Missouri Day & The 30th Anniversary of the Official Missouri State Animal, The Mule
Over the Back Fence - November 2025
by Cori Daniels, Mules and More Editor
I’ve been working on archiving older issues of Mules and More to more easily find content when needed, either for my own reference or when someone requests an article without knowing the publication date. This is a long, slow process, but I really enjoy it. When I find an article that I think might benefit a reader today, I upload it to the website. (You can see the articles I’ve added at mulesandmore.com/blog). I’m going to reprint certain topics we are frequently asked about, too, like the one in this month’s issue by Dr. Bradley and Wayne E. Loch, “Determining The Age Of Horses By Their Teeth,” originally published in 1998.
The superintendent of Maries County R-II sent me a photo of a mule at their school’s Missouri Day, and it reminded me that I’d recently archived a series of stories from 1995 chronicling “The Making of the Missouri State Animal.” Seeing as I make an appearance in this one, this sent me on a little ‘side quest,’ as I like to call them. (I’ve made a few ‘side quests,’ and you can see an example of one on our blog in a post called “A Chronicle of the Congressional Quest to name October 26, 1985, Mule Appreciation Day”).
This particular side quest resulted in a deep dive into how the mule became the official state animal of Missouri. I’d initially thought I’d only post it on the blog, but I decided it was too interesting not to share here, too. I’ll include sources at the end of the blog post when it goes up for those interested.
(It’s also Mules and More’s birthday month, so I granted myself the freedom to be a little self-indulgent. Happy 36th year to us!)
Missouri Day is held on the third Wednesday in October, and was created in 1915 to “teach rising generations of boys and girls the glories of Missouri.” Celebrated by students across the state, most often third graders, part of the day is spent learning about “the methodical consideration of the products of the mines, fields, and forests of the state and to the consideration of the achievements of the sons and daughters of Missouri in commerce, literature, statesmanship, science and art, and in other departments of activity in which the state has rendered service to mankind,” per the statute which established the day.
Missouri Day often focuses on Missouri’s State Symbols, i.e., Missouri’s “official state (fill in the blank).” This means students learn about everything from the official state insect - the honeybee, to the official state Historical Dog - Old Drum, to the official state dinosaur - the Parrosaurus missouriensis, and most importantly (and how this is all related), Missouri’s official state animal - the mule!
How did this come to be, though? Well, through a lot of persistence and hard work from a key group of people, and with a large portion of that coming from Charles Woodford and his wife Louis of Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Charles Woodford, who enlisted in the US Navy at 17, served three years during World War II. Following the war, he served as a sergeant in the Army National Guard and in the US Air Force for 21 years. During his stints in the military, Woodford gained respect for the work of the Missouri mules that hauled military equipment, supplies and even troops in wartime.
Woodford, an active American Legion Post 63 member, came to discover that the mule was not the state animal of Missouri when he was in charge of the 1993 Missouri Day in his area. “He and his fellow American Legion members felt that this was an injustice to the mule,” reported Lenice Basham in the March 1995 issue of Mules and More. With the assistance of another American Legion Post 63 veteran, John Yallaly, he and the American Legion set out to promote the adoption of the Missouri mule as Missouri’s official state animal and gain support from the citizens of Missouri with articles and pictures in newspapers across the state. This is when Mules and More Editor Sue Cole began to help, as well.
After a statewide calling campaign and tour to garner support and a coalition of backers, Representative Jerry McBride and Representative Mary Kasten agreed to introduce the bill to the House of Representatives, pre-filling House Bill No. 84 on December 12, 1994, the bill that would make the mule the state animal of Missouri.
A bill introduced in the Missouri House must go through several steps to be signed into law by the Governor. After an introduction and first reading, it passes to the House committee. The committee holds public hearings, considers the bill and proposes amendments if needed, and then reports its recommendation to the House. It’s then placed on the calendar for debate and a vote, and if passed, the bill is placed on the third reading calendar for a final vote by the full House. If passed by the House, the bill is sent to the Senate for consideration. The bill goes through a similar process in the Senate, with referral to a Senate committee for hearings and amendments, followed by debate and votes on the Senate floor. If the House and Senate both agree to the final version of the bill, it is signed by the presiding officers and sent to the Governor. Then, if the Governor signs the bill, it becomes law.
HB 84 bill was first read on January 5, 1995, and then referred to the House Tourism, Recreation & Cultural Affairs Committee on January 12, 1995. On January 30, 1995, mule enthusiasts from across the state arrived at the Capitol in Jefferson City to for the public hearing. Those in attendance were invited to a reception in the office of Representative Kasten beforehand, and at 8 p.m. that evening, the 18 state representatives who served on the committee met. “It ended up being quite a formal affair, with witnesses having to fill out affidavits and television crew covering the event,” reported Lenice in her March 1995 article.
During the hearing, those who testified explained why they believed the mule was worthy of this official title. Dr. C. Melvin Bradley, Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri in Columbia, discussed how Missouri “has the greatest mule heritage in the world.” Both he and Charles Woodford noted that many Missourians already assumed the mule was the state animal. (Dr. Bradley even brought a copy of a menu from a restaurant he visited recently that stated in their menu that the mule was the state animal).
Mules and More Editor Sue Cole fielded many questions from the representatives, explaining how a mule is made, how to pronounce “mule,” and what distinguishes a Missouri mule from those bred in other states.
The answer to the last question was that “in Kentucky or Tennessee, the breeders bred for little cotton mules. The Missouri breeders bred bigger draft mules that were more gentle. Missouri bred for the quality mule.”
Others spoke about the mule’s service and symbolism. Jeannie (Chipman) Gay shared her family’s mule history (and joked that she didn’t bring the photos of Harry Truman with her father’s prize mule team because she didn’t want to bring politics into the bill); Ben Tennison, Editor of Western Mule, described their growing popularity; and Clyde Brownfield of the American Legion called the mule “a U.S. veteran deserving of respect.” Dr. Norris Preston, the State American Legion Commander, indicated that 68,000 American Legion wartime veterans had already passed the resolution to make the mule the State Animal.
During this first meeting, it was mentioned that the mule might be too closely related to the donkey to become our state animal, as the donkey is the symbol used by the Democratic Party. Only one representative mentioned that people might get them confused.
“On the surface of it, that seemed like a reasonable objection,” Woodford said later when discussing why past efforts had failed when trying to get the mule adopted as the state animal. “However, that objection doesn’t stand up to rigorous analysis. Since a preponderant majority of Missourians are already convinced that the mule is, and has always been, the official symbol of Missouri, what advantage has accrued to the Democratic party, and what detriment has been heaped on the Republican party? Exactly none! Any rational person must conclude that the elevation of the mule to ‘official’ status is wholly deserving of bipartisan support.”
The committee easily passed the bill, and on February 16, 1995, it cleared the House by a vote of 134–10. That same day, it was first read in the Senate, and later referred to the Senate Conservation, Parks & Tourism Committee. On March 30, 1995, the Senate public hearing was held, and many of those who originally testified with the House returned again to provide their support of the mule.
American country music artist Leroy VanDyke, best known for his hits “The Auctioneer” and “Walk on By”, was in attendance for this hearing. He told the committee about his journey to mules, and expanded on their history in Missouri, as well as their future.
Though after this hearing, the bill’s passage in the Senate seemed favorable. But in May, two and a half months after its first reading, it seemed to be threatened by a series of proposed amendments. Unfavorable amendments would jeopardize the entire bill by making it impassable to the Senate. If amended, the bill would have to return to the House for another round of voting, where it could then be rejected or ignored.
Senator Harold Caskey had proposed two amendments to the bill, one that designated the Foxtrotter as the official state horse and the other that named Jesse James as Missouri’s official state outlaw. He fortunately withdrew his proposal after a short round of discussion, though. Next, Senator John Scott attempted to tack on an amendment to ban cockfighting in Missouri, but this amendment was ruled ‘out of order.’ One amendment was proposed and accepted, to name square dancing as the official American folk dance of Missouri. But luckily, this amendment was accepted by the Senate when sent back for approval.
The passage through the Missouri House and Senate took four and a half months. “The end came with unexpected swiftness two days before the end of the 1995 Legislative Session with the Senate’s approval of the bill on May 10,” said Charles Woodford, in the June 1995 issue of Mules and More. “Finally, what should have been done a century ago - the Missouri Legislature has designated the humble but deserving mule as Missouri’s official state animal.”
On May 31, 1995, the Missouri mule was declared the official animal of Missouri when Governor Mel Carnahan signed Bill No. 84.
“Our goal throughout all of this, since it’s beginning in October 1993, has been to honor the mule, a honor long overdue,” said Sue Cole in the June 1995 issue of Mules and More. “The mule worked for and with so many of our forefathers helping settle this great state, and with all the publicity mules have received over the years we just assumed we had ‘Missouri mules.’ Now it’s official, I ride a Missouri mule.”
This was definitely celebrated news in the mule community. The photo at the head of this column is from the summer of 1995, I’m sporting my “Official Missouri Mule” shirt at Shelbyville, Tenn., during the Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show.
Approved in May and effective August 1995, 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of this bill. That means 30 years of recognizing the Missouri mule’s “strength, hardiness, intelligence and even temper,” and not just on Missouri Day (but that is one day where they get the spotlight all across the state!)
Locally, two mule owners volunteered their time to share their mules and knowledge with third graders on Missouri Day. Chris Lange brought his mule to Belle Elementary in Belle, Mo., where I graduated high school, and Les Clancy took his mule and donkeys to Lucy Wortham James Elementary in St. James, just down the road from us. As a daughter and granddaughter of educators, and as part of the mule community myself, I’m so appreciative of Les, Chris, and others across the state who helped recognize mules on Missouri Day in this way.
By sharing their mules with these third graders, they helped them learn through hands-on experience. Many kids have never been around livestock, let alone mules or donkeys. Getting to see, touch, and learn about them firsthand makes the lesson more memorable than any textbook could.
You never know, maybe some of these kids might end up being mule enthusiasts in the future, all because they got to pet a mule on Missouri Day!
