Description
It was Del Caywood, the city manager, who had the idea to play snake charming music over a loudspeaker truck throughout Springfield. Paddy wagons, outfitted with large cone speakers, weren’t uncommon for the era. They were used by politicians, spreading the word on the campaign trail.
(Photo: Courtesy History Museum on the Square)
But Del’s mission had a bit more urgency. Eleven Indian Cobras were on the loose and the city was driven to madness in the summer of 1953.
(Photo: Courtesy History Museum on the Square)
While the actual choice of music is a mystery to us today, we can speculate on the sounds Springfieldians heard as Del drove through Rountree, West Central, and Phelps Grove, summoning snakes from wherever they hid.
