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Washington, United States
loves: you win if you guessed "pets" and "museums". Also books, art history, travel, British punk, Korean kimchi, bindis, martinis, and other things TBD. I will always make it very clear if a post is sponsored in any way. Drop me a line at thepetmuseum AT gmail.com !

Saturday, July 23, 2016

getting the ship's goat?

Once upon a time, the USS Von Steuben had a goat for a mascot.  Here's what we know, as recorded in a memoir about the ship's part in WWI:
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DON'T GET THE "VONNIE'S" GOAT
The mascot of the crew is a goat, "Billy," who is always eager to stage a mimic fight with his chums, the two dogs, "Tomatoes" and "Commodore," the latter named being the pride of Commander Wilcox. The goat is a source of much enjoyment for the crew; he pulls a varied number of funny stunts. His friends are the "boys." The Commander's dog "Commodore," after which the Hotel Commodore was named, is a favorite in the ward room. When "Commodore" is on duty in the Executive's room no one can go near it. In Panama every man had a parrot, but why mention unpleasant things?
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Have I figured out which Hotel Commodore, by the way?  No.
- Ruggles, L. Elsworth. (1919). The part the U.S.S. Von Steuben played in the great war. Brooklyn, [N.Y.]: Brooklyn Eagle Press. 63.

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