"Montrose Mouse" artwork adopted as symbol of small-town defiance.
Rodent with high-handed message
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
Nearly a half century ago now— a defiant rodent with a high-handed message for a much larger eagle on attack, became a symbol of a small town which dared to defy the bureaucracy and was adopted by the City of Montrose. And so, The Montrose Mouse was born.
"Thirty-five years ago, a mouse defiantly raising a middle finger toward an eagle swooping down on him became a potent symbol of a small town standing up to the Washington bureaucracy," wrote Nancy Lofholm of The Denver Post. in April 19, 2012 edition.
"The mouse, which eventually was toned down with a raised fist rather than a flip of the bird, turned up on everything from lapel pins and banners to city stationery and the doors of city vehicles as Montrose fought President Jimmy Carter’s plan to kill a dam project in the Uncompahgre Valley."
"Montrose won out. The Dallas Creek Project was built. And the popular mouse eventually was retired, wrote Lofholm, years later.
"Now, the scrappy mouse is back, dusted off as a new symbol of civic strength and a come-on for tourists," she said in 2012.
"When the committee of Washington officials showed up for the hearing on the dam project in the 1970s, they were greeted with mouse flags, people wearing mouse buttons and waving mouse signs and a large mouse banner."
The modern version of the Montrose mouse was to be prominently displayed in a 12-foot-high sheet-metal sculpture raising a fist in front of the Oxbow Crossing shopping plaza along U. S. 550.
“I wanted to put that old ‘never give up’ attitude on display,” said Oxbow developer Matt Miles at the time. “It seems no one really wants to fight anymore.”
According to Shirley Bradbury, of the Montrose Mirror:
"A memorable art print you may remember from the late 60’s/early 70’s is
called, "The Last Great Act of Defiance," showing a huge eagle
swooping down with its razor sharp talons outstretched, a tiny mouse
sitting there calmly, about to be snatched up for the eagle’s dinner,
with its middle finger raised in the ultimate, albeit final, act of
defiance in the face of certain death. This print was popular around
the time of the Vietnam War, when there was a lot of discontent among
the younger generation as they tried to come to terms with an unpopular
war and the impact that it was having on their lives. It depicts the
sentiment that even when circumstances are difficult and it looks as
though there is no way out of a bad situation, standing up to your
oppressor and letting them know how you feel until the last possible
second is a sign of honor and pride. "
"Like that Mouse, a little town in Western Colorado found itself in a bad situation in the late 1970’s. The “Dallas Creek Project,” which had been approved, had funding allocated and had been in the talking stages for almost 30 years, was in danger of being dismantled by then-President Jimmy Carter as part of his federal budget “hit list”—a move that would have left Montrose with insufficient water for the future. Even though the voters agreed nine to one on the project, and were more than willing to pay their share of the project, the federal government was trying to end the project," explains Bradbury.
"The “Montrose Mouse” was born from an idea by Kay Orton, exemplifying the spirit of the townspeople who said “No one is going to tell Montrose what to do!” It was an idea that rallied the entire town behind one cause, to make their voices heard in Washington. According to then-governor Richard Lamm, “(The Dallas Creek Project) … has been authorized by Congress, approved by past presidents, and monies have been appropriated for its construction. It is inconceivable … that it should be capriciously and arbitrarily terminated.”
Bob Strong, who served as Mayor in 1977, told Bradbury, “The symbol of the mouse is appropriate. …Shabby and besieged, it will not submit to the domination of an unreasonable superior.” A show of support became a local phenomenon, according to Lamoine Brown, who was the Montrose director of community development at the time. In addition to badges, lapel pins, signs and banners, thousands of balloons printed with “Save the Dallas” were available all around town. It was hoped that a show of force, that “last act of defiance” exemplified by the Montrose Mouse, would have some influence over the presidential hearing.
Matt Miles, a local school boy back then and now a successful businessman with fond memories of the times, has recently commissioned a sculpture of the Montrose Mouse. When asked what inspired him to take on this project, Matt talked about the recent passing of Dr.Ted Dickinson, someone he had known and respected. When reading about Ted it just seemed appropriate to capture that symbolism, that idea of “NEVER give up!” Matt had been considering a new piece of site specific art, and the Montrose Mouse (mentioned in one of the articles about Ted) jumped out at him. Matt was inspired by the visionaries of past years, those who set up Montrose for long term success by ensuring quality water availability for both agriculture and residential use for many years to come. He did pose the question, “Did they really see that far ahead and know they were preparing Montrose for the future? Or did they just hate having Washington tell them what to do?”
Maybe there was a bit of both – visionary and obstinacy – in their
plan.
The Montrose Mouse sculpture will capture a
bit of our local lore to serve as a reminder to us all of civic pride
in action, and to show us how people before us worked together for the
good of all. The sculpture will be a 12-foot tall sheet metal mouse
with upraised fist (not the middle finger!) created by Wayne Brown and
his team at Prospect Steel. Over the past 14 years, Prospect Steel has
taken on several large art projects during times that construction work
is slow – you can see their rose, antler and pine cone sculptures at
Oxbow Crossing. According to Wayne, “This is my first mouse.”
"During President Jimmy Carter’s administration, there were nine reservoir proposals to solve some of Colorado’s water problems. The president opposed the reservoirs, and seven of those proposals were denied, never to be built. Of the two that were not denied at the time, the Dolores reservoir was not built for at least 20 years after the initial proposal; but one reservoir, the Dallas (now known as Ridgway Reservoir) was supported by a tough group of creative Montrosians who were not about to take NO for an answer, even from the president. "
There was a “for show” presidential hearing held in Montrose on April 1, 1977, making a pretense of hearing what the residents had to say about the proposed reservoir. Apparently, hearings in several other communities had been disrupted by protesters with bullhorns. Jim Austin, who was city manager at that time, arranged for a band to be available outside the hearings; his plan was to have the band mingle amongst the protesters and start playing, if the protesters started getting disruptive. Montrose was not going to be bullied! "
Kay Orton, who worked for the city manager, decided to get things
organized and boy, was she effective! Kay arranged for hundreds of
tractors to be driven into town and parked outside the meeting at the
Elks Lodge so they were visible from where the committee sat. She
borrowed judges’ chairs from Denver that were particularly large and
imposing, for the committee members. Some say the committee looked a bit
like Edith Ann from the old Laugh-In TV show – feet dangling, chairs
too big for them. The point was to make them look and feel small. It
seemed to work. "
Kay commandeered a very large, heavy and solid walnut table, covered it in black velvet and set it in front of the committee’s chairs. Hallmark sent 5 solid gold ashtrays (remember, that’s when people smoked indoors) just for effect – people on the committee were seen to pick up the ashtrays, realize they were 14k gold, and nudge each other.
Behind the committee, very visible, was a banner of the Montrose Mouse – actually, everywhere you looked you could see the Montrose Mouse. Banners behind the witness chairs, every pole in town from the airport to the Elks Lodge; you couldn’t take a photo without getting the Montrose Mouse into the picture. (Jane Chamberlain was the artist behind the Montrose Mouse, though the creator of the original art is not known.) People all over town sported lapel pins and buttons with the Montrose Mouse, showing their support for their town, rallying for the cause. Bob Strong, who was Mayor at the time, remembers that most of the stores in town closed so people could attend the hearings.
Then-governor Richard Lamm and several state representatives were brought in as witnesses to the need for water in our part of Colorado. Elaine Barbour, the 1978 National Teacher of the Year from Montrose, brought in her students throughout the hearings to participate, making sure there were students in the front row at all times. The committee was effectively humbled.
After the hearing, people decided Montrose had to do something more to get President Carter’s attention and remove the Dallas Creek Project from his budget “hit list”. Somehow Kay acquired about 3,000 empty urine sample bottles and on April 1, 1977 (yes, April Fool’s Day) mailed them ALL to the president with a tag that read, “If you won’t let us store our own water, then would you please send us some! We need water in Colorado!” (FYI – it took a 3 cent stamp to mail each bottle.) Even now people laugh at the image of President Carter getting a desk full of urine bottles from Colorado with instructions to “fill it up” himself, if he didn’t plan on letting us get our own water.
One characteristic of President Carter – he was very sensitive to being laughed at. It seems this promotional stunt did get his attention.
"We enjoy the benefits of the outcome of this display of civic pride every day – the Dallas Reservoir was built, while seven others were not and one was delayed 20 years, thanks to a determined town that was not going to let even a president tell them they could not have the reservoir they needed. Instead of struggling for sufficient water over the years, our area has plenty of room for growth well into the future because of those imaginative and strong-willed people. " The Montrose Mouse became the unofficial mascot of Montrose for several years, even appearing on town stationery. Then in about 1980, members of the city council decided it was too undignified and irreverent to be the symbol of our city. Even though most of the banners, flags, buttons and lapel pins did not show the upraised middle finger on the mouse, people always remember the original print and mentally add it… Apparently many people wanted to keep the mouse as the official town mascot – petitions were signed and a Grand Mouse Parade was held to promote the icon. But political sensitivities prevailed, and we now have only a great memory of “The Montrose Mouse that Roared.”
The “Montrose Mouse” – also known as the “Mouse that gave the eagle the bird” – will be added to the city’s sculpture collection as a reminder of the spirit that made our town what it is today, and an exhortation to, as Matt Miles puts it, “Never, never NEVER give up!” The mouse has been updated and is now seen carrying a suitcase representing the Colorado Tourism Association, embodying the spirit of adventure and independence that has long characterized Montrose, Colorado, and its people.
The Mouse was adopted by the City of Montrose as the symbol of a small town which dared to defy the bureaucracy. The idea was sparked by a cartoon, entitled “The Last Great Act of Defiance”, which pictured a small mouse making an obscene gesture at the large eagle swooping down on him. The City expressed its frustration through the character of the Mouse in 1977 when the federal government decided to hold hearings on water projects in the West. The Dallas Creek Project, which had been approved by the people of this valley by a 9-to-1 vote, was scheduled to be “heard” by federal representatives. The question was not one of water shortage nor of costs - the question was one of character.
The town insisted that its right of local self-determination was not a subject of state or federal concern. The Mouse personifies ordinary, small-town people united in a common bond to fight any encroachment upon their liberties. He stands shabby and besieged, yet determined not to sacrifice his small-town values to the dominations of anonomous bureaucrats, or the self-righteous intrusion of special interest groups.
Following is an account by
"The
unlikely story was one of many shared at a celebration of the 25th
anniversary of Ridgway State Park last Friday, Aug. 8, at which people
who were involved in the construction of the Ridgway Dam and Reservoir,
as well as the state park that grew up around it, gathered to swap tales
and tour the facility they had helped create over a quarter century
ago," Wright says.
The diverse group of Bureau of Reclamation photographers, planners and engineers, State Park officials and construction workers likely wouldn’t have had a reason to gather, if not for the so-called Montrose Mouse, as Jim Austin, Montrose City Manager in the 1970s, recounted.
"The Dallas Creek Project (as the Ridgway Dam and Reservoir was known at its inception), came along at the very tail end of the Colorado River Storage Project, initiated by an Act of Congress in 1956, that involved the construction of some of the biggest dams and reservoirs across the Colorado River Basin, including those at Glenn Canyon and Blue Mesa," in Wright's version.
"One of the features of the act was that excess revenues from hydropower production at the more massive CRSP facilities could be used to help finance the construction cost of a number of smaller designated “participating projects.”
The Dallas Creek Project, long promoted by the downstream agricultural community of the Uncompahgre River Valley (and particularly Tri-County Water) as a potential “canteen” in which to store water for agricultural and drinking water purposes, was authorized by the feds a dozen years later in 1968 as a participating CRSP project.
"At first, the project proposed to flood Pleasant Valley and inundate the town of Ridgway, and was (not surprisingly) opposed by many Ridgway residents. In 1975, the site of the proposed dam was shifted downstream, where the reservoir would instead flood sparsely populated ranch land north of town. "
"(Thus Ridgway residents coined their own nickname: "The Town that Refused to Die."'
Galloping Goose on trestle between Placerville and Ridgway near Dallas Divide.
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