For a large part of the history of the South, mules have been a mainstay of agriculture and burden-bearing. Mules have been praised for their strength, relied upon to plow for countless crops, and cursed for their stubbornness.
The Middle Tennessee community of Columbia has celebrated “Mule Day” since the 1840s, with mule sales and pageantry. It long has been a tradition for legislators of the Tennessee General Assembly to head over to Columbia to attend the events of Mule Day.
But times do change. Mules no longer are an agricultural necessity for most Tennessee farmers. And so traditional Mule Day festivities this year will take place without what used to be the main purpose of the occasion: selling mules!
Oh, there will be bluegrass music, a pulling competition among mules in attendance, and arts and crafts — plus the winner of a Mule Day-related beauty contest (for pretty girls, not mules) will be on hand. But there will be no mule sales this year, we are told.
Humans will be festive in Columbia from March 31 through Sunday, April 3, church services and gospel singing. Some mules will attend, but we don’t know what the mules will think about not being quite the “stars” they used to be.