Illinois town to celebrate 100 years of white squirrels

OLNEY, Ill. -- The feast day of St. Francis of Assisi was Friday, so the blessing of the squirrels will be about a week late.

But to folks in this southeastern Illinois community, the date of Oct. 12 is more important -- it's the day the white squirrels were first sighted here, 100 years ago.

The white-as-a-sheet rodents -- save for a set of jewel-like pink eyes -- were first discovered in town in 1902. They're an albino form of the gray squirrel, and colonies of the ghostly critters are known to exist at only two other spots nationwide.

"We're very, very proud of our squirrels," said Olney City Clerk Belinda Henton, 43. "And that's why we're having a big celebration to mark their 100th anniversary."

The local post office gets the nut rolling on Friday with a special squirrel-shaped cancellation for letters from 9 to 5 p.m. Then, on Saturday, the town unleashes complete squirrel mania with a parade, displays of squirrel-related items and even a "White Squirrel Scamper" 5K run/walk.

The highlight of the day will be the 4:30 p.m. blessing of the squirrels and the dedication of a $1,300 monument in their honor. The black granite monument bears two white squirrels, rampant, on either side of the incised text.

Olney's claim to fame

The squirrels are definitely a big thing in Olney -- the local police even wear white squirrel arm patches.

"We get calls all the time about the squirrels," said Gwen Gassmann, executive director of the Olney and Greater Richland County Chamber of Commerce. "We've been on TV, we're in encyclopedias and books, and visitors come from as far as California."

A booklet on the squirrels has been compiled by retired life sciences professor John Stencel, who has studied them for 25 years and tracks their population annually. Last year was good with 146 snow white sightings, but statistical analysis showed 5.85 gray squirrels for every white one, a growing ratio that is not so healthy.

"Albinos usually show up and die out, and we don't understand why our population has survived so well," says Stencel, 65. "Now we must protect them."

City ordinances designate Olney a squirrel "sanctuary" and demand fines from $60 to $750 for anyone who tries to "hunt, shoot, pursue, lure, kill, destroy, capture, gig or spear, trap or ensnare or harass" any squirrel, white or otherwise, within city limits.