THE BALLOON MAN

Marionville goes nuts over white squirrels

A white squirrel in Marionville. People leave birdhouse-like boxes and cobs of corn out in hopes of catching a fleeting glimpse of these unique creatures. The white squirrel population has varied over the years. (Bob Linder / News-Leader)Everett Kennell • News-Leader • December 5, 2010
Springfield, MO
Branson may have music shows and Springfield may have the Bass Pro mother store, but around here, only Marionville has white squirrels.

Nobody's sure how Marionville's colony of white squirrels got started. They are believed to have been around since the town was incorporated in 1854.
A popular tale links the white rodents to a circus that was passing through town. Jim Smart doesn't buy it.
"Some people say they got away from a traveling circus. There were no traveling circuses here then," he said.
Smart, a lifelong local resident, keeps tabs on white squirrels in the community and looks after those on his property.
He and his wife, Carrell, have lived in their home since 1958. It was a few years after that when they looked out the window and saw a lone white squirrel.
"We saw one white squirrel on the gas tank and said it would be neat to have a lot of them," he said.
Things took off from there.
The local Lions Club began building den boxes -- more then 500 were eventually built. Gray squirrels were moved to other locations. Nut-bearing trees were planted.
The Lions Club sold white squirrel T-shirts and souvenirs as fundraisers for its benefit projects.
A local ordinance prohibits harming or trapping white squirrels, Smart said, although he can't recall anyone ever being charged.
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