Shorty the Squirrel

Died 1963 - Tyler, Texas

Shorty lived outside the Smith County courthouse for 15 years. He was a panhandler and a beggar, but beloved by the town -- and particularly by Miss Geneva Pillow, who fed him daily.

The citizens of Tyler honored Shorty with free medical care, a special pedestrian crossing, and a lower speed limit on Broadway -- all with the goal of prolonging his life. But no squirrel lives forever (or even for very long) and Shorty died in 1963.

He was buried in a park across the street from the courthouse, his grave surrounded by a brick wall, marked by a Georgia granite headstone engraved with his likeness. A replacement squirrel was quickly run over by a car (another testament to Shorty's genius for survival). With no one to fill his snack-grubbing shoes, Shorty's legend grew. Paul Harvey told his story on the radio. He became even more famous in death than in life.

When the 1990s arrived, two young punks out for kicks stole Shorty's tombstone. It says something about the transience of fame that no one in Tyler noticed that the tombstone was missing -- until the dad of one of the hoods found it in his car trunk a week later, and made the kid turn himself in.

Recent news is even more alarming. Shorty's headstone has been stolen again(!), and this time it may be for keeps. The granite slab was boosted in March of '96, and Shorty's fans fear that it will never be found -- or replaced. "You know how things are nowadays," a source inside the courthouse told us. "Most folks don't remember Shorty any more."

Miss Pillow is dead. So are most of Shorty's powerful friends. It's up to us! Let the people of Tyler know -- no tombstone, no tourists!

September 2006: Shorty's memorial marker has been restored.

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