Mule Day

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Mule Day Parade, April 7, 2018.

Mule Day is an annual event in Columbia that celebrates the city's heritage, particularly as it relates to the breeding and sale of mules.[1][2]

The Maury County Bridle and Saddle Club currently organize Mule Day,[3] which they describe as "an annual celebration of all things related to mules."[4]

History

A mule is a hybrid of a male donkey (the jack) and a female horse (the mare or dam).[5] Before the mid-twentieth century, mules powered many farm activities in Tennessee.[6] Since Biblical times, mules have been prized above other pack animals for their strength, versatility, and longevity.[7][8]

It is difficult to determine an exact date for when the traditions surrounding Mule Day began; but it is often stated that it originated with "Breeders' Days" held in the 1840s.[9]

Mule Markets and Stock Shows (1830s-1930s)

Mule Breeding in Maury County

The breeding and sale of mules began in Maury County in the early nineteenth century. The bartering of mules likely began very early in the county's history.[10][11]

One of the first breeders of mules in Maury County was Jonathan Webster, who arrived in Maury County in 1807 and operated a 1,000-acre farm there until his death in 1845. Webster - a Revolutionary War veteran, planter, slave-owner, and politician - began breeding mules after he recognized mules were a superior alternative to oxen in the cotton field.[12][13][14] A state historical marker near Webster's home (which stands in the Cross Bridges community on the Hampshire Pike west of Columbia) credits Webster as the driving force in the commercialization of mules in Maury County.[15][16]

Maury County mules were regarded as being high in quality, due to their feeding on grasses and corn grown in the lime- and phosphate-rich soils of the area..[17] The mules were generally categorized as either larger "sugar mules" so named because of their utility on sugar plantations, and smaller "cotton mules."[18] Mules not only worked the fields, but were a means of transportation; and an item in the Nashville Republican Banner suggests mule races were being held at least as early as 1839.[19]

By 1850, Maury County had more mules and asses than any other county in Tennessee.[20] An 1884 pamphlet described the mule industry as the principal livestock industry of the county and claimed that Maury County led the nation in mules "raised and shipped."[21]

The Columbia Mule Market

The Columbia mule market was the dominant market in Middle Tennessee during its heyday, although other mule markets existed in other towns.[22][23] By the early 1900s the Columbia market was one of the most prominent mule markets in the United States, and claimed to be the largest street mule market (though this claim was occasionally disputed by other towns).[24][25][26]

The Columbia mule market took place in the streets of Columbia on the first Monday of the month from September (or October) through April, with the greatest volume of sales taking place from January to March, shortly before the plowing season began in most of the South. The methods of sale included both public auctions and private transactions, with buyers paying both with cash and on credit. The market attracted both buyers and sellers from across the South; buyers attracted by the quality of mules to be had in Columbia, and sellers by the concentrated demand that ensured their animals would command a premium price. In exceptional years (such as 1935), as many as 10,000 mules were sold in the streets of Columbia.[27][28] The mule market provided economic benefits to Columbia (as dealers needed accommodations) and was supported by the local political leaders and the business community.[29] Rail transportation (and later, trucking) made it possible for buyers to come from other states, and to transport large quantities of mules back to their fields.[30]

During World War I, the British Government bought thousands of Columbia mules for military service. The Columbia mule market began to decline in the 1920s, however, due to the increased use of motorized farm equipment rendering mules obsolete. The Great Depression briefly caused a resurgence of demand and profitability for mule breeders as many cash-strapped farmers returned to using mules by the mid-1930s.[31][32]

Frances Moore Stephenson, a granddaughter of Billy Moore (one of the early mule breeders of the county), described the scene in the mid-1930s, during the last great years of the mule trade:

If you've never seen a mule market, come to Columbia. The buyers stalk about, look wise, and punch the mules with long sticks. The four streets leading up to the Courthouse, for a block in every direction, are roped off, and turned over to the traders. No man may drive his car in there. It is reserved for the other jackasses.[33]

April "First Mondays" also marked the beginning of the spring session of the county court (as the county government leadership was known at the time), which gave them a civic, as well as economic and cultural, significance.[34][35] A columnist for The Nashville Tennessean wrote:

With all the demagoguery from the political forum, all the reaction of the county courts, and all the sly trading in the mule mart, with all the sweating and swearing, there is something about the Tennessee scene that captivates me on first Monday. It is democracy in the raw -- life itself. It is a page from the book of life of the state I love.[36]

Major mule breeders, feeders, and dealers included: Billy Moore, J.W.S. Ridley, Billy Howard, Green Ingram, Bill Shannon, Capt. John Black, Nat Cheairs, and the Armstrongs.[37][38]

Stock Shows

Though mule-trading continued on first Mondays throughout the season, the first Monday in April took on special significance in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. Over the years, several different events - "Trading Day", "Breeders' Day", and "Livestock Show Day" were associated with the month of April. Livestock breeders would show and trade their animals as mule-trading season gave way to mule-breeding season.[39]

The 1885 stock show featured a parade through downtown Columbia. The Daily American of April 7, 1885, reported:

At an early hour yesterday morning, notwithstanding the threatening character of the weather, the streets and Square in Columbia, the county seat of Maury County, were filled with a dense crowd of people, gathered from every part of the county and from neighboring counties, to inspect the stock which had been brought to the exhibition. Nothing, not even a political canvass, can so arouse the people of old Maury as a stock show....At 11 o'clock the procession headed by the Marshal of the day, W. P. Woldridge, and Shepherd's splendid band of music, began to march from the corner of Sixth and North Main, where the stock had been collected. The Shetland ponies owned by E.N. Aikin and Campbell Brown came first. These in number about ten, were eagerly scanned by the gazing crowd, and created some amusement as they passed along the streets....[40][41]

The April stock show parade continued into the twentieth century, featuring champion racehorses as star attractions.[42]

Stock shows and parades were also held on the first Monday of September (also being Labor Day), with the September exhibition being generally known as "Mule Colt Day." At the time, the April and September events both were referred to as "Mule Days,"[43] though the September event traditionally put more emphasis on mules than horses (though in later years Tennessee Walking Horses were also exhibited) because mule colts foaled in the spring are old enough by early September for weaning and sale from a breeder to a feeder.[44] The relative significance of the April and September events varied from year to year; in some years parades were held in September and in other years "Colt Day" passed with little celebration.[45]

In 1918, market conditions had declined to the point where the April livestock parade was moved to September, effectively merging the parade with the Maury County Fair (though the street market itself remained open).[46] The September parades of the 1920s featured automobiles and modern parade floats.[47]

New Deal Era (1934-1950)

The Columbia mule trade began to pick up slightly in 1933, after several years of low prices and demand. Though sales were still far below what had been experienced only a few years prior, some farmers in the community began to express optimism about the market's future.[48][49] In December 1933, the Columbia Chamber of Commerce began making plans to promote Columbia's mule market to help strengthen its recovery.[50]

In early 1934, it was proposed to the Chamber of Commerce's Livestock Committee that the livestock parade be revived that April.[51][52] The proposal was taken up by W. D. "Hot" Hastings, the Committee's chairman and general manager of Columbia's Daily Herald, and plans for the parade were discussed at the Livestock Committee meeting in late February. [53][54] With the committee's blessing and a budget of $150, a parade for April 2 was organized by Hastings, Tom Brown (who served as the parade's Grand Marshal that year), and others.[55][56][57][58] Hastings' Daily Herald and its competitor, the weekly Maury Democrat, both eagerly promoted the parade in the weeks leading up to April 2.[59][60]

The April 2, 1934 parade drew between 12 and 15,000 people, though some reports at the time estimated as many as 20,000.[61][62][63] Though parades were not uncommon in Columbia at the time (a small parade of school children had been held the previous month), the crowd size was notably large for a town that had fewer than 10,000 residents at the time.[64][65][66] The motorless parade featured Gov. Hill McAlister and state agriculture commissioner O.E. Van Cleave, who drove an old-fashioned cab. The parade line stretched for a mile. [67] Several motion picture companies sent crews to Columbia to capture the event for their news reels. [68][69] The event was considered a success and it was immediately proposed to make the parade an annual event.[70]

The Chamber of Commerce promoted the 1935 parade just as fervently, if not more so.[71] A letter was written to comedian and film star Will Rogers inviting him to the parade; while Rogers declined the invitation because he had already scheduled filming of his final film In Old Kentucky, he used his weekly newspaper column (published across the United States through the McNaught Syndicate) to promote Columbia's mule parade. Rogers wrote, in part:

Mules are diamonds today. They are pearls. They are the best ready money. They are the tops. Thousands and thousands of mules are sold in this town every year. The largest street mule market in the world. I am telling you, and on April 1 they have their great annual live stock show. They (sic) will be 1,500 mules and horses in the parade, and not an auto....

So you go to Columbia. Remember the date, April 1. It's about forty miles south of Nashville. And see some mules, buy some of 'em, just lay 'em away and forget 'em. They will make you some money some day. It's the one thing Wall Street or the Government hasn't been able to monkey with, is the mule business. Maybe that's why they have done so well.[72]

This advertising paid off; crowds of 15,000 to 20,000 were estimated. [73][74][75] The parade line stretched for at least three miles and included floats, military bands (including the Columbia Military Academy band), 1,000 mules and hundreds of other horses and livestock animals. Mule trading that day saw some of the highest prices Columbia's mule market had seen in years -- a fact that was not lost on the parade-goers, as the Farm Bureau's float touted the doubling in mule prices between 1932 and 1935.[76][77] [78] The large crowds for the parade reportedly caused one of the biggest traffic problems that Columbia had seen up to that point.[79] The parade was broadcast around the region by Nashville's WLAC radio station, with perhaps 100,000 listeners tuning in to the hour-long program.[80][81][82]

The 1936 Livestock Day was overshadowed by tragedy, as a powerful tornado struck northwestern Maury County in the early morning hours of "first Monday," killing five people and destroying homes. This tornado was part of a wider tornado outbreak throughout the South that killed hundreds of people.[83][84] Attendance was down due to the storms the night before; estimates of the crowd size varied from 8,000 to 15,000, but even the Daily Herald agreed it was a smaller crowd than in 1935.[85][86][87] Despite the disappointing attendance, the 1936 Livestock Day was given a half-hour of air time by the CBS radio network, promoting Columbia to a wider audience.[88] The parade itself started nearly an hour late (not reaching downtown until 11:45 a.m.) due to trucks carrying the horses and mules into town being delayed by high creeks and debris-cluttered roads.[89][90] The 1936 Livestock Day was themed as "Will Rogers Day" as a tribute to the comedian, who died in a plane crash in August 1935.[91] The Kiwanis Club float featured a large portrait of the late Will Rogers, and the Princess Theater screened Rogers' film Steamboat Round the Bend..[92] The parade also featured Arabian horses, goats, the corps of cadets from Columbia Military Academy, the 109th Cavalry of Tennessee National Guard, and an unusual float that featured a model of the then-proposed Columbia Livestock Market.[93][94]

The 1937 parade marked a return to growth for Livestock Day, with Gov. Gordon Browning and 25,000-to-30,000 spectators in attendance, and an hour of airtime on the national NBC network.[95][96] The 1937 parade was also the first to involve designating a "queen"; although previous parades featured young women in prominent roles, Sarah Ann Ridley seems to have been the first to be recognized as holding this title.[97][98][99]

The 1938 event built on the notion of a "Mule Day Queen"; the New York Times described the plans for the royal court:

A Queen to be chosen from among Maury County's fairest will place a golden crown between the elongated ears of the jackass king. The monarch's chariot will be a might float drawn by twenty mules.[100]

Both Norma Parks and Freda Journey were crowned as co-queens that year; the King Mule was a nameless, five year-old white-nosed sugar mule weighing in at 1,350 pounds, owned by the firm of Parks, Journey and Whitaker.[101][102][103]

About 30,000 people attended the 1938 parade, including Governor Browning, who rode a mule. During the parade, a reviewing stand collapsed, causing some minor injuries. "Mule Day" that year also featured musical programs; the Yale Glee Club performed, an Old Fiddler's Contest was held, and the local Bachelors Club held a barnyard dance featuring the "Mule Trot."[104][105]

The 1939 Mule Day event featured the spectacle of "1,000 Girls on 1,000 Mules" in the parade, divided into 10 groups representing the civil districts of Maury County that existed at that time; and a mule rodeo.[106] These events drew a record (and overflowing) crowd of at least 50,000, including Gov. Prentice Cooper and chain department store president J.C. Penney.[107][108] By comparison, the second-annual Mule Day in Paris, Tennessee drew 12,000 people that day.[109]

Bridle and Saddle Club Era (1974-2019)

Controversies and Incidents

Animal-related Injuries

Crime

In 1938, a Nashville youth was arrested in Franklin for reckless driving and automobile theft; the 16-year old admitted to stealing a car so he could attend the Mule Day parade in Columbia.[110] A second boy (a companion who had fled the scene) was also later arrested. [111]

In 1980, two young men (John Neal, Jr. and Bob Smith) were shot and killed after a mule-pulling contest and fish-fry held in conjunction with Mule Day in the unincorporated community of Theta (northwest of Columbia)..[112] The killer, Donald Wright, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.[113]

In 1983, a Columbia police officer was charged and tried for assaulting a handcuffed prisoner, a Williamson County man who had been arrested for public drunkenness at the Mule Day parade. The officer's trial resulted in a mis-trial; his second trial resulted in conviction.[114][115]

Several shootings and stabbings occurred during Mule Day street parties in the East Hill neighborhood, including one in 2002.[116][117]

Alleged Association With Slavery

[118]

COVID-19 Cancellations (2020-2021)

Events

Beauty Pageant

Parade

5K Race

Music and Dancing

Animal Shows

Economic Impact

Other Mule Days

References

  1. ↑ Emery, Theo. "Paying Homage to a Workhorse That’s Half One." The New York Times. 16 April 2007. p. A12. Web (nytimes.com and gale.com). 11 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "TSLA:Exhibits:Got Mules? A celebration of mules in Tennessee history." Tennessee State Library and Archives. Undated. Web (tnsosfiles.com). 5 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Christen, Mike. "Mule Day organizers, community group tussle over event's moniker." The Daily Herald. 5 March 2021. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 5 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Mule Day Office. "About Mule Day." MuleDay.com. Undated. Web (muleday.com). 5 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Van West, Carroll. "Mules." Tennessee Encylopedia of History and Culture. 1 March 2018. Web (tennesseeencyclopedia.com). 8 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Van West, cited above.
  7. ↑ Bennett, Mike. "Mules, mankind share a common history in modern world." The Daily Herald. 28 March 2012. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 8 March 2021.
  8. ↑ Orr, Gilbert MacWilliams. "The Mule." in Orr, Lois Harlan and Orr, Gilbert MacWilliams Jr. Mule Day Remembered. Franklin, Hillsboro Press, 2002. pp. 1-2.
  9. ↑ "About Mule Day" article cited above.
  10. ↑ Orr, Gilbert. "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 9-14.
  11. ↑ Mike Bennett states in his Duck River Valley Chronicles work that the first mules were brought to Columbia for sale in November 1826, though it is not stated by Bennett what source he relied upon. Bennett, Mike. The Duck River Valley Chronicles. Self-Published e-Book. 2009. p. 129 (61 in section). Web (issuu.com). 9 March 2021.
  12. ↑ Eades, Brian. National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Webster Farm, Cross Bridges, Tennessee. Murfreesboro, MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, 1996.
  13. ↑ Smith, Reid. Majestic Middle Tennessee. Prattville, Ala., Paddle Wheel Publications, 1975, p. 29. Web (hathitrust.org). 9 March 2021.
  14. ↑ Penney, Patsy White (maintainer). "Jonathan Webster." FindAGrave.com. 18 July 2004. Web (findagrave.com). 9 March 2021.
  15. ↑ Barber, Judith. "Jonathan Webster." hmdb.org. 8 Feb. 2013. Web (hmdb.org). 8 March 2021.
  16. ↑ Note that others have also been claimed as the originators of Maury County's mule industry; an item in the 1 Sept. 1876 Herald and Mail stated that Thomas Amis and Amzie Caruthers first began breeding mules around 1830 near Culleoka; this claim was repeated (but not directly cited) in the 2010 Mule Day program. "Hurricane Switch Items." The (Columbia, Tenn.) Herald and Mail. 1 Sept. 1876. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 8 March 2021; "A History of Mule Day." in Mules Build A Strong America: Mule Day 2010, Columbia, TN April 8th - 11th. Columbia, Mule Day Office, 2010, p. 14. Web (issuu.com). 9 March 2021.
  17. ↑ Orr, Gilbert. "Maury County Mules and the Mule Industry Here." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 5-6.
  18. ↑ Orr, Gilbert. "Columbia A Mule Market." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 7-8.
  19. ↑ "Maury County Jockey Club Races." The Republican Banner.' 31 Oct. 1839. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021. This article notes that four mules were entered into a race, which was won by a mule owned by Thomas Wills.
  20. ↑ DeBow, J. D. B. (Superintendent of the Census). The Seventh Census of the United States: 1850. Washington, Robert Armstrong, 1853, pp. 583-584 (Table XI for Tennessee). Web (cornell.edu). 8 March 2021.
  21. ↑ Maury County, the blue-grass region of Tennessee. Its agricultural and mineralogical resources, including a view of the county seat, the city of Columbia. Her commerce and industries, schools and churches, past development and future possibilities. Facts for practical minds. Columbia, Herald Book and Job Rooms, 1884, p. 8. Web (hathitrust.org). 8 March 2021.
  22. ↑ "Abundant Housing for Mule Market." The (Columbia) Herald. 17 Oct. 1919. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  23. ↑ For examples of other mule markets, see for example the indoor market held in Decherd, which promoted itself as being in friendly competition with the Columbia mule market. Priest, J. Percy. "Places and People: Decherd Refuses To Be Licked In Mule Mart War; Invites Charlie McCarthy to Run May Auction." The Nashville Tennessean. 15 March 1938. p. 10. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  24. ↑ "Maury County Championships." The Columbia Herald. 30 Oct. 1903. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021. (Quoting John Trotwood Moore stating that Columbia's mule market was the "best in the South" and second-only in the nation to the mule market in St. Louis, Missouri).
  25. ↑ Agee, J. H. and Kerr, J.A. Soil Survey, Maury County, Tennessee. United States Department of Agriculture, Series 1923, No. 6. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1923, p. 154. Web (hathitrust.org). 9 March 2021. (Stating that the Columbia mule market was "probably" the largest by volume of sales in the United States).
  26. ↑ For example, in 1938 the town of Mayfield, Kentucky made its own claim to being the largest street mule market. "'Mule Market' Claims of Columbia Disputed." The Chattanooga Times. 2 March 1938. p. 7. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021. The Chattanooga Times staff treated Mayfield's claim with skepticism, suggesting that their leaders may not have been familiar with the pomp and circumstance attending Mule Day in Columbia.
  27. ↑ Julian, Olin. "Columbia Mule Market Is Best In Many Years; Dealers Estimate More Than 10,000 Animals Will Be Shipped From Maury County Before Season Closes; Buyers Throng City Today." The Nashville Banner. 4 Feb. 1935. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  28. ↑ Neel, L. R. "A Farmers' Mule Market That Runs Without Commission Or Advertising." The Country Gentleman, vol. LXXX, no. 11, 13 March 1915, pp. 508-509. Web (hathitrust.org). 9 March 2021.
  29. ↑ See "Business Men Endorse Stand Mayor Cherry." The (Columbia) Herald. 9 Jan. 1920. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021. In 1920, a controversy arose over a letter asking the city to enforce a "blue law" and ban mule dealers from coming into Columbia on Sundays, which was problematic due to the fact that the market day was held on Mondays. Mayor W. O. Cherry (with the enthusiastic support of the community) offered the second floor of City Hall as temporary accommodations for mule dealers who were unable to find a place to rest their heads on the sabbath.
  30. ↑ Orr, "Columbia A Mule Market" at p. 7 and "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150" at p. 11.
  31. ↑ Orr, "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150" at p. 12.
  32. ↑ "Maury County's 'First Monday' Attracts National Attention; Six-Year Rise of Event Compared to Back-to-Land Movement; Depression Started Upturn As Work Stock Replaced Tractors." The Nashville Tennessean. 3 April 1938. p. 1-D. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  33. ↑ Moore, Frances. "With No Pride of Ancestry." The Nashville Banner Magazine. 5 April 1936. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  34. ↑ Emery, cited above.
  35. ↑ Tenn. Code 1858 § 4181 established that any business of the County Court requiring the presence of three or more Justice of the Peace take place on the first Mondays of January, April, July and October. This law was rendered moot when the Tennessee Constitution was amended in 1978 to create the county executive and county commission (who now perform the executive and legislative functions, respectively, of the Justices of the Peace). See Tenn. Const. art. VII.
  36. ↑ Alexander, T. H. "I Reckon So." The Nashville Tennessean. 6 April 1931. p. 4. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  37. ↑ Orr, "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150" at p. 12.
  38. ↑ Lams, Mrs. W. J. "Columbia's Mule History Is Filled With Interest." THe Nashville Banner. 6 April 1936. p. 14. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  39. ↑ Orr, Gilbert. "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 9-14.
  40. ↑ "Columbia. Dense Crowds in Attendance at the Great Stock Exhibition. Recent Importations of Holstein Cattle and Their Milking Qualities. The Grand Processions, With Its Features of Interest - Stallions, Jacks, Shetland Ponies, Etc." The (Nashville) Daily American. 7 April 1885. p. 4. Web (newspapers.com). 9 March 2021.
  41. ↑ Orr cites a similar article from March 1887 confirming that the April parade was, by that time, considered a tradition. Orr, Gilbert. "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 12-13, citing "Columbia. A Big Stock Show And Parade to Occur April 4--Personals--Coming Nuptials." The Daily American. 31 March 1887. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  42. ↑ "Hore With World Record in Parade on Stock Show Day; Two Double Record Animals are the Principal Attraction in Line. Argot Hal and The Abbe." The Columbia Herald. 11 April 1913. p. 11. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021.
  43. ↑ See Stephenson, cited above.
  44. ↑ "Monday 'Colt Day' in Columbia." The Nashville Banner. 30 Aug. 1940. p. 13. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021.
  45. ↑ In 1917 the Herald lamented that little was being done to mark Colt Day that year. "First Monday in September is the Annual Colt Day." The Columbia Herald. 31 Aug. 1917. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021. The September 1914 event, for comparison, featured a parade and a large crowd. "Columbia's Colt Show Great Success." The Nashville Banner. 8 Sept. 1914. p. 10. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021.
  46. ↑ "Annual April Stock Parade Be Postponed." The Columbia Herald. 8 March 1918. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021.
  47. ↑ "Babies Judged in Fair at Columbia; Big Parade Today." The Nashville Tennessean. 16 Sept. 1926. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 10 March 2021.
  48. ↑ "The tone was decidedly optimistic with prospects for continued increased demand and higher prices. Trading for the day was estimated at $25,000. On the same day in 1928 it was estimated at $100,00. The peak of the mule trading was reached during the war when a fancy pair sold for $1,2000, the highest price on record." "Columbia Witnesses Revival of 'Mule Day.'" The Nashville Banner. 7 Feb. 1933. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  49. ↑ "Columbia, Tenn., April 4 -- (Special) -- First Monday "mule day resulted in a full market here Monday and pronounced revival was observed in saddle horse interest. Several handsome individuals were offered and considerable trading resulted. Mule prices were slightly stronger.... Farmers and traders are enthusiastic over prospects for increased live stock demand and breeding has been considerably stimulated in the county his year." "Lively Trading Develops At Columbia's Mule Day." The Nashville Banner. 4 April 1933. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  50. ↑ "Columbia, Tenn., Dec. 14 -- (special) -- The Columbia Chamber of Commerce has launched a campaign which is expected to restore Columbia to her rightful place in the sun as the world's largest street mule market." "Columbia Mule Market to Reopen January 1." The Nashville Banner. 14 Dec. 1933. p. 16. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  51. ↑ Most sources state that Tom Brown originally proposed the idea of a parade to the Chamber of Commerce committee, as cited below. In the 1990s, however, Joe Frank Skillington, a farmer who lived near Santa Fe, related a story suggesting that the original idea was proposed to Brown and W.D. Hastings by his father, Charlie Skillington; though Skillington's account may contain some hyperbole, as it suggests that Brown and Hastings were unfamiliar with the concept of a stock show parade, which seems unlikely, as there had been April and September parades on "Mule Days" within recent memory. Von Matthiesen, Maria. "Joe F. Skillington and his Prize Mule Aida." in Looking for Magical Country: A Gathering of Savory Southern Characters. Macon (Ga.), Mercer University Press, 2001, pp. 26-29. Other accounts focus entirely on W. D. Hastings and exclude the mention of Brown or others (see for example Orr, cited above) and others (for example the 2010 Mule Day program cited above) mention Hastings, Brown and Chamber President E. E. Johnson as the originators.
  52. ↑ Duncan, Bob. "The first Mule Day: 'A voice from the past.'" The Daily Herald. 5 April 2015. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 10 March 2021.
  53. ↑ "Columbia - W.D. Hastings, chairman of the livestock committee of the Chamber of Commerce has called a meeting of this committee to be held at the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday evening for the purposes of completing plans for a mammoth livestock parade in Columbia on the first Monday in April. Members of the committee include horse and mule men, breeders of Jerseys and beef cattle. Among the members are: Tom Brown, Jake Harlan, R L Vaughan, C.A. Wright, W.P. Morgan, W. P. Ridley, F. E. Kannon, Mora B. Fairiss, Joe W. Tolley, and Lacy Whitaker." "Tennessee News Briefs." The Nashville Banner. 25 Feb. 1934. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  54. ↑ "Meeting Is Called To Plan Livestock Show." The Nashville Tennessean. 25 Feb. 1934. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  55. ↑ Duncan, cited above. Note that Duncan states that Hastings was the editor of the Herald, but the masthead of the paper shows J.W. Finney as editor and Hastings as general manager.
  56. ↑ Garrett, Jill K. "Founding Father Remembers Early Days." in Parker, Carese (editor). 'Hither and Yon' II: More of the Writings of Jill K. Garrett. Columbia, The Polk Memorial Association, 1992, pp. 272-273.
  57. ↑ Orr, writing in 1940, claims these events occurred in 1933, but a review of newspapers from that year makes it clear that there was no parade that year, and that the idea of reviving the parade was not even discussed until February 1934. See Orr, "Columbia's Mule Day Started in 1933 with $150." in Orr and Orr. Mule Day Remembered. pp. 9-14; substantially the same text also appears in Orr, Gilbert M. "Mule Day's Forerunner Started 100 Years Ago on 'Shoestring." The Nashville Banner. 1 April 1940. pp. 1, 6. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  58. ↑ "Livestock Day April 2 Named For 'New Deal.'" The Daily Herald. 14 March 1934. pp. 1,2. Web (familysearch.org). 15 March 2021. Note that the 1934 event's official name seems to have been "New Deal Live Stock Day Parade."
  59. ↑ Duncan, cited above.
  60. ↑ The Daily Herald ran page 1 items about the Live Stock Day on February 28, March 14, March 19, March 21, March 23, March 27, March 28, March 29, March 30, March 31, April 2, and April 3; and editorials on March 22 and April 3.
  61. ↑ Skillington, Dave. "History of Columbia Mule Day." Western Mule Magazine. vol. 21, no. 2, February 2015, pp. 12 -13. Web (westernmulemagazine.com). 12 March 2021.
  62. ↑ "20,000 Jam Streets as Mule Comes Back Into His Own on Columbia Market." The Nashville Tennessean. 3 April 1934. p. 7. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  63. ↑ The Daily Herald estimated between 10,000 and 20,000. "Big Crowd Sees Mammoth Stock Parade." The Daily Herald. 2 April 1934. pp. 1, 4. Web (familysearch.org). 15 March 2021.
  64. ↑ "In Maury County Blue Ribbon Parade." The Nashville Banner. 23 March 1934. p. 7. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  65. ↑ "Unusual Crowd In Columbia For Livestock Show." The Nashville Banner. 2 April 1934. p. 15. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  66. ↑ The population of Columbia was 7,882 in 1930 and 10,579 in 1940. Truesdell, Leon E. Sixteenth Census of the United States: 1940. Housing. Volume I. Data for Small Areas. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1943.
  67. ↑ "Maury County Observes Greatest Livestock Show Day in History." The Nashville Banner. 3 April 1934. p. 3. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  68. ↑ "Columbia to Honor Live Stock With Big Show, Parade Today." The Nashville Tennessean. 2 April 1934. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  69. ↑ See Duncan, cited above.
  70. ↑ "Movement to Make Livestock Day an Annual Affair Gains Momentum Here." The Daily Herald. 3 April 1934. p. 1. Web (familysearch.org). 15 March 2021.
  71. ↑ Turner, Brown. "Mules, Mules, Mules -- Columbia Has Greatest Celebration in City's History." The Nashville Banner. 1 April 1935. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  72. ↑ Rogers, Will. "Rogers Says Mule Must Bring the Farmer Back; Writes He Would Like To Accept Columbia's Invitation to Great Annual Livestock Show on April 1, Ride a Couple of Animals in Parade." The Nashville Banner. 3 March 1935. pp 1, 2. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021. The column was also given page 1 treatment by the Daily Herald in its March 4 edition. The column also appeared (under different headines) in such papers as The Philadelphia Inquirer (3 March 1935, p. 2.), The Sacramento Bee (2 March 1935, p. 12), the Richmond Times-Dispatch (3 March 1935, p. 2), The Orlando Sentinel (3 March 1935, p. 4), The (Spokane, Wash.) Spokesman-Review (3 March 1935, p. 6), the Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune (3 March 1935, p. 6C), The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune (3 March 1935, p. 5), the Hartford (Conn.) Courant (3 March 1935, p. 2D), The (Sioux Falls, S. D.) Daily Argus-Leader (3 March 1935, p. 6), and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (3 March 1935, p. 10), among many others. The column is also re-printed (with some paragraphs cut) in Orr and Orr at pp. 15-16. Note that nowhere in Rogers' column does he refer to the event as "Mule Day", a term that does not yet seem to have really stuck as a formal name yet; see Duncan, cited above (noting that the name "Mule Day" was not applied to the 1934 event).
  73. ↑ "Columbia's Great Mule Day." (editorial). The Nashville Banner. 2 April 1935. p. 6. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  74. ↑ Carson, Sam. "20,000 Persons Pack Columbia for Biggest Mule Day, Livestock Exhibition and Parade." The Nashville Tennessean. 2 April 1935. pp. 1, 6. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  75. ↑ The Daily Herald of April 2, 1935 claimed that the crowd may have been as high as 25,000, though no other source pegs the attendance that high.
  76. ↑ "Record Crowd Sees Finest Stock Show." The Daily Herald. 1 April 1935. pp. 1, 4. Web (familysearch.org). 15 March 2021.
  77. ↑ Wills, Ridley. "Highest Prices In Years Mark Mule Day Sales; Old Timers Recall Days of Prosperity as First Monday Gets in Swing." The Nashville Banner. 1 April 1935. p. 9. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  78. ↑ Wills, Ridley. "Columbia Has Greatest Show, Crowd Attends; Revival of Mule Industry Is Seen as Index to Prosperity's Return." The Nashville Banner. 2 April 1935. p. 18. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  79. ↑ Wills, "Highest Prices In Years Mark Mule Day Sales," cited above.
  80. ↑ "Columbia Ready For Mule Show; Parade and Competition to Be Among the Day's Activities." The Nashville Tennessean. 1 April 1935. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  81. ↑ Finney, John W. "Columbia Is Ready for Big Livestock Exhibit, Parade." The Nashville Tennessean. 31 March 1935. p. 1, 12. Web (newspapers.com). 14 March 2021.
  82. ↑ "Columbia 'On The Air' With Great Program." The Daily Herald. 1 April 1935. p. 1. Web (familysearch.org). 15 March 2021.
  83. ↑ Associated Press, "200 Tornado Deaths Feared In South As Injuries, Property Damage Mount." The Nashville Banner. 6 April 1936. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021.
  84. ↑ "Once Maury Home, Now Kindling." The Daily Herald. 7 April 1936. p. 1. Web (familysearch.org). 16 March 2021.
  85. ↑ Sadler, Christine. "Large Crowd At Columbia For Mule Day." The Nashville Banner. 6 Apri 1936. p 10. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021. (Estimating crowd size at 8,000 to 10,000).
  86. ↑ "Mules and Horses Parade in Maury; Crowd of 15,000 Cheer 1936 Livestock Show at Columbia." The Nashville Tennessean. 7 April 1936. p. 8. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021; note that this seems to be re-printed from the Daily Herald story printed the previous day."Thousands Cheer Fine Livestock; Biggest Variety Blooded Animals Ever Assembled Here Paraded, Judged." The Daily Herald. 6 April 1936. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021.<
  87. ↑ "Livestock Day Huge Success Despite Storm; Parade Shorter and Crowd Smaller but Variety and Quality Above Par; Mule Trade Low As Many Buyers Leave For Homes; News of Storm in Mississippi, Georgia And Other Points Causes Exodus Here Monday." The Daily Herald. 7 April 1936. p. 1. Web (familysearch.org). 16 March 2021.
  88. ↑ "Radio Gives World Picture of Mule Day." The Daily Herald. 7 April 1936. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021.
  89. ↑ Sadler, cited above.
  90. ↑ "Mules and Horses Parade in Maury," cited above.
  91. ↑ ""Mules and Horses Parade in Maury," cited above.
  92. ↑ Sadler, cited above.
  93. ↑ Sadler, cited above.
  94. ↑ "Mules and Horses Parade in Maury," cited above.
  95. ↑ Tucker, Jack. "Maury Mules Reign Supreme; 30,000 Jam Columbia Streets." The Nashville Tennessean. 6 April 1937. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 16 March 2021.
  96. ↑ "25,000 See Greated Parade." The Daily Herald. 5 April 1937. p. 1. Web (familysearch.org). 19 March 2021.
  97. ↑ "Former Mule Day Queens." The Daily Herald. 28 March 2013. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 19 March 2021.
  98. ↑ Bennett, James. "Time To Choose 2019 Mule Day Queen." The Daily Herald. 28 Feb. 2019. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 19 March 2021.
  99. ↑ Meade, Bell. "Here and Hear About." The Nashville Banner. 11 April 1937. p. 2-X. Web (newspapers.com). 19 March 2021.
  100. ↑ "Mule Day." The New York Times. 4 April 1938. p. 16. Web (proquest.com through Vanderbilt Library). 19 March 2021.
  101. ↑ Sims, Lydel. "Huge Parade Pays Tribute To Monarch." The Nashville Banner. 4 April 1938. pp. 1, 2. Web (newspapers.com). 19 March 2021.
  102. ↑ "Columbia Mule Rehearses for Royal Role." (captioned photo) The Nashville Banner. 1 April 1938. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 19 March 2021.
  103. ↑ Christen, Mike. "Norma Parks Thomas: Remembering a Mule Day Original." The Daily Herald. 25 December 2019. Web (columbiadailyherald.com). 19 March 2021.]
  104. ↑ Priest, J. Percy. "Fiddlers' Contest and Mule Trot Dance End Busy Day for Columbia; 30,000 Entertained." The Nashville Tennessean. 5 April 1938. pp. 1,2. Web (newspapers.com). 19 March 2021.
  105. ↑ Roy, Leonard Cornell. "Highlights of the Volunteer State." The National Geographic Magazine. vol. LXXV, no. 5, May 1939, pp. 553, 582, 594. Web (nationalgeographic.com). 19 March 2021.
  106. ↑ "Mule Will Be King in Columbia on Monday; 50,000 Expected 1,000 Girls, Parade." The Nashville Tennessean. 2 April 1939. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 2 April 2021.
  107. ↑ "50,000 See Finest Mule Day." The Daily Herald. 3 April 1939. pp. 1, 2. Web (familysearch.org). 2 April 2021.
  108. ↑ Priest, J. Percy. "$1,000,000 Mule Day Draws Record Crowd; Maury Event 'Outgrows Arena Crowd of 50,000 Overflows City." The Nashville Tennessean. 4 April 1939. pp. 1, 2. Web (newspapers.com). 2 April 2021.
  109. ↑ "Paris Jammed For Mule Day", The Nashville Tennessean. 4 April 1939. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 2 April 2021.
  110. ↑ "Young Car Thief Held in Franklin." The Nashville Tennessean. 5 April 1938, p. 16. Web (newspapers).com. 19 March 2021.
  111. ↑ "Second Lad Held For Auto Theft." The Nashville Tennessean. 6 April 1938. p. 11. Web (newspapers.com). 19 March 2021.
  112. ↑ Mule Contest: Gun Victims Said Just Bystanders." The Tennessean. 7 April 1980. p. 25. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  113. ↑ Prosser, Glen. "One Victim 17; Maury Killings Bring Man 2 Life Terms." The Tennessean. 27 Aug. 1980. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  114. ↑ Davey, Janet. "Policeman's Trial Ends Deadlocked." The Tennessean. 19 Aug. 1983. pp. 1A, 10A. Web (newspaper.com). 11 March 2021.
  115. ↑ Davey, Janet. "Ex-officer Ruled Guilty in Beating." The Tennessean. 21 April 1984. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  116. ↑ "Three Nashville men sought in shooting." The Jackson Sun. 9 April 2002. p. 2. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  117. ↑ "Goal is peaceful Mule Day." The Tennessean. 25 Feb. 2003. p. 1B. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.
  118. ↑ "The annual grand stock show, on the first Monday in April, will be the completest success of the kind ecer had here. The exhibition of stock and cattle will compost Jerseys, Holsteins, Devons, Shorthorns and others in the parade. The colored people are taking quite and interest and are invited to exhibit all their fine stock." "Columbia. The Weather and the Crops - Henry Ward Beecher - THe Cotton Factory Running - The annual Stock Show - Columbia's Regular Spring Boom." The (Nashville) Daily American. 25 March 1885. p. 1. Web (newspapers.com). 11 March 2021.

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