The Forest City News takes another look at the legend of the Pierogi Man.
The Legend of the Pierogi Man: An Expose in Two Parts
Part Two: Sightings, Hearsay, and a Glimmer of Hope
After the initial reports of the Pierogi Man’s appearance in the 1860s, sporadic sightings continued through the turn of the century. In the 1880s, as coal replaced lumber as the chief export of a fledgling Forest City, various historical accounts report that the Pierogi Man would pick up occasional shifts, pro bono, at the local mines to assist workers in times of duress. A performance report, dated October 10, 1899, filed by the owner of old Mine Shaft No. 2 claims, “[the] Pierogi Man can do the work of two, maybe even three non-pierogi men. What’s more – the workers claim he provides savory pieorgi every day at lunch break, baby sits miners’ children on weekends, and has graciously provided singing lessons to all the maidens of the town.”
Appearances by the Pierogi Man (see artist’s rendering), although rare, purportedly continued through the 1930s, at which point the being seemingly vanished. A vocal minority of historians claims that he lost the will to continue his good deeds and simply walked away; other more prominent voices state that the Pierogi Man went into seclusion after suffering horrific injuries while protecting a dozen men in a mine collapse. Regardless, zero sightings of the Pierogi Man were documented between 1931 and 1964.
As Forest City celebrated it’s Centennial in 1964, townsfolk spoke in whispers of a miraculous resurfacing of the Pierogi Man. Local legend has it that in addition to the Pierogi Man delivering a hot basket of pierogi to every citizen of Forest City on the first of August that year, he also appeared, fully bearded, at the Brother of the Brush pageant.
Since then sightings have been consistent, although sporadic, with the Pierogi Man accomplishing acts of kindness from the fantastic (rescuing an infant from the bottom of a well; wrestling, bare handed, a rampaging rabid black bear) to the mundane (helping a local elderly woman replace a flat tire; making change for a twenty dollar bill for a child wishing to purchase penny candy from Coolies).
Last year, in an attempt to pay proper public respect to this local legend, the First Annual Old Home Week Pierogi Eating Contest was held. Although no verified documentation exists, many in attendance claimed to have seen him in the shadows of the Showmobile, silently applauding the efforts of the brave men and women who valiantly imbibed dozens upon dozens of delicious Plumpy’s pierogi.
As Forest City prepares for the 2008 edition of the Pierogi Eating Contest, Mayor Nick Cost delivers a final, heartfelt plea to our champion, the Pierogi Man:
“When I ran for mayor, I made some firm promises to the good, hard-working people of Forest City. First and foremost, I promised to pay homage to the Pierogi Man and bring him out of hiding. What better way to appease this strange, beautiful being than to have him appear during Old Home Week. Please Pierogi Man, if you’re out there: join us on August 2nd in celebrating all you’ve done for the people of this town.”
The 2008 Old Home Week Pierogi Eating Contest, sponsored by NEP Telephone Co. and Plumpy’s, will take place Saturday August 2 at 3:00 p.m. at the Showmobile. For more information on the contest, as well as the Pierogi Man, visit http://oldhomeweek.info.
