Pig snouts reminded Papa Smurf of home cookin'

Fiji is a tiny island on the other side of the globe. It’s where Silver Lake native Gary "Papa Smurf" Stritesky went to become an overnight celebrity.

Stritesky, who made it through four episodes of CBS’ “Survivor: Fiji,” told a group of Lakeside School sixth-graders Wednesday morning, “I grew up in Silver Lake, graduated right out of this school. It can happen to anybody.”

“You’ve got to stay true to who you are,” he said. “Don’t be ashamed of who are. Just be who you are, it’s the best you can do.”

Stritesky caught the attention of “Survivor” producers by doing just that. During the casting for this season’s show, he recorded a goofy three-minute video of himself “surviving” a Minnesota winter.

Four episodes after his departure due to medical reasons, Stritesky is still a respectable fifth place out of 19 castaways on CBS’ popularity poll.

“It was an allergic reaction to (ant bites),” he explained. A reel of Stritesky’s “Survivor” highlights showed his legs were teeming with swollen red bumps. Stritesky was sick for three days before being taken off the island by a medical crew.

“I went into anaphylactic shock,” he said. “I was just absolutely annihilated. But that’s part of the game … That’s how it goes sometimes.”

The highlight reel also showed Stritesky beating castaway Anthony Robinson at a foul food eating contest. The main course consisted of pig snouts, complete with a few hairs. Stritesky cleaned his plate while Robinson had difficulty finishing his first bite.

Stritesky said it reminded him of the cuisine he used to eat back home in Silver Lake. “Pig snout tastes great,” he said. “The hair was a little tough.”

For more on Stritesky's adventures in Fiji, see the April 12 Leader print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)