Oklahoma’s
state senate is to be commended for approving a formal resolution celebrating
the 100-year history of U.S. Route 70 and “recognizing the role the highway has
played in the growth of industry, commerce and tourism in southern Oklahoma.”
The
Oklahoma legislators acknowledged that Route 70, which was authorized in 1926,
has helped local businesses and industries to grow and develop, specifically citing
the municipalities of Broken Bow, Idabel, Hugo, Durant, Ardmore and Davidson.
The
resolution states that Route 70 is “an important transportation corridor for Oklahoma
families, farmers, truckers and tourists,” connecting them “to many of southern
Oklahoma’s scenic areas, historic towns, lakes and outdoor recreation
destinations.”
Furthermore,
“continued maintenance and improvement of Route 70…remain vital to supporting future
economic growth and opportunity….”
It
would be nice if other Route 70 states – North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas,
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona – would follow suit and adopt similar celebratory
resolutions. We shall see.
Exiting
Oklahoma, Route 70 crosses the Red River of the South into the Lone Star State
near Oklaunion, Texas. From there, the highway continues west for 250 miles, cutting
across the “bottom” of the Texas panhandle toward New Mexico.
Locally,
Route 70 was branded as the “Texas Plains Trail,” weaving through communities
such as Vernon, Paducah, Matador, Floydada, Plainview, Muleshoe and Farwell.
A
good time to travel “Scenic 70” is September-October, when farmers are
harvesting pumpkins in and around Floydada. The community claims to be the
“Pumpkin Capital of America.” Floydada is pronounced “floy-DAY-dah.”
With
about 2,375 residents, Floydada is the county seat of Floyd County. Both were
named after Dolphin Ward Floyd of Nash County, N.C. He was born in 1804, the
son of Thomas Pennel “Newell” Floyd and Sarah Beckwith Floyd.
One
genealogist said that Dolphin Floyd caught “Texas fever” in 1826 and moved
west, finally settling on a farm near Gonzales, Texas. In 1832, he married
Esther Berry House, a widow with three children.
During
the Texas Revolution, Floyd joined the relief force known as the Gonzales
Rangers. They arrived at the besieged Alamo in San Antonio on March 1, 1836, to
join the Alamo defenders who were fighting for independence from Mexico.
The
unit from Gonzales was memorialized as the “Immortal 32.” Dolphin Ward Floyd
was killed March 6, 1836, on his 32nd birthday. A Texas state historic marker
on the Floyd County courthouse lawn in Floydada tells the full story.
Floydada
area farmers anticipate harvesting about 2 million pumpkins this year. Pumpkins
thrive here because the Floydada climate is ideal – arid and mild with cool
winters and hot summers. Some of the “Big Mac” variety pumpkins top 100 pounds.
Need to get you one?
About
90 miles west beyond Floydada on Route 70 is Muleshoe, another interesting
place to explore. With about 5,160 residents, Muleshoe is about twice the size
of Floydada.
Muleshoe
was formed in 1913 when the Pecos and Northern Texas Railway came through. A
settlement rose up along the tracks on property that was part of the prominent Muleshoe
ranch. Folks were content to “borrow” the name Muleshoe.
This
year (2026) marks the 100-year anniversary of the chartering of Muleshoe as a
city.
The centerpiece of the celebration will surely be an event for people to
gather around the famous National Mule Memorial, which was installed in 1965.
It’s a fiberglass sculpture of “Old Pete,” a real mule that was owned by a
local rancher.
They
do love their mules in Muleshoe. The city’s logo features a kicking mule.
Muleshoe High School’s nickname is Mules.
Texas
Highways magazine says Muleshoe is “True Texas” – “Smart, stubborn and tough,
the mule is cool.”
Mule is deserving subject
for statue in Muleshoe
Editors
at Western Horseman magazine, based in Fort Worth, Texas, dispatched journalist
Helen S. Ellsberg to Muleshoe on the Fourth of July in 1965 to cover the
unveiling of the “Old Pete” mule statue. She specialized in writing about the
“lore of the American West.”
Ellsburg’s
article was headlined: “Mule Day in Muleshoe: A monument for America’s unsung
hero, the mule.”
She
wrote: “Some 10,000 people jammed the town of Muleshoe during a 4th of July
celebration this year to pay tribute to a generally unappreciated, oft-reviled
and unsung American hero – the mule.”
“The
huge crowd stood on rooftops, hung onto railroad cars and climbed to vantage
points on grain elevators. There was a parade featuring the Rolling Plains Mule
Team from Spearman, Texas, 10 covered wagons drawn by mules and an assortment
of 75 mules led or ridden.”
Ellsburg
added: “Newspapers throughout west Texas were filled with mule stories and
poems, old mule photographs sent in by subscribers and advertisements
congratulating Muleshoe, its celebration and its statue.”
When
the National Mule Memorial Association was shopping for a good location to
build a mule memorial, members of Mrs. Inez Middlebrooks’ fourth grade class at
Muleshoe’s elementary school started collecting nickels and dimes.
Gil Lamb of
radio station KMUL in Muleshoe began to publicize a fundraising effort. Carroll
Pouncey, manager of the Muleshoe Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, helped spread the word
within the business community.
Fiberglass
Menagerie of Alpine, Calif., near San Diego, was selected to create the life-size
statue and place it in Muleshoe. Sculptor
Kevin Wolf used photographs of Muleshoe rancher Dave Arden’s 18-year-old mule, “Old
Pete,” to form the model. Old Pete weighed about 1,100 pounds and stood about 5
feet (measured from the ground to his withers).
Ellsburg
said that a cynic may ask: “Why a statue to a dumb animal like a mule?”
She
replied: “Stubborn a mule may be, but dumb he never was. Besides being sturdy,
sure-footed and able to stand more heat, more cold and do more work on less
food and water than any other animal, he is a smart cookie!”
“A
mule will not founder by overeating. He will not injure himself in a runaway.
He will not allow himself to be overworked.”
“Briefly,”
Ellsburg wrote, “the mule deserves a monument for these reasons: Wherever
pioneer man set foot in America, the mule plodded close behind. Mules plowed
the first sod for pioneer man.”
“Mules built the first railways westward. Mules
pulled the covered wagons west. Mules hauled the first freight. Mules built the
first highway.”
“Mules,
5,000 strong, labored and died on the battlefields of World War I…and pulled
cannons and carried the wounded down the muddy hills of Italy in World War II,”
she continued.
“And
perhaps, after his hard-working, unappreciated past, Nelda Merriott was right
when she wrote a poem, published in the Muleshoe Journal,” Ellsburg said. It’s
just a short verse:
He
who laughs last
Laughs
best, it’s true
‘Cause
look who’s gettin’
The
new statue!
The
MULE, that’s WHO!
In 2001,
the Old Pete statue traveled to Washington, D.C., for President George W.
Bush’s “Black Tie and Boots” presidential inauguration ball and parade.
A
mule is the hybrid offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a
mare).
Horses
have 64 chromosomes, while donkeys have 62 chromosomes. Mules inherit half from
each, ending up with 63 chromosomes.
This
odd, mismatched number of chromosomes prevents mules’ bodies from forming
proper sperm or egg cells. Hence, mules are almost universally sterile; male
and female mules cannot successfully reproduce together.
A
more rare occurrence is the breeding of a male horse (a stallion) with a female
donkey (a jenny). Their offsping is called a hinny.
A
mule and a hinny cannot successfully reproduce together, either.
Wouldn’t
you know it? The “world’s largest muleshoe,” standing 27 feet high, is in
Muleshoe, Texas.
It
was erected as an Eagle Scout project in 1994 by Kermit Price, who was a
student at Muleshoe High School. The structure forms an archway entrance to the
Muleshoe’s Heritage Center complex.
Kermit
financed the project by selling sets of mule shoes, which are now embedded in
two large concrete mule shoes. Each shoe has the donor’s name(s) engraved into
it.
The
6,440-acre Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge, situated in the southern part of
the Bailey County, was established in 1935. Its grasslands and playa lakes
annually host one of the largest concentrations of lesser sandhill cranes in
North America.
Muleshoe
is the county seat of Bailey County, which is named after Peter James Bailey
III, a native of Springfield, Ky., who came to Nacogdoches, Texas, in early
1836 as a young lawyer.
He
enlisted at age 24 as a member of the Tennessee Mounted Volunteers who helped
defend the Alamo. Bailey perished alongside Davy Crockett and 187 others on
March 6, 1836, during the Mexican siege
The
mule is the mascot of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.
“Francis
the Talking Mule” was a former Army mule featured in a number of films from
1950-58.
Through the voice of
Chill Wills, Francis talked to actor Dennis O’Connor.
Actor
Ken Curtis was best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the Western
television series “Gunsmoke.” Festus was the “beloved, cantankerous and scruffy
deputy” who served as Marshal Matt Dillon’s trusty, hillbilly sidekick for 11
years (1964-75). Festus owned a mule named “Ruth.”
