Another Dressed Goose… and a bit of history

Another goose spotting:

After thinking that I’d found all the dressed goose statues in my neighborhood, I found this fowl a block from home, on a Sunday evening walk with Clementine after a windstorm. The pooch wasn’t interested in the goose, but I almost tripped on a fallen branch on the sidewalk while gawking.

I had to cross the street to take the picture.

I believe this beaked angel is plastic, but I can’t be sure; I hesitated to go onto the porch to inspect it. I do think the goose’s outfit is quite fetching, however.

Wait… are those stuffed arms? Geese don’t have arms!

Which makes me wonder why a goose needs angel wings to begin with.

I seriously thought this goose-dressing craze went out of fashion decades ago.

Useless lawn goose history:

The lawn goose first appeared in the Upper Ohio River Valley in the 1980s, an area that begins in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and extends southward toward northern Kentucky. A 1995 Chicago Sun Times article identifies Kentucky as the birthplace of the concrete form of the ornamental lawn goose family.

The Sun Times also states that the fad of dressing your lawn goose like a fairy or Halloween pumpkin likely began in Indiana or Illinois, whereas a 1998 Chicago Tribune article suggested Ohio.

I was living in Ohio in 1990, and remember them well.

Whether this fad began in Illinois, Indiana, or Ohio is debatable, but, by the 90s, dressing geese in clothing had waddled into full swing and subsequently migrated across the nation, honking the entire way.

Chicago Sun Times reporter Judy Markey interviewed owners of concrete geese who purchased entire wardrobes for their statues, including negligees and curlers, and leopard-spotted bikinis and sunglasses. Unfortunately, I’ve seen bikini clad geese in my neighborhood.

Markey noted the small town fad spread to the South Loop of Chicago, where apparently one owner filled three bureau drawers with goose clothing.

The Good Luck Goose

Geese have become a nuisance in parks and golf courses, but they were once revered. Would you believe they actually helped the early American pioneer survive the wilderness?

Geese served as an alarm for the pioneers against predatory animals and other humans. I’m sure you know how territorial geese can be. They go after anything they see as a threat. They are so nasty that WikiHow even has instructions on how to thwart a goose attack.

Geese also provided a valuable service for the gardens of the pioneers as they love to munch on invasive insects that damaged crops.

And of course, we consume geese. Their feathers are still used for quilts, bedding and pillows. A healing balm made from geese was used to treat wounds.

So, apparently, the goose as a symbol of survival and good luck has been deeply ingrained in the American psyche, dating back hundreds of years. I guess it’s no surprise that we’d end up with cement versions on our lawns, although I think the trend is waning.

Read about my other lawn goose spottings (as opposed to goose droppings)

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Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist.
Learn more about her multi-award winning novel, In the Context of Love.
Learn more about her picture book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab.
Learn more about her poetry chapbook, Security

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