THE LIFE AND TRAGIC DEATH OF POTTSIE OTTSIE

Dear Mr. Trout:

 I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there was Pottsie Ottsie.  My mother’s latest boyfriend said that if you see it on the "Beansoup for the Soul" website then its so. Please tell me the truth; was there a Pottsie Ottsie?

                                               Virginia

Your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. How dreary would be Schuylkill County have been if there was no Pottsie Ottsie. Virginia, Pottsie Ottsie was the Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival mascot for many years, during a time when Pottsville’s citizens actually held jobs and cleaned up after themselves and their property.    Don’t be frightened Virginia. Those people actually seemed to enjoy holding jobs and cleaning up after themselves and keeping their property neat and tidy - horrible as it may sound to you and to me.  Virginia, be grateful for the safety net that you have now which allows you to avoid holding a job, or taking care of yourself or your property and guarantees you a disability check for your ergophobia ("fear of the workplace") as well as subsidized apartment.

 Known to his friends as Ottsie, he was a snowman of mixed heritage. His father, Frederic, was Teutonic and his mother, Rita, was Italian ice; he was born in Yorkville during a blizzard when Yorkville was an independent duchy.  His birth name was Otto von Mieswinkel.  He attended the Yorkville Elementary School and was proud to be one of the first snowmen to do so.  His high school years were uneventful, although he was King of the Christmas prom for all four years. After graduation, he attempted to join the service but was labelled 4-F for having cold feet and an undescended snow ball.

He went to work for the "The Pottsville Ice and Cold Storage Company” on East Railroad Street.  He worked there for years and eventually learned everything about ice -   cube, cracked, shaved and block. He knew it all. His knowledge of ice made him a hit with Pottsville’s cocktail lounge circuit where ice was very important.  He was a snowman about town, either at the Necho Allen Tap Room, the Leiderkrantz or the Yorkville Hose House.  It was Ottsie that taught all of the city’s bartenders how important that crushed ice was for mint juleps, despite what they teach you in school. He soon ended up with a bevy of girlfriends. All princesses if you catch my drift. Most found his button nose irresistible, although one thought it was abominable but overlooked it.

It was at the Pottsville Ski Lodge that Otto met up with the Winter Carnival founding mothers and fathers.  He offered them glitz and glamour as well as a steady stream of ice for their cocktails.  In return they offered him fame and fortune for being the mascot. 

 Thus, he was renamed "Pottsie Ottsie." A star was born.

Things went well until Carnival fell on hard times due to the gas shortages; many floats would be abandoned along the parade route.  Finger-pointing began and they all pointed to Pottsie Ottsie.  He would look at them with his two eyes made out of coal and deny any responsibility but it appeared that his days were numbered.  Many believed that Pottsie was a bit of a flake and that the city needed a more recognizable mascot.  They began to push a certain leprechaun who had the right family connections.  Soon the city was torn apart. Half wanted Ottsie to stay, half wanted Ottsie out.   The Pottsville Riot Police were often called to dispel the demonstrators with many notable citizens picking sides.

Soon Pottsie Ottsie went on WPPA and stunned the listening audience. “I leave you gentleman now. You will now write it; you will interpret it; that's your right. But as I leave you I want you to know.... just think how much you're going to be missing. You don't have Ottsie to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”

From then on Pottsie Ottsie was given the cold shoulder. He slid into obscurity, hitting the chilly sauce at various gin joints, getting into snowball fights, and leading a life of debauchery. Not necessarily in that order. Things got so bad that he was seen running here and there, all around the square saying “Catch me if you can.”   

After being diagnosed as bi-polar (Arctic and Antarctic), his three involuntary commitments in 5-P didn’t seem to help.   

His last years were spent in a small room at the William Penn Hotel on East Norwegian Street.   While reports were given to the desk clerk of a strange "thumpity, thump, thump" coming from his room, no one checked on him. Some said he was dead for some time, as all that remained was a puddle, a button nose, two eyes made of coal and a corn cob pipe. 

DNA testing years later, performed by Pottsville’s esteemed surgeon general, confirmed the large puddle to be the remains of Pottsie Ottsie.

There would be no public ceremony, only a simple funeral. His grave stone epitaph at the old Saint John's Cemetery, on Bunker Hill,  simply reads "a jolly, happy soul."

Pottsville has been without a mascot ever since, and it shows.

Virginia, while he may have evaporated, Pottsie Ottsie still lives in our hearts. I hope he continues to live in yours.

 

 

 

The Concise History of the Greater Pottsville Winter Carnival

1888 – Blizzard hits Schuylkill County. Winter Carnival is born when men shovel off Market Street to cheering crowd; the first telemarketer phone call in Schuylkill County asks “do you want to buy a button?”
1899 – Winter Carnival Parade features Third Brigade Band, beer wagon, two horses and a fire truck; first carnival theme - “Party Like It’s 1899.”
1900- Moustache defrosting, first competition event.
1901 – Winter Carnival King frees the serfs; long underwear arrives by train from Tamaqua.
1910- Steam heat under Market Street created allowing for sub-zero parades to continue for decades.
1916 – The first Vulcan appears in Pottsville landing by space craft; terrorized citizenry hide.
1917 – Interfaith Council preach against “the sinister influence of Vulcans on our Youth.”
1918 – Unity Day in city calms fears of Vulcans settling in the county.
1919 – Women permitted to participate in Winter Carnival after passage of 19th Amendment.
1920 – “Spanish Flu” deemed worst Winter Carnival theme of all time.
1921- First Winter Carnival Queen Contest held at the Hippodrome Theatre.
1925 – Yuengling Ice Cream sponsors the first Radio Night on WPPA.
1932 – Prohibition ends. Yuengling Brewery now sponsors Radio Night and Carnival becomes a lot more fun even though it’s a Depression outside.
1936 – Winter Carnival King abdicates his throne to marry the woman he loves.
1937- Hair pulling competition banned from Winter Carnival Snowflake Princess Pageant for being “unlady-like.”
1941- World War II results in Winter Carnival parade floats being pulled by dog teams to conserver gasoline.
1942 – One million buttons collected for war effort; Many Vulcans are drafted and replaced by Vulcanettes who are either women or female impersonators.
1943 – Vulcan high-pitched dialect used by Defense Department to relay unbreakable commands during the war.
1944 – Carnival Mascot Pottsie Ottsie mistakenly arrested by FBI, released after proving he was not the notorious Axis Power sabateur, Pottsie Nottsie.
1945 – Germany surrenders after being bombarded by one million carnival buttons.
1950 – high birth rate of boomer babies results in Little Miss Snowdrop Contest.
1955 – McCarthy hearings in Washington focus on Winter Carnival Polka Night subversive activities; accordion players from Minersville refuse to answer questions and are blacklisted.
1957 – Iced Tea Night sponsored by local business is guered to the young.
1958 – Hula Hoop competition added as event amid protests from some that the hoops are too small for the average county waistline.
1959 – Contestants no longer have to answer questions in pig latin.
1961 – Moustache Defrosting dropped as an event and replaced with fifty mile walk in the snow after JFK challenges the city to put down their hoops and put on snow shoes.
1965- Pottsville Ski Lodge opened by the von Tropp Family. Skiing added as an event.
1966- Frankie Fontaine, the character who played the “Crazy Guggenheim” character on the Jackie Gleason Show attends Winter Carnival and says that he “fits right in and feels at home.”
1967 – Peace reigns in Pottsville during the so-called “winter of love.” Snowball fighting treaty is signed between City and Port Carbon.
1968 – King of Vulcans proclaims that he is more popular than both Jesus Christ and Mayor Close combined; snow ball fights break out throughout county.
1972 – Steam Heat Plant shuts down, parade trudges through snow filled Market Street with parade taking an unprecedented eighteen hours to complete; Five marching mummers are never found.
1975 – “Swine Flu” theme features frosted pig catching competition outside of Farmer’s Market; Monsignor Boyle performs exorcism on person possessed by Vulcans.
1979 – Attendance dramatically drops off at parade. Only floats with odd-numbered license plates permitted to participate. President Jimm Carter laments about the mayonnaise at the Catholic War Veterans Lodge.
1981 – County’s high elderly population results in creation of Miss Slush Contest.
1982 – Urine tests mandated by the city’s Surgeon General at all Winter Carnival Events “just for the fun of it.”
1984 – Nancy Reagan grand marshal of Parade with theme of “Just Say Snow.”
1985 – all athletic events are permanently cancelled by proclamation of the Pottsville Surgeon General who urges everyone to stay home and play video games.
1987 – President Reagan appears at Carnival Coronation and urges the Master of Ceremonies to “tear down this ball.” Instead the city demolishes Garfield School.
1994 – Wonderbra controversy overshadows Carnival; President Clinton signs NAFTA; all vulcan outfits now made in China.
1995 – von Tropp family flees city by crossing over Sharp Mountain in the dead of night;. Ski Lodge closes permanently; skiing outlawed within city limits along with skateboarding and moustache defrosting.
1997 - Vice President Gore predicts global warming will end Carnival "as we know it."
2000 – Theme of “Party Like Its 1999” rejuvenates Carnival.
2001 – Mysterious puddle found in downtown rooming house; DNA results confirm puddle to be the remains of Pottsie Ottsie.
2006 – Mayor announces construction of multi-million dollar Intermodal Building to house Winter Carnival memorabilia, unsold buttons and a vial of the Pottsie Ottsie puddle.
2010 – Body piercing and tattooing rejected for Little Miss Snowflake contestants in close 7-6 decision of Winter Carnival Committee, irate single parents storm out of the meeting;
2011 – Wilhelmina Payne releases memoirs, “A Payneful Look Back On the Winter Carnival.” Sam-Son Productions buys movie rights for an undisclosed sum.

City Mascot

Only a few of the many Schuylkill County municipalities are lucky enough to have official mascots. Some of the more familiar names include the Clamtown Clam and Ringie, the Ringtown Ring Worm. However Pottsville has been under contract with the famed snowman, Pottsie Ottsie, for almost three decades. There is now a public demand that his contract with the City not be renewed. Some taxpayer groups are questioning whether or not the city got a raw deal when the contract was first signed. Many insist that Pottsie Ottsie has not lived up to the rigors of the job and that it is time for a replacement? Some argue that a City Mascot is an unnecessary frill and a waste of tax dollars. However these uninformed individuals are not aware that the City Code mandates a mascot.
City Ordinance 3755, adopted in the early 1970’s, reads as follows:

“The City of Pottsville finds that a mascot has the potential of having great benefit and impact upon the people of Pottsville. It is the intent of this ordinance to provide for an exclusive city mascot and to regulate the activities of the said mascot within the limits of the City and the satellite and puppet municipalities of Mount Carbon,Mechanicsville, and Palo Alto.”

The ordinance was adopted when the city was going through a metamorphosis with many changes occurring.The City Surgeon General predicted a rapid rise in obesity within the city.In response, a public works project was immediately commenced; widening the downtown sidewalk in order to handle the pending girth of pedestrians. However, city officials failed to realize that obese people aren’t noted for any discretionary walking and the large sidewalks remained empty. This time period is known to all as the "Era of big sidewalks."
I recently visited the Historical Society and after several hours of research I discovered that there were numerous applications for the position of city mascot. In fact, applications came from all four corners of the county. Auditions were held for the position of mascot after a merit selection panel, free of any political pressure had been appointed. These four men and one woman had a tremendous burden placed on them – to select the city’s goodwill ambassador! Right off the bat, many applicants were disqualified as not projecting the “right” image. For instance, the chain smoking Sharp Mountain bear, the fuming East Penn Co. Bus, and, of course, the unknown Warlock biker, were just three immediately rejected.
The finalists were selected on personality, poise, talent and brains. Most of the talent was mediocre as the various interpretations of “Smoke on the Water” got stale rather quickly. However, the brains category required the contestant to properly spell such words as Mahantongo, Jallapa, Faraquar, and Fischbach; Pottsie Ottsie nailed them all!
However, when it came down to the final two contestants, the judges had their work cut out for them. Henry- “the Claymation Sensation” - was certainly the odds-on favorite. He was a cross between Henry Clay and a California Raisin. He was sharp and he was on target. He wowed the judges with his soulful medley of “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “My Old Kentucky Home.” Many in the audience thought it would be a slam-dunk for Henry.
Luckily for Pottsie Ottsie,in the early 1970s Pottsville was still a noted ski resort. It was the home of the famed “Pottsville Ski Lodge,” nestled in the majestic Sharp Mountain in the city’s Yorkville section. Winter sports were big back then within the city. Skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing were just a few of the many outdoors activities available. The Ski Lodge single-handedly transformed the community into another Innnsbrook. In fact, lederhosen could be spotted in City Hall and the annoying yodeling of “Lonely Goatherd” filled our streets.
Yes, Pottsie Ottsie, the pudgy snowman, won the coveted contract. His talent also helped a great deal. Who would have thought that the eating one pound of Mootz Peanut Rolls washed down with an ice cold Yeungling beer in less than one minute would be so popular? Pottsie did.
While in some respects Mr. Ottsie was a sage, unfortunately he did not foresee the collapse of the ski industry within the city. Some blame its demise on the fact that its ski lift only traveled downhill. Historians, such as Mark Major, argue that there is a link between the death of the ski lodge and the fall of disco music. Others argued that it was due to the obesity epidemic that continued to spiral, encouraged by Ottsie's over-indulgence in peanut rolls. Al Gore blamed it on global warming. This controversy still rages on to this very day.
With the end of the city ski industry, Pottsie Ottsie limited his activities to an occasional appearance at the Winter Carnival Queen Coronation and Cruise Night. That is why many complain that as a city mascot he has grown fat and lazy. He no longer projects the image the city is trying to project. And then there was the scandal in which he was accused of selling his autographs to children in exchange for Mootz’ peanut rolls. Enough already. Isn’t that enough to get him out?
I think its time that the City selected a mascot worthy of leading us towards the tri-centennial which is only 98 years away. If you agree with me, then write to City Hall and demand a new City mascot and offer ideas for a replacement, or you can email the City at contactus@city.pottsville.pa.us