By Mike Simmons
In the December 16, 1911, edition of the Pensacola News Journal, an article appeared entitled “Will Present Florida Crew with Gopher.” The article explained that, with the visitation of the ship “USS Florida” visiting Pensacola from December 15-21, a ceremony would be held in which a $10,000 silver service from the city to the ship’s captain, the Pensacola Police Department would present the ship with…a gopher. The gopher used to be the state’s mascot, so the Pensacola Police Officers wanted it to become the ship’s new mascot.
But…they couldn’t find one. According to Judge Charles H. Laney, who was not only a local judge but also an expert on gopherology, there was a gopher famine in Pensacola in late 1911. But they were not about to give up hope. They outfitted and readied the city’s own professional gopher hunter, Jeff Spottwood, to travel to Harris, Florida (between Navarre and Fort Walton) to catch one there, since they didn’t have a gopher famine at that time. Before Jeff departed, however, Officer Milton Frank (who later became chief) appeared out of breath and smiling, with a gopher in his possession.
The presentation of the silver service and the gopher went off without a hitch.
Times were hard back then, were people eating them?
Could have been. I don’t know. Good question!