Richman with 50 employees. The mill grew to employ more than 275 people and produced over 300,000 pairs of stockings a month with annual payroll exceeding $700,000. The knitting mill continued operations through the 1960s. The building still stands as one of the Gilster Mary Lee Corp. factory buildings. Chester Pool Construction began for the Chester Pool in 1939 as part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) public works program to create employment during the Great Depression. It was completed in 1941, although due to the delivery of the filtration system being delayed it did not officially open until May 30, 1942, under the management of William Weber. A total of 250 swimmers visited the swimming pool in the first week and were charged 15 cents for weekdays and 25 cents for weekends. Due to leaks and other deterioration issues, as well as high repair costs, the pool has been closed since 2014. Home of "Popeye" Chester is the "Home of Popeye," where a , bronze statue of Popeye the Sailor Man stands in the Elzie C. Segar Memorial Park, which honors Popeye's creator, Elzie Segar. The park is located next to the Chester Bridge. Several of Segar's characters were created from his experiences with people of Chester. Chester's big event is its annual Popeye Picnic and parade, held the weekend after Labor Day. Popeye fans travel from all over the United States and the world to partake in the weekend activities. Most of the events and entertainment are free and all are family friendly. New statues honoring the other Thimble Theater characters are added each year. "The Popeye and Friends Character Trail" is spread throughout Chester and to date includes: Popeye (1977) J. Wellington Wimpy (2006) "Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, and Jeep" (2007) "Bluto" (2008) "Castor Oyl and Whiffle Hen" (2009) "Sea Hag and Bernard" (2010) "Cole Oyl" (2011) "Alice The Goon and her goon-child" (2012) Poopdeck Pappy (2013) Professor Wotasnozzle (2014) RoughHouse (2015) Pipeye, Pupeye, Peepeye, and Poopeye, Popeye's four nephews (2016) King Blozo (2017) Nana Oyl (2018) Popeye's Pups (Unveiling in September 2019) Sherlock & Segar (Unveiling in December 2019) Toar the Caveman (Unveiling in October 2020) Ham Gravy (Upcoming in 2021) Oscar (Upcoming in 2022) Popeye's Picnic and Parade Popeye's Picnic is an event held in Chester the Friday, Saturday and Sunday following Labor Day in the month of September. Popeye's Picnic consists of rides, food