POPEYE WAS POLISH

Popeye was Polish.

Really? Let me explain, but first, let's hear from Popeye.

Oh, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

I'm strong to the finich

Cause I eats me spinach

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

Franciszek "Rocky" Fiegel (actually Fiegiel) was born, Jan. 27, 1868, in Chester, Ill.

His parents immigrated to the United States in the year of his birth. Bart John Fiegiel and Annie H. Fiegiel were from Czarnków, Poland, a town northwest of Warsaw.

Actually, in the general area of many of my ancestors. (Am I related to Popeye?)

The teen Franciszek was in the navy but spent most of his post-navy life employed as a bartender and bouncer.

He had a strong chin and thick arms and would always wear a striped sailor's T-shirt and cap, never leaving his home without a pipe in his mouth. One of his eyes, was bigger than the other, a birth defect, hence the nickname "Pop-Eye."

Franciszek was quite regularly challenged to fights, which he never turned down. "That's all I can stands, 'cause I can't stands no more."

An up-and-coming cartoonist, E. C. Segar, came across Franciszek at a local bar. Seeing Franciszek, he immediately knew that this was his dream character.

1929 was Popeye's first public appearance in comic strips and cartoons. In 1933, Popeye appeared on the big screen and continued to be very popular in the '60s on TV. I knew him as "Popeye the Sailor Man," but he was originally known as "Popeye the Coast Guard."

Some "eye-popping" facts:

• Popeye used his pipe as a horn, spinach inhaler, whistle, jetpack, propeller, blowtorch, water jet and periscope.

• He was abandoned as a baby by his father and raised in an orphanage.

• As a baby, he smoked a pipe, removing it only for an occasional baby bottle.

• As an adult, he was 34 years old, 5'6" and weighed 158 lb.

• He lost his eye in a fight. "Oh my gorshk!"

• Originally, Popeye gained his special powers by rubbing the hairs on the head of a magical Whiffle Hen named Bernice. Popeye had an affinity for spinach (not vodka).

• Popeye and Olive Oyl got married and had a son, Popeye Junior.

• Popeye's nephews were Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye, Pupeye.

• Swee'pea was a bit of a mystery and belonged to no one.

• In 1980, Robin Williams was cast as the perfect Popeye on the big screen.

Franciszek died in 1947, the year I was born, and was originally buried in an unmarked grave. Popeye fans, of which there are over 10 million, rectified this in 1996 by putting up a proper granite marker, adding to his name and date of birth/death that he was the "Inspiration for Popeye the Sailor Man."

The cartoon character of Popeye may not have be identified as Polish, but the

foundation of his creation is clear.

Was it Popeye or Popeyeski? "I yam what I yam an' tha's all I yam."

Zig Misiak, a member of the Ancaster High School Hall of Distinction, is a Second World War Polish baby refugee, an awardwinning Canadian author of First Nations books and educational resources. He has received multiple awards for his work and contributions. See www.canadianauthoreducation.com.