Remember the story you heard in elementary school about Rip Van Winkle? A man who might have had a few too many drinks and falls fast asleep under a tree in the mountains. When he awakens, he is astonished to discover that he had been asleep for 20 years. This Texan story has some amazing similarities to the man known as Rip Van Winkle. This is not the story about a man, but rather a special little native Texan reptile. He is known as Ol’ Rip the Horned Toad. Ol’ Rip was like any other Horned Toad living in Eastland County. I imagine he was out rustlin’ up some tasty red ants to start his day when he was suddenly lifted by the small hands of a little boy. The little boy took Ol’ Rip with him out to the town square where excitement was in the air. The year was 1897 and it was dedication day for the new courthouse that was to be built. As tradition would have it a cornerstone would be placed. A bible and a few tokens of the townspeople were placed into the “timecapsule”. Ol’ Rip and his new owner were surely taking in all of the sites that day. As fate would have it, the little boy’s father was the Justice of the Peace and Ol Rip happened to catch his attention. Well he walked right over to his son and took Ol’ Rip from him. You know what that old Justice did? Well he decided Ol’ Rip would be sealed up alive in that cornerstone time capsule. Can you imagine poor Ol’ Rip, sitting in that dark old box with nothing but the bible and a few trinkets to keep him busy? Rip would be stuck in that box until 1928. 30 years of complete darkness and lack of food had taken its toll on Ol’ Rip. The years passed and the town grew, enough so that the town needed a new courthouse. The rumbling and demo work failed to make Ol’ Rip stir. Horned Toads you see only live for 5-8 years in the best of conditions. Well that cornerstone that Rip had been caged in was opened by one of the workers and when the light hit Ol’ Rip he moved. Could it be possible that Rip was alive after 30 years? Ol’ Rip was in fact alive and instantly became a celebrity. He was so famous that he met President Calvin Coolidge. It is rumored that Ol’ Rip was actually the model for Warner Brothers Michigan J. Frog (the popular cartoon character). Unfortunately, Ol’ Rip did not survive much longer after he was found and silently passed away in his new goldfish bowl home. He was such an Icon in Eastland Texas, that the town preserved him and put him on display. Each year Ol’ Rip is celebrated with a festival bearing his name. Here’s to Ol’ Rip, the Miracle Horned Toad.
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