MULE ADVOCATES HEAD TO STATE CONVENTION

Members of the American Legion Post 63 in Cape Girardeau hope to gain a vote of support this weekend for the Missouri mule.

The local American Legion post has spearheaded a statewide campaign to make the mule the official state animal. Organizers Charles Woodford and John Yallaly will pitch their proposal this weekend at the American Legion state convention in Joplin.

A resolution calling for support of the project is on the agenda at the state convention. In January, they hope, state legislation will be introduced to give the mule its due.

Woodford said he will be speaking with members of the American Legion and also members of the legion's auxiliary. He expects both groups to give an official nod to his proposal.

"I think the resolution will pass handily. I can't see how they could possibly turn it down," Woodford said. "I'm really counting on it."

If the resolution passes, American Legion members will fan out across the state spreading the good news about mules.

"All the districts and posts will get behind this, give it publicity and lean on their state legislators," Woodford said.

Many people assume the mule already has "official" designation in Missouri.

Yallaly said people have been receptive to the idea of honoring the mule.

Woodford came up with the notion while preparing for the Missouri Day celebration here earlier this year. "I learned that the mule was not the state animal. It was nothing," he said.

Mules were involved in Army units from the Indian Wars through World War II. "We never lost a war a mule was involved in," said Woodford.

Mules were also vital in develop of Missouri, especially the Bootheel. Mules worked the mines, logged the forests, worked in construction, built roads and railroads and drained the swamps in Southeast Missouri.

"If Missouri has got the honey bee and a state rock, I think the mule deserves to be the official state animal," Woodford said.

Woodford and Yallaly hope the time is right to honor the mule. The legislature might not be as easily convinced.

This is not the first time Missourians have tried to get the mule named the official state animal. Previous attempts have been blocked because the mule resembles the Democratic Party symbol, the donkey.