Syracuse beard contest grows family connections and (of course) facial hair
Ella Fling | Contributing Photograher
70 years ago, Ron Wolek Sr.’s (center) father ran a mustache-growing contest. On Saturday, his son Ron Wolek Jr. held a competition of his own, to help bring the facial hair community of Syracuse together.
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Standing in front of a wall covered in Polish coats of arms, Ron Wolek Jr. explained that beards of legends — like King Stefan in “Sleeping Beauty” — are all based on the beard of an ancient Polish king. Wolek created a special award at the Wolek’s Famous Beard Championship in honor of that fact.
“Anyone whose beard is regal enough or Polish enough receives the Kazimierza beard award,” Wolek said.
In the 1950s, Wolek’s grandfather ran a cafe called Hank’s on Marcellus St, just two blocks away from the current location of the Syracuse Polish Home, a Polish cultural center. To keep business going during Lent, Wolek’s grandfather ran a mustache-growing contest that charged weekly dues of 50 cents. This year, Wolek decided to revive his grandfather’s contest in his memory.
About 100 facial hair enthusiasts and members of Syracuse’s Polish community celebrated the first Wolek’s Famous Beard Championship at the Polish Home this weekend. The Syracuse Post-Standard reported on Wolek’s grandfather’s contest in 1953, including a picture of several attendees. On Saturday, 70 years after the first contest, Wolek and his father Wolek Sr. posed with other attendees in the same formation as the Post-Standard’s picture.
Yolanda Brzostowski, president of the Polish Home, didn’t know what to expect when Wolek sent her an email asking to hold the event with them. She didn’t know whether five or 500 people would show up, but she was enthusiastic about an idea that would support the community.
“We originally started out as a group to support Polish immigrants coming in helping them assimilate into the United States, but that’s not as big a deal anymore,” Brzostowski said. “We still support Polish heritage, Polish culture and we try to put on some Polish events during the year.”
Wolek said the charity aspect of the competition community was surprising. He realized the majority of men involved in beard and mustache competitions are doing it for a charitable cause.
The event’s proceeds will go towards the bowling alley in the Polish Home’s basement, Brzostowski said. The lanes have been neglected, and they need maintenance and repair to be kept open, she said. Wolek Sr.’s grandfather and father were bowlers, so Wolek Sr. thought it tied in well with his cause. Bristow thought the family connection and attachment to Polish heritage was beautiful.
The idea of family connection was a strong theme throughout the event, especially considering the location of the Polish Home, Wolek Sr. said. Its proximity to the former Hank’s cafe held real significance to the Woleks.
In 1953, the Syracuse Post Standard reported on Wolek’s grandfather’s contest. Many of the original attendee’s wee featured in the article.Courtesy of Ron Wolek Jr.
When Wolek Sr.’s grandparents came to Syracuse from Poland, they settled in the city’s Polish section, where the Polish Home now stands. The family stuck together after moving, Wolek said.
Wolek feels a close connection to his grandfather, despite the fact that they never met. He said through the newspaper articles saved by his family, he created a picture of a man who followed his dreams and ambitions, just as Wolek tries to do.
“It seemed like he really had the courage to follow his dreams and ambitions,” Wolek said. “I wanted to pay tribute to that.”
Bob Baker, one of the competition’s judges, said his mustache has opened a lot of doors in his life, through the contests and social media opportunities. He loves the community and appreciates that many competitions have a charity component, like this weekend’s donation to the Polish Home.
“I love what they do for the community, but it’s also a good chance to run into friends that have common interests, because I have a very big mustache,” Baker said. “I don’t know many people that have a very big mustache, so it’s nice to see everybody again.”
Baker’s mustache even has its own name – Elliot Norris – because of a joke he made one day that if Chuck Norris and Sam Elliott had a baby, it would be his mustache. Baker’s brand sprang from that idea. With 1.4 million followers on TikTok, Baker uses his platform to advocate for men’s grooming, mental health and suicide prevention and works with Movember and St. Jude’s.
Baker started growing out his facial hair during a 2020 challenge to grow his beard out for 20 months. In 2020, he took first place in the National Beard and Mustache championship, and won the 2022 National Freestyle Mustache Championship.
Saturday’s competition had categories that included goatee, beard only and the “whiskerina” division for women and children — Baker’s favorite. Baker said he likes seeing those who are “follically challenged” make their own creative fake beards.
Anne Ruggeri, a Syracuse resident who Baker would consider “follically challenged,” came to the event to support the bowling lanes, having been a bowler for years. Ruggeri bought a yarn beard piece online and decorated it with small plastic bowling pins and a bowling-themed hat. To finish the look, she attached a miniature bowling lane to her chin.
Although some attendees like Ruggeri came from Syracuse, Wolek Sr. said attendees traveled from Canada, Kentucky, Georgia and Tennessee to be at the event on Sunday.
“(The community is) really close knit. There’s people from all over. Friends of mine came from Canada, just to be here for the event,” Wolek Sr. said. “We’re hoping that a majority of them are from Syracuse, because this is really about the history of Syracuse.”
Kurt Bessel, who works in Syracuse, said he grew his mustache in memory of his father, who also had a handlebar mustache. After his father’s death, Bessel decided to grow a handlebar mustache himself.
“I figured it’d be a cool tribute to my old man and a cool tribute to a whole bunch of family that I never met,” Bessel said.
Bessel’s father was inspired to grow his own mustache by family photos of ancestors all with handlebar mustaches. For Bessel, Saturday’s competition was an opportunity to share his story with a larger community.
“When you’re out in public and you see someone else with great facial hair, we always kind of recognize each other, so I figured it would be a gathering of friends,” Bessel said.
Published on April 9, 2023 at 10:42 pm
