Goose head of beloved Kentucky icon crashes down to ground after time, decay
Published 5:55 am Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time and weather finally “got the goose” of one of Eastern Kentucky’s iconic landmarks.
A large piece of the Mother Goose Inn — in the shape of a goose head — finally succumbed to damage from the recent ice storm and winter weather and fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
The City of Hazard posted a picture of the fallen head in pieces on the ground.
Today around 3:30, our beloved Mother Goose house collapsed.
This was due to age and the stress added by the recent ice storms and flooding.
She will be back. We will definitely need your help. Updates will come as soon as we know.
She will be back. pic.twitter.com/iE3FKCXu8e
— City of Hazard (@hazardkygov) March 24, 2021
In recent months, local community members in Hazard have been searching for ways to fund the structural repairs necessary to keep the goose head on the building. Holes in the roof created opportunities for water to enter and decay the wood beams that were holding up the structure.
For Hazard residents, the goose head has been a landmark and center of the community.
Hazard officials pledged that the icon will be restored.
“She will be back. We will definitely need your help. Updates will come as soon as we know. She will be back,” city officials said on Twitter.
From the State of Kentucky Tourism website:
“Featured on Oprah, Home and Garden Television’s Extreme Homes, and in The New York Times, the Mother Goose House is a monument to the imagination and creative genius of George Stacy. Mr. Stacy began working on this house in 1935 using a goose skeleton to build the home to scale. It was completed in 1940 and contains rocks from many U.S. States and Canada. To this day the Goose continues to attract attention worldwide. Unique with its egg shaped windows and automobile lights that serves as the Goose’s eyes. Today most people have an affectionate feeling for the Perry County landmark. It serves as a hint to the magic of imagination that lies within all just waiting for the chance to hatch out and become real, just like the Mother Goose.”
