The Story of Joe Magarac
Joe Magarac was born in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains. He was made of steel. That was why he could handle molten metal and bend it into pretzels. He didn't need to sleep. He worked 24 hours a day. He had dark burning coal for eyes. Working with steel was what made him happy.
Once, Joe won a contest against other steelworkers. The prize was the hand of Josephine, the boss's daughter. Joe and Josephine almost met an unhappy end when Josephine became angry with Joe because he wouldn’t stay home with her and instead wanted to work at the steel mill all day, every day. Josephine was so angry that she threw water in Joe’s face and blinded him. Joe was blinded by the water that put out his bright coal eyes. Josephine was sorry and ran to the coal mines and asked two boys to help her find new eyes for her husband. They succeeded and Joe and Josephine were happy once more. However, if you ever see the steam and fog lying in the hills and mountains of Pennsylvania, you might hear someone say “Joe and Josephine must be arguing again!”
Joe didn't want to leave the steel mill. He was what you call a work-a-holic! Once, the mill owner closed the mill for a long weekend because Joe was working so hard they were ahead of schedule. Joe became so depressed that he melted himself down in the Bessemer Furnace. From his body, they made a whole steel mill – the finest in the world.