A ‘Mammoth’ Breakfast

Woolly The Mammoth To Give Annual Forecast Jan. 31

SALTVILLE, Va. – Never mind about Punxsutawney Phil, the great weather prognosticator of Pennsylvania. Woolly the Mammoth ain’t no groundhog.
And, so far as Eleanor Walker Jones has heard, this manmade mammoth from Saltville has also never been wrong with her weather forecasts.
Each year, Woolly comes out to play on the Saturday before Groundhog Dog – Jan. 31 this year.
Just like Phil, the famous groundhog of Punxsutawney, Penn., folks like Jones gather around to see if Woolly has seen her shadow.
In Saltville, they also make a big deal with breakfast, served by the Madam Russell Methodist Men’s Club, on what’s been deemed “Woolly Mammoth Day.”
You can indulge in “Ice Age Eagle eggs,” “Bison bacon,” “Mastodon sausage,” “Ground-Sloth gravy,” “Saber-cat head biscuits,” “Paleo pancakes with syrup,” “Fried Arboreal apples,” “Ground Hog grits,” “Cave-bear coffee” and “Musk-Ox milk.”
The breakfast, in turn, serves as a fundraiser for Saltville’s Museum of the Middle Appalachians.
“It’s fun, for one thing. The food is exceptional,” said Jones, a member of the Friends of the Museum of the Middle Appalachians. “And it’s just neat to watch this great, big old woolly mammoth shake her massive head. The mayor will ask her if we’re going to have winter – and she will shake her head yes or no.”

‘CONNECTED BY SALT’
Sitting atop a 1969 International pickup truck, Woolly’s 28-foot-long body is covered with brown, flame-resistant baling twine. This mammoth moves with a web of cables, ropes and pulleys.
“She squirts water,” said Fred DeBusk, the general contractor who created Woolly. “The head is fully articulated. It goes up and down, side to side.”
DeBusk, 52, constructed Woolly the Mammoth more than a dozen years ago to help promote activities at the Museum of the Middle Appalachians.
The museum, 123 Palmer Ave., sits at the center of Saltville and promotes historical claims-to-fame, including evidence that woolly mammoths once roamed across the Saltville Valley.
The museum’s exhibits include the skull of a woolly mammoth.
“We’re a science and history museum,” said Harry Haynes, the museum’s manager. “We showcase the history of the Saltville Valley through all periods of time – from the Ice Age to the space age.”

‘KIDS LOVE IT’
A longtime museum supporter, DeBusk has shown off his Woolly the Mammoth beyond Saltville. For example, Woolly once served as the grand marshal of a Bristol parade.
“Her eyelashes move,” DeBusk said. “Her eyes move. Her tail moves. And, of course, her legs and her mouth.”
Laughing, DeBusk let out a little secret: Woolly has airbags on all four corners, which make her jump up and down, and if you let out enough air, that will make her dance.
“The kids love it,” DeBusk said. “The kids just go wild over it. And, mainly, this is her big appearance of the year.”

IF YOU GO
What: Woolly Mammoth Breakfast, sponsored by the Museum of the Middle Appalachians
When: Jan. 31, 8-10:30 a.m.
Where: Northwood High School, Saltville, Va.
How much: Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. A breakfast ticket also gives you free admission to the museum on Jan. 31.
Details: Breakfast includes bacon, pancakes, biscuits, sausage, gravy. Music by Kris Payne. Door prizes awarded.
Info: (276) 496-3633
Web: http://www.museum-mid-app.org