Joe Magarac
Encyclopedia
Joe Magarac is a legendary American folk hero
who was a steelworker in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
. Magarac first appeared in print in a 1931 Scribner's Magazine article by Owen Francis, who said he heard the story from immigrant steelworkers in Pittsburgh area steel mills. However, field research in the early 1950s failed to uncover any traces of an oral tradition
about the character, meaning that Joe Magarac, like Big Steve, Febold Feboldson
, and Paul Bunyan
, probably belongs in the category of "fakelore
," or stories told folk-tale style that did not actually spring from authentic folklore
.
Since magarac means "donkey
" (specifically, male donkey, or "jackass
") in South Slavic languages
, folklorists have speculated that Joe Magarac was originally a satirical character, if indeed he was not made up on the spot by Owen Francis's informants as a joke. However, in the Balkan system of values a donkey, in addition to being stubborn, is considered a hard-working animal which can bear a great weight upon its shoulders. Therefore the symbolics of a donkey may actually intend to describe Joe Magarac as an extremely durable, hard-working man.
As the story goes, he was a sort of patron saint for steel workers. He lived at Mrs. Horkey's boarding house and was physically made of steel. He supposedly rose out of an ore mine, having allegedly been born inside--or on the outside of--an ore mountain, to help steelworkers, and he won the beautiful Mary Mestrovich's hand in marriage in a weight-lifting contest. But he allowed her to marry her true love Pete Pussick. (Both these surnames are also of South Slavic origin: Meštrović and Pušić.) He would appear out of nowhere at critical moments to protect the steel workers. One story goes that he showed up to stop the falling of a 50-ton crucible, set to fall on a group of steelworkers. His fate is debated as well. While one version of the tale states that he melted himself down in a Bessemer furnace for material to build a new mill, another states that he is still alive. The second version suggests that he is waiting at an abandoned mill, waiting for the day that the furnace burns again.
Joe Magarac stories were told in other industrial cities of the Upper Midwest, too, though his home was always Pittsburgh. In Racine, Wisconsin, he was described as a Czech to children in Bohemian families. He was the ideal role model for parents to present to children who would likely follow them into factory work. He was strong, brave, and self-sacrificing, and he worked with the strength of a hundred men.
One version of the Magarac story was recorded by The New Christy Minstrels on their 1964 Columbia Records
release Land of Giants: "We're gonna build a railroad down to Frisco and back, and way down to Mexico. Who's gonna make the steel for that track? It's Joe...Magarac."
The Magarac legend is described in some detail in John Brunner
's science fiction
short story "The Iron Jackass," which in many ways is a futuristic retelling of the legend with a robot in the role of Joe Magarac.
Note: "Magarac" is pronounced "mah-gah-rats" in South Slavic languages.
Pittsburgh's local amusement park, Kennywood
, has a depiction of Joe Magarac in one of its rides. The "train ride" is a slow moving, historic and culturally entertaining ride, where passengers learn about some of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities history. Joe Magarac is depicted with a red-hot steel beam, bending it into shape for the amusement park's steel coasters. The guide always jokes, proclaiming to old Joe that the steelwork is complete, and that he can now rest.
Folk hero
A folk hero is a type of hero, real, fictional, or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by...
who was a steelworker in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Magarac first appeared in print in a 1931 Scribner's Magazine article by Owen Francis, who said he heard the story from immigrant steelworkers in Pittsburgh area steel mills. However, field research in the early 1950s failed to uncover any traces of an oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
about the character, meaning that Joe Magarac, like Big Steve, Febold Feboldson
Febold Feboldson
Febold Feboldson is an American folk hero who was a Swedish American plainsman and cloudbuster from Nebraska. His exploits were originally published in 1923 in an independent newspaper and the character is now largely considered a part of fakelore as opposed to a genuine folk hero. -References:...
, and Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. One of the most famous and popular North American folklore heroes, he is usually described as a giant as well as a lumberjack of unusual skill, and is often accompanied in stories by his animal companion, Babe the Blue...
, probably belongs in the category of "fakelore
Fakelore
Fakelore or Pseudo-folklore is inauthentic, manufactured folklore presented as if it were genuinely traditional. The term can refer to new stories or songs made up, or to folklore that is reworked and modified for modern tastes...
," or stories told folk-tale style that did not actually spring from authentic folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
.
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
" (specifically, male donkey, or "jackass
Jackass
A jackass is a male donkey.Jackass may also refer to:In entertainment:* Jackass ** Jackass: The Movie, 2002** Jackass Number Two, 2006 film** Jackass 2.5, a DVD release** Jackass: The Game, a video game...
") in South Slavic languages
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
, folklorists have speculated that Joe Magarac was originally a satirical character, if indeed he was not made up on the spot by Owen Francis's informants as a joke. However, in the Balkan system of values a donkey, in addition to being stubborn, is considered a hard-working animal which can bear a great weight upon its shoulders. Therefore the symbolics of a donkey may actually intend to describe Joe Magarac as an extremely durable, hard-working man.
As the story goes, he was a sort of patron saint for steel workers. He lived at Mrs. Horkey's boarding house and was physically made of steel. He supposedly rose out of an ore mine, having allegedly been born inside--or on the outside of--an ore mountain, to help steelworkers, and he won the beautiful Mary Mestrovich's hand in marriage in a weight-lifting contest. But he allowed her to marry her true love Pete Pussick. (Both these surnames are also of South Slavic origin: Meštrović and Pušić.) He would appear out of nowhere at critical moments to protect the steel workers. One story goes that he showed up to stop the falling of a 50-ton crucible, set to fall on a group of steelworkers. His fate is debated as well. While one version of the tale states that he melted himself down in a Bessemer furnace for material to build a new mill, another states that he is still alive. The second version suggests that he is waiting at an abandoned mill, waiting for the day that the furnace burns again.
Joe Magarac stories were told in other industrial cities of the Upper Midwest, too, though his home was always Pittsburgh. In Racine, Wisconsin, he was described as a Czech to children in Bohemian families. He was the ideal role model for parents to present to children who would likely follow them into factory work. He was strong, brave, and self-sacrificing, and he worked with the strength of a hundred men.
One version of the Magarac story was recorded by The New Christy Minstrels on their 1964 Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
release Land of Giants: "We're gonna build a railroad down to Frisco and back, and way down to Mexico. Who's gonna make the steel for that track? It's Joe...Magarac."
The Magarac legend is described in some detail in John Brunner
John Brunner (novelist)
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story "The Iron Jackass," which in many ways is a futuristic retelling of the legend with a robot in the role of Joe Magarac.
Note: "Magarac" is pronounced "mah-gah-rats" in South Slavic languages.
Pittsburgh's local amusement park, Kennywood
Kennywood
Kennywood is an amusement park located in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The park first opened in 1898 as a "trolley park" at the end of the Monongahela Street Railway. The park was purchased in 1906 by F. W. Henninger and Andrew McSwigan and thus began the Kennywood...
, has a depiction of Joe Magarac in one of its rides. The "train ride" is a slow moving, historic and culturally entertaining ride, where passengers learn about some of Pittsburgh and surrounding communities history. Joe Magarac is depicted with a red-hot steel beam, bending it into shape for the amusement park's steel coasters. The guide always jokes, proclaiming to old Joe that the steelwork is complete, and that he can now rest.