Sunday, September 22, 2013

Mule Train, Part the Fourth

And one more (hopefully final) Mule Train Postcard update!*

Regular readers of this infrequently updated blog may remember these posts and discussions about the postcard depicting a Mule Train headed down Monroe Street in Waterloo, Wisconsin: 
In the third blog regarding the Mule Train postcard, I had declared the photo to be a fake, in the absence of any evidence to prove otherwise. Well, I am happy to report that I now have that evidence, and can declare the postcard TRUE!

Just to jog your memory, here is the postcard in question:


And now for the proof that a mule train did, indeed, wander through little downtown Waterloo, Wisconsin *cue fanfair*:


From the Waterloo Journal, dated October 5, 1905, Page 1.

* Edited to add:

Oh, but wait! There's more!

According to local newspapers at the time, the reason the Borax 20-Mule Team was in the area, was because it was making a rare appearance at the Dodge County Fair of 1905. They had appeared at the World's Fair in St Louis the year before, and at the Wisconsin State Fair earlier in the month, but this was THE first county fair to secure them.

From the Waterloo Democrat, October 6, 1905, Page 6.
 
From the Beaver Dam Argus, September 15, 1905, Page 4.

From the Dodge County Citizen, September 27, 1905, Page 1 (continued below).

From the Dodge County Citizen, September 27, 1905, Page 1 (continued from above).

From the Dodge County Citizen, September 13, 1905, Page 1.

Ta-daaaaaaaa!

* Quick update from the comments - here's a really cool web page describing how a mule team like this would turn corners, and other fascinating mule team tidbits. Wow! Thanks for the tip, Stamppy! http://www.muleteamkits.com/