricature of Dora Paskel, the owner of Chester’s general store. “She was tall, lanky, and wore her hair rolled tightly in a bun,” Grandinetti writes. “She also dressed like Miss Oyl, complete with the button-up shoes of the period.”
In the 1970s, Chester began to lean into its cartoon heritage. According to United Press International, the local chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi sorority spent two years raising $10,000 for a 900-pound bronze statue of the spinach-guzzling sailor. St. Louis–based sculptor Robert Walker designed the life-size cast, and it was unveiled to much fanfare in 1977. In the 45 years since Popeye gained a permanent perch in the town of 8,000, he’s been joined by several of his friends from the funnies. Each year since 2006, a different character from the Popeye series has received a statue in Chester.
In Fiegel’s case, not only does the character modeled after him occupy a prominent place in town, but his grave has also been accented to reflect his contributions to cartoon lore. Per Grandinetti’s book, Fiegel’s unmarked cemetery plot received a headstone in 1996. “The marker was inscripted with the 1929 version of Segar’s Popeye,” Grandinetti writes. “It is the original design of the sailor, which most resembles his real life counterpart.”
Comic Relief
Every year since 2006, a new character from the Popeye comic strip series has received a statue in the town of Chester, Illinois.
1977: Popeye
2006: Wimpy
2007: Olive, Swee’Pea & Eugene the Jeep
2008: Bluto
2009: Castor Oyl & Whiffle Hen
2010: Sea Hag & Bernard
2011: Cole Oyl
2012: Alice the Goon & her child
2013: Poopdeck Pappy
2014: Prof. Wotasnozzle
2015: Roughhouse
2016: Four Nephews
2017: King Blozo
2018: Nana Oyl
2019: Popeye’s Pups
2019: Sherlock & Segar
2020: Toar
2021: Harold HamGravy
2022: Oscar
