So, What’s Up with Lakeland’s Swans?
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It’s hard to believe, but I’ve met people who have lived in Lakeland awhile and are not yet privvy to the local swan fetish. (Yeah, they probably live on the “east” side - which only needs a one word description: Combee.) Venture into the charming historic district, or more specifically it’s popular lakes such as Lake Morton, and the beauty of these graceful birds, not to mention the quanitity of them, will leave you wondering:
What’s up with all the swans? or: Que pasa con todos los … uh … swans?
I’ve heard some stories about our native swans, but I suspected they were mainly folklore. After spending a glorious morning with Lil’ E (that’s him feeding the gentle, shy swan a cracker by hand!) at Lake Morton Friday morning, I decided I would try and get to the bottom of it.
LakelandGov’s website has some FAQ’s that I will accept as fact, so paraphrasing here, I will tell you the story of Lakeland’s swans.
As early as 1923 Swans made their mark on Lakeland’s landscape. Initially purchased as pets, the population grew and then dwindled by 1954.
Mrs. Robert Pickhardt (um, does she not have a name of her own?) was a Lakeland resident who hated to see the swans go, due to people, dogs, gators, and such. She was so moved that she wrote to the Queen of England, inquiring about the purchase of a pair of swans from the royal flock on the Thames River. The Queen generously went a step further; donating a pair so long as Lakeland could pay for the capturing and shipping.
Two white mute swans became the fundraiser of our little town, and when the money was raised, they traveled across the Atlantic and were released on Lake Morton on February 9, 1957.
The swan eating from my son’s hands could very well be the great great great great grandaughter of a swan that floated with the royal flock in England half a century ago!
This UK website cites Lakeland several times on its site for its fight against botulism, a cause of death in swans.
There is a little more information here, as well as some other treasures of central Florida.
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