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From the Potato Pancake era.

Ronald Reagan Eats Invisible Potato Pancake

Field review by the editors.

Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Bronze Reagan sits at a picnic table, just like he did when he visited a local Polish-American festival here in 1984. News reports at the time said that Reagan drew cheers when he declared, "Thank God for Pope John Paul II," before biting into his placki potato pancake.

You might think that the woman sitting next to him is First Lady Nancy Reagan. It isn't; it's Jennie Gowaty, the festival host. The statue itself wasn't unveiled until 2006, spearheaded by Joseph Laudanski, a local building contractor.

Laudanski didn't want a typical "heroic" presidential statue, so he had sculptors in Poland create the picnic table statue based on a photograph taken at the festival. And Laudanski feared that the potato pancake in Reagan's fingers might block Reagan's face, so Laudanski ordered it to be left off.

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Ronald Reagan Eats Invisible Potato Pancake

National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa

Address:
654 Ferry Rd, Doylestown, PA
Directions:
The statue is under a tree just to the north and east of the big shrine church, midway between the church and the water tower.
Phone:
215-345-0600
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Grave of Paderewski's HeartGrave of Paderewski's Heart, Doylestown, PA - < 1 mi.
Fonthill, Concrete Castle HomeFonthill, Concrete Castle Home, Doylestown, PA - 3 mi.
Mercer Museum: Concrete CastleMercer Museum: Concrete Castle, Doylestown, PA - 3 mi.
In the region:
Shades of Death Road, Great Meadows, NJ - 41 mi.

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