Joe Magarac is a legendary American folk hero who was a steelworker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The legend originated around the Pittsburgh area steel mills. Magarac actually means a donkey in Croatian. It is debated whether he was manufactured by newspapers or was in fact an authentic folk legend. By the 1930s, his place in literature was secured by Owen Francis' article in Scribner's Magazine. As the story goes, he was a sort of patron saint for steel workers. He lived at Mrs. Horkey's boarding house and won Mary Mestrovich's hand in marriage in a weight-lifting contest, but allowed her to marry her true love, Pete Pussick. 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 in a Bessemer furnace for material to build for a new mill, another states that he is still alive. This version suggests that he is waiting among an abandoned mill, waiting for the day that the furnace burns again.

Legend has it he worked 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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."

Note: "Magarac" is pronounced "mah-gah-rats" in Croatian.

External links

• ^*Students' accounts and illustrations of the story.
• ^*Amazon page with "Joe Magarac" streaming audio.

American folklore