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I f you’re old enough to get into a bar, you’ve seen him, heard of him or talked about him. You can’t have a fun night in this city without bumping into twenty people who have met him.Youngstown knows him as the bar-

crawler clad in black spandex pants, black spandex shirts and enough outrageously, impressively uninhibited dance moves to keep you laughing the entire night. On first impression he was a crazy fifty-something who seemed high on life, or something. Girls who didn’t know what to make of him could at least appreciate when he pulled them from wallflower status to the center of the dance floor. You always left the bar with more stories and pictures than when you went in, and he was the center of all of them.This was our Penelope, the nightlife icon of Youngstown. Those who knew him in the club might not have known that for seven years he battled the cancer that took his life on April 19. He died in his home.Fifty-two-year-old William “Penelope” Schraider was a legend among us. While many know him because of his Facebook celebrity status, few know the man behind the moves.

His Vindicator obituary said that Penelope graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1973, then continued his education at Youngstown State University. After graduating from Perkins School of Piano in Cleveland he pursued a career in tuning, rebuilding and selling pianos. He worked for amusement parks for several years in Florida and tuned pianos at Ponderosa Park in Salem for major

acts. In the late ’80s Penelope worked in maintenance for Fireline Inc. in Youngstown. An active community

member, he was a member of St. Patrick and St. Matthias churches and ushered at Powers Auditorium for the Youngstown Symphony for many years.Penelope had a great passion for music

and dancing, which is how Youngstown ended up meeting him, alone in his little circle on the dance floor.A Facebook group called “Penelope: The

Man, The Myth, The Legend” testified to his fame. At the time of his death, the group had drawn over 1,000 members, and YSU students have mourned and shown support on the group’s discussion board. They’ve posted memories, stories and famous Penelope quotes while trying to imagine what their nightlife will be without their star dancing partner.

YSU student Ryan McAllister started the Facebook group with no intentions of it growing as large as it has. “At first I invited my friends that joined me

at the bars and a few other people who I knew were regulars at Shenanigans,” McAllister said, referencing Penelope’s regular hangout in Youngstown.

McAllister’s Facebook group was at about 50 to 60 people when he asked the Shenanigans group moderator to invite all members to join “Penelope: The Man, the Myth, the Legend.”

“He said only on one condition: that any post that was negative toward Penelope had to be deleted. I agreed, saying that I’d do that even if he hadn’t asked. To this day, I have not had to delete a single post off the group’s board,” McAllister said. In the summer of 2007,

Penelope learned about the group. On a night just like any other at Shenanigans, Penelope went up to McAllister and said, “I know about the group you made about me. I’m a star! You’re a star! We’re superstars!”It was his great one-liners, pick-me-

ups and that constant positive outlook on life, despite his health problems, that inspired his bar-going friends. The Facebook group’s wall is plastered with posts like “RIP Penelope, (insert any Youngstown bar here) will never be the same without you!” and “I’ll miss you!” Maybe Youngstown could learn a lesson or two from the man who never let his friends see him in his saddest hours.

Our dear friend Penelope danced like no one was watching, but knew that we all were. He smiled and laughed through his toughest times, even when he knew that his health conditions were grim. It didn’t matter what song was playing; he danced through it all and with anyone he could spin around the floor. He taught us to take life one dance step at a time.

Cheers, Penelope. This one is for you.*

By Chelsea Pflugh

PHOTOS COURTESY OF RYAN MCALLISTER