Truman the Tiger is the University of Missouri-Columbia’s mascot. Other lesser known but equally loved MU mascots are the College of Veterinary Medicine’s mules. A recent gift from the estate of Virginia Etheridge ensures that the mule team will continue their public relations efforts for the College and the University.

The mules have represented the College, MU, and Missouri to thousands of people since 1982. Pulling a dozen-passenger wagon, they’ve paraded in MU homecomings, governor inaugurations, Missouri State Fair opening ceremonies, the St. Louis Charity Horse Show, and the Kansas City American Royal Parade, as well as small town parades, picnics, and weddings. The mules are the first farm animals that many city kids see in person.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA Virginia Etheridge was a great supporter of the mule team and brought the mules fresh carrots and apples on most Sunday afternoons for more than two decades.

The late Etheridge has given $420,862 to supplement an existing College of Veterinary Medicine Mule Team and Public Relations Endowment, created by former College Dean Bob Kahrs and his wife Evelyn. Etheridge’s gift will be used for the mule team’s travel expenses, care and feeding, passenger wagon maintenance, and support for a truck and trailer. Funds also will help support veterinary students who care for the mules. During 2007, these students will take Tim and Terry, the current team, to more than 50 appearances across the state. Tim and Terry are the third set of University mules since 1982.

“The University is thankful for the generosity that the late Virginia Etheridge bestowed to students of MU and the care she gave to the mules,” said Chancellor Brady Deaton. “Her generosity reaches not only MU students and faculty, but people across Missouri.”

Etheridge was no stranger to the College. With the help of Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Bayer Pharmaceuticals, she donated funds for the purchase of two mules. She also donated her time to bring treats for the mules. Evelyn Kahrs made it a tradition to feed treats to the mules, but when she and her husband left Columbia, Evelyn asked Etheridge to continue the tradition. For more than two decades, Etheridge brought the mules fresh carrots and apples on most Sunday afternoons.

“Mrs. Etheridge’s gift insures the legacy of Bob and Evelyn Kahrs and their passion for the mule team and our students as ambassadors of the college,” said Cecil Moore, DVM, MS, College of Veterinary Medicine interim dean.

Because mules can withstand heat that horses cannot, they were important in the early days of American cotton and tobacco production. They also were an important part of Missouri’s early economy. Missouri became an important provider of mules because of westward expansion; mules were sold to pioneers, carried freight, cleared trees to start farms and even pulled trains and riverboats. When motorized alternatives became popular, the mules faded slowly from Missouri agriculture. The students who care for the MU mule team today are practicing skills almost forgotten in the 21st century.

Regarding her gifts to the mule team, Etheridge was known to say, “I have never before donated to a project that has given me such satisfaction