Missouri Mules

 

 MISSOURI MULES! 

The good old Missouri Mule! I ran across photos of one of my distant cousins, Sam Utter, and his mule. Sam was born and raised in McDonald County Missouri and he and his family were farmers all their life. Sam raised and sold vegetables from the garden, fruit from the orchards, cattle, hogs, and hay. And mules. His farmland is still in the family today along with his son’s house just west where their property adjoins. 

Sam’s granddaughter, Shirley Utter Grout, lives in Kansas City and she and I have visited many times when she enjoyed summer visits to stay at the farm.

Sam loved and raised mules. He was well known from miles away for his breeding strong stock. 

Here’s a photo of Sam and one of his dearest mules, known as “Jack” 

Mules are known for their hardy stature, and they were used by the military as pack animals in combat. In the 1980s mules were used to carry weapons and supplies through Afghanistan’s rugged hills to Afghan mujahedeen camps. 

At the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis the prestigious term “Missouri Mules” was created when locally bred animals took the competition in the six-mule team wagon team. They quickly became popular with the history of the state. Missouri was a rural community known as the “Gateway to the West.” People traveling the westward trails often used mules to pull their covered wagons. 

Over the years Missouri mule breeders developed large draft animals that were sought after. Farmers needed sturdy, industrious mules to help them farm the land. When tractors replaced the working mules in the 1940s, now today mules aren’t used nearly as much as they once were. 

Governor Mel Carnahan signed the bill that designated the Missouri Mule as the official state animal. Today mules are distinguished between saddle and draft mules and are best known by their mother. 

While I researched mules, I ran across the information about SPANA, which stands for the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad and was established in 1923. Katie Hosali and her daughter, Nina, were touring North Africa and area communities. They saw mules, camels, and donkeys being used as pack animals, but they were not being taken care of. The animals were suffering. They stayed and educated the villagers on caring for pack animals and giving veterinary services to the animals. Read more about SPANA: 

SPANA | The Charity For The Working Animals Of The World

Missouri State Animal | Missouri Mule (statesymbolsusa.org)

Rural Heritage magazine promotes living off the land and their ad says: “Borrowing from yesterday to do the work of today. Offering resources to promote self-sufficiency and back-to-land living.” Here’s a picture of the bi-monthly magazine on their website. 

A bit more about Sam Utter and his family. His son, Claude Utter, lived and worked on his farm, too. In 1925, he bought a new Model T Ford. On one of our visits to Shirley, Claude’s daughter, my brother Bill and I saw the car. It was covered and stored in the garage. Shirley had sold it and the man hadn’t come to pick it up yet. It was beautiful and in excellent condition! We oohed and awed over it! We didn’t think to take pictures of it. 

While tinkering around on the farm, Claude built a “machine” from spare parts he had on the farm. It came to be known as the “Longview Roadster.” The photo of it is now enlarged and hanging in the McDonald County Courthouse Museum in remembrance. I encourage you to further read about mules. Very interesting information, indeed!