“I want to be ‘Popeye The Good News Man’,” said Denne Kornechuk of St. Anne, Quebec, Canada in a booming voice while handing out booklets and hugs to children Saturday, September 11, at the Popeye Picnic in Chester, Ill. A burly ex-Navy sailer, Kornechuk is the spitting image of the popular comic strip and animated character Popeye. “I looked in the mirror one day and said, I think I see a character there,” said Kornechuk, wrapping his mouth around a corncob pipe and striking a pose to prove his point. The Popeye Picnic is an annual tradition in the small river town of Chester, Ill., which was home to the comic’s creator, E.C. Segar. Each of the characters in the series are based on citizens who lived in Chester during the 1920’s. Kornechuk and hundreds of other faithful Popeye fans make a pilgrimage each year from around the country and around the world to Chester to celebrate their favorite comic strip hero.