Whenever I drive out Dixie Highway and pass the Southwest Government Center I have to smile because once upon a time our Southwest Artists group was involved with a Parade to celebrate the opening of the Center.
The police in the Center frowned when my name was mentioned and from them, I was given the disruptive title, “Buffalo Girl” They had quickly forgotten how much the local crowds cheered as a rugged Buffalo was trucked along in an amazing opening day parade. His name was Oliver and it took much detective work and many phone calls for me to find him and talk his owner into lending him to us for the duration of the festivities.
While the parade planning process rolled onward, the big question had been, “Will we have a Buffalo?” So Oliver was a hero. He was accompanied in the parade by young teenagers in buckskins with authentic coonskin caps and young ladies in pioneer dresses. He made a good impression on the crowds lining Dixie Highway and I was quite proud of presenting that early American animal even if he was shipped in from Indiana.
Who was I to reveal that crude fact to the merry Kentucky citizens who had never before seen a buffalo in person and would probably never see one again in their lifetime? They were happy to meet Oliver and clapped as his truck rolled by.
Throughout a week of festivities, citizens brought their families to visit Oliver while he was stabled out in the back parking lot of the Government Center. The policemen on duty in the center were placed in charge of feeding him and keeping his water bucket filled.
That’s when my “Buffalo Girl” title began. Oliver had the habit of kicking over his water bucket and their endless chore was to refill it. Who knows, maybe he missed his Indiana home.
After the festivities, Oliver went back to Indiana and a certain artist was very careful in keeping within the speed limit while driving out Dixie Highway. And for the record, I have never met another Buffalo.