Jerry Summers
Columbia, Tennessee prides itself as being the “Mule Capital” of the world and yearly puts on a four-day celebration that attracts in excess of 200,000 participants and spectators.
What started in 1940 as “Breeders Day” as a meeting for mule breeders has evolved into a full schedule featuring traditional Appalachian food, music, dancing and for sale arts and crafts items.
The event concludes with the Mule Day Parade on Saturday as the highlight of the festivities.
A variety of activities are held at various locations.
Each day’s events start at 7:00 with a choice of breakfast fare including ham and biscuits and pancakes. Throughout the day barbecue, roasted corn, home-made pies and funnel cakes are served.
Competition events including log loading, feed time race, beard growing, pony mule pulling and mule pulling. Other events include “working mule”, “best of breed and lumberjack competitions.
The annual “mule pull” contest requires a pair of mules to pull a sled loaded with cinder blocks a distance of ten feet. Each pair of mules is given three tries to make it the full ten feet. The team that pulls the most weight wins the competition.
The dedicated involvement of the Maury County community in the mule industry has caused the event to grow into “one of the largest livestock markets in the world.”
In 1934 the first “Mule Day Parade” was held on Saturday and involved a competition for the best decorated floats for cash or ribbon prizes.
The idea for the Mule Day Parade came from an individual by the name of Thomas Marion Brown and, with the support of the local Chamber of Commerce and the local Daily Herald newspaper, the event became a part of the celebration. Brown is credited with designing the original Mule Day Crown worn by the “Mule Day Queen” selected on the basis of the quality of an essay and other criteria for contestants between the ages of 15-21. A queen and her court are selected and attend all Mule Day events, as well as being interviewed by local radio stations and newspapers. They make a trip to the State Capitol in Nashville to participate in more interviews by the media to promote the Mule Day celebration.
Tom Brown also served as the Grand Marshall of the Mule Day Parade for the first seven years.
Over the years celebrities such as University of Tennessee at Knoxville coaches Pat Summit and Phil Fulmer plus 2000 Miss USA Lynette Cole have served as Grand Marshall of the Saturday parade.
In 2019 Channel 2 News Anchor Neil Orne from Nashville was selected Grand Marshall.
A new event was added in 2015 on Wednesday which was an auction for the sale of mules at Maury County Park conducted by the Lewisburg Livestock Market.
Over the years the celebration has become a “don’t miss” event for politicians in office or aspiring to become elected to a public office in Tennessee.
Information can be obtained from the Mule Day Office, P.O. Box 66, Columbia, TN 38402, (931) 381-9557, www.muleday.com, e-mail: info@muleday.com