It's always been the accepted belief among fans of Elzie Segar and his character creations that at least three of those characters are based upon real persons with whom he grew up in his hometown of Chester Illinois. Frank "Rocky" Fiegel, Dora Paskel and J. William (Bill) Schuchert are believed to have been the persons on which Popeye, Olive Oyl and J. Wellington Wimpy, respectively, are based. For more information on Frank, Dora, Bill and others click on their names below.
Frank Fiegel was born on January 27th, 1868 and died on March 24th, 1947. By all reports, the people of the town of Chester considered Fiegle to be of no-account. In fact, 30 years after his death, when the town was raising funds to erect a statue of Popeye the Sailor in Segar Memorial Park, some citizens, believing that Fiegel was the prototype for Popeye, refused to donate, saying that they saw no reason to give funds to "immortalize a bum."Such criticism may be at least partially justified. Fiegle, a sometime bartender and general laborer around Chester who was known by the nickname "Rocky," was a drinker and a brawler who reportedly feared nothing. His exploits with his fists were such that when his brother moved to St. Louis, Rocky's sister-inlaw convinced her husband to change the spelling of their last name to "Feegle" to avoid any disgrace that might come from being associated with the man who lived in a small town over sixty miles away. If Rocky's renown had reached that far then perhaps his reputation was well deserved.
According to his nephew, Clyde Feegle, at least one of Rocky's exploits actually happened in the Gateway City itself. Mr. Feegle is quoted in an article from the April 8th, 1979 Southern Illinoisian and tells of the time his uncle visited a saloon on the St. Louis levee. "They had two big guys inside who said you had to buy drinks for the house or put on the gloves. They had a big bruiser waiting to fight but he (Rocky) put on the gloves and knocked the guy out." Either the date of the article is in error or the actual event is ficticious because Rocky was born in 1868 and it's doubtful that he was hanging out in St. Louis bars and brawling at age 11.
Another anecdote about Rocky by his nephew tells of how his skills as a brawler were sometimes exploited by the Chester locals. "There was a dance out in the country and they charged the boys from town 50 cents, although the ones from the country only had to pay a quarter. Some of the boys came to Rocky and asked him to come along with them, but he didn't want to go. The boys bought him whisky until finally he agreed. When they got there, a big guy told Rocky he had to pay 50 cents or he couldn't dance. Rocky said, 'I'll pay a quarter or there won't be a dance.' and then he started going after the guy."
If Rocky's fists were as hard as stone he also had a softer side. Fiegel was a bachelor his entire life and never had children of his own. Yet he apparently had a fatherly affection for the children of Chester. Clyde Feegle says, "Whenever he saw us, he wouldn't let us get by him without giving us money. All the kids in the neighborhood told me that he was always giving them candy and things."
When Fiegel was working as a farm laborer in the fields outside the town, it's reported that he would leave pieces of candy on top of the fence posts for the children to collect as they passed by.
According to Clyde Feegle, on at least one occasion, Rocky's tougher side was displayed for the benefit of the town's young. Feegle tells a story of the time his uncle spotted one of the townsmen beating one of the neighborhood boys. When Rocky tried to intervene, the other man pulled a knife. In the ensuing fight, Rocky was slashed across the forehead and seriously injured.
Fiegel reportedly was seldom steadily employed and got work wherever he could. He spent much of his time sitting in the town's saloons. He lived with his mother until she died, then continued living in the house alone.
When Fiegel died in 1947 at the age of 79, he was buried in Chester, Illinois in an unmarked grave next to his mother. It wasn't until 1996 that a headstone was supplied for his grave.
Dora paskel was born in 1872 As Dora Schrader and passed away on May 6, 1953. Town lore declares that she was the inspiration for the Character of Olive Oyl.Mrs. Paskel along with her husband, Frank and their son, Blossie, operated a general store in Chester for more than 50 years. The store was in the front of the building and the Paskel home was in the rear.
Mrs. Paskel was said to be tall and slender with sharp features and wore her hair tied tightly in a small bun at the back of her neck. She is said to have been somewhat humorless and somber. The town's children would often walk past the store but seldom went in. One said "Mrs. paskel seemed to be a stern person and we respected her 'territory.'"
According to the Chster Herald Tribune, Paskal's General store was a typical general store of the time, a place where you could buy almost anything provided it could be located in the clutter. The aisles were narrow and tightly packed. One citizen reported it as being "the kind of store that you walked into and then backed out of. "A Mrs. Mildred Midjaas, in a Tribune article states, "The children would go into the cluttered store and ask for something which wasn't displayed so they could watch as Mrs. Paskel hunted for it. She always assured her customers that she was sure the item was in stock, but she just couldn't put her hands on it."
The display windows of the store reflected the eclectic inventory contained within. The tribune article states, " a person could find "fly paper, American flags, all-day suckers, old shoes, stick candy, mousetraps, axhandles, firecrackers, and imitation Christmas trees. Frank (Paskal) never changed the window display unless someone pointed out something in the window that he wanted to buy. You could buy a Christmas tree in July or firecrackers in December." The store's slogan was, "Anything you can't find anywhere else, you can find at Paskel's"
Mr. Paskel died in 1938. Mrs. Paskel spent her final years in a nursing home. When she died in 1953 she was buried in the Chester Cemetery next to her husband in an unmarked grave, having no living family to supply one. It wasn't until 2003, fifty years after her death, that she finally received a headstone.
John William Schuchert was born in 1857-1941 at the age of 84 and is buried in Chester, Illinois beside his wife, Liz and their daughter, Pettie.
John F. Schuchert, the father of John William, built the Opera House in 1875 and Chesterites were enthralled with its beauty and with the entertainment which included silent movies and vaudeville troupes. Silence was said to have swept the audience when Bill's wife, Liz, and their daughter, Pettie Ida, entered. The two ladies were said to have an air of dignity and elegance that gained the respect of everyone.
Liz confined her fashions to black wrappers, handmade by a Chester woman. These were held at the waistline by a wide black satin ribbon tied in front, according to a story written by the late Mrs. Jessie Lee Huffstutler. To complement these creations, Mrs. Schuchert chose small, black bonnet-shaped hats with small plumes.
Mrs. Huffstutler, whose aunt was Mrs. Schuchert's seamstress, recalls that one day when she came for a fitting, she was in a bad mood and said, "When I die, I want to be buried in black from the skin out because my life has been so damned black." Fortunately, the mood quickly passed.
Bill, Wimpy's prototype, was a rather chubby, good natured, jovial man, who wore a mustache and who loved hamburgers. He always had a tall tale to tell and this earned him the nickname "Windy Bill." Often in the evenings while working at the Opera House where Elzie Segar was employed, Schuchert would send some of the help next door to the Wiebusch Saloon to buy him some hamburgers. In her story, Mrs. Huffstutler recalled that Mr. Schuchert was a very friendly, outgoing man, and alwyas enjoyed visiting and talking with everyone.
Some of these traits must have been passed on to Wimpy by Segar, and Popeye seems to be the object of Wimpy's friendship-whether or not he enjoys it.
Wimpy is said to be a composite, his apprerance that of Bill Schuchert and his personality that of a crooked fight referee in Santa Monica. Most of these claims, especially those laying claim to Popeye, are dismissed by fans of the comic strip as being entirely without merit.
Whether Dora Paskal (AKA Olive Oyl) ever actually worked at the tavern is unknown.
Of Fiegel, Paskal and Schuchert, regretfully, it must be said that none of the claims has ever been completely verified. Bud Sagendorf, who was Segar's sole assistant, says that Wimpy's personality was based on an obnoxious fight referee in Ocean Park California. As far as his physical appearance and love of burgers is concerned, Sagendorf, in his book, merely states that the citizens of Chester believe Bill Schuchert to be the model for Wimpy. He makes the same statement for Dora and Rocky, that the Chester citizens believe they are the models for the characters. Local lore is that Rocky used to receive a weekly check from Segar. Yet an article in the Chester newspaper states that Rocky never knew he was allegedly the model for Popeye until 1938 when The St. Louis paper mentioned it in their obituary of Segar. Such conflicting assertions certainly make a definite conclusion difficult.
Other claims besides Rocky's have been made as to the origins of the character of Popeye. It's been said that Popeye is based on a Mississippi riverman. It's also said that his prototype was a sailor who fished off the same pier in Santa Monica as Segar. Some time ago a painting was auctioned on the Internet and its owner claimed it was a painting done by Segar of the man (not Fiegel) who was the basis for Popeye. Sadly, this claim was dismissed out of hand without the courtesy of even a cursory investigation. Many people who believe Fiegel to be the sole inspiration for Popeye are loathe to entertain any other possibilities. One can cast some small doubt upon Rocky's claim by observing simply that Popeye was missing an eye while Rocky reportedly was not.
Dora Paskel's claim to being the model for Olive is that she was tall, thin and wore her hair in a bun. Plus she lived in Chester.
Since Segar left Chester in 1915 and never returned even to visit, and since he obviously met a lot of people in Chicago, New York and Santa Monica, logic would suggest that the characters may be composites of two or more persons. They may also have been created from whole cloth and only later associated to persons in Chester, Illinois whom they vaguely resembled. So while Rocky, Dora and Bill may very well have influenced Segar in creating his three most famous characters, no one can say with certainty that there weren't other persons in Segar's experience who also played a part. This is all supposition and any information anyone may have to clear it up and settle it would be appreciated.
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