'My biggest day': Bitty Crozier, 94, recalls leading first Mule Day parade on her pony

Kerri Bartlett, The Daily Herald
·3 min read
Bitty Crozier, now 94, sits with a photograph of herself riding down East 7th Street in the first Mule Day parade in 1935 inside her home in Columbia, Tenn., on Monday, March 28, 2022.
Bitty Crozier, now 94, sits with a photograph of herself riding down East 7th Street in the first Mule Day parade in 1935 inside her home in Columbia, Tenn., on Monday, March 28, 2022.

At 6 years old, Bitty Crozier, now 94, climbed atop her beloved pony Susie, riding bareback, to lead the inaugural Mule Day Parade in 1934.

Her uncle, Col. Willoughby Jackson, who led the 109th cavalry of the Tennessee National Guard at the time, followed along behind her on his horse accompanied by nine other servicemen and their horses.

"It was a thrill," Crozier said. "I remember there were horses everywhere, all around the eastern side of the courthouse — horses, ponies and mules."

Bitty Crozier, center, rides down West 7th Street, in Columbia during the first Mule Day Parade in 1934
Bitty Crozier, center, rides down West 7th Street, in Columbia during the first Mule Day Parade in 1934

Crozier reminisced last week, gazing at old photographs hanging on the wall of her living room at her home near Columbia Academy private school.

"It was my biggest day. You know, the whole year built up to that parade."

The photo shows Crozier riding her pony dressed in a light colored dress with a beret-type hat on her head, much like the fashionable hats she wears today.

Bitty Crozier, 94, stands in front of a wall decorated with her most cherished childhood memories, including a photo of her riding her pony in the first Mule Day Parade in 1934 as a six-year old child. Her home is filled with photos and memorabilia in Columbia, on March 21, 2022.
Bitty Crozier, 94, stands in front of a wall decorated with her most cherished childhood memories, including a photo of her riding her pony in the first Mule Day Parade in 1934 as a six-year old child. Her home is filled with photos and memorabilia in Columbia, on March 21, 2022.

Not a gray hair showing on her head, with a spry step and sparkle in her eyes, nine decades later, she remembers preparing for the community event like it was yesterday.

She groomed Susie every day for weeks and practiced riding her on the sprawling lawn of her family farm, called Annoatuck meaning "windy hill," which once stood where the Kroger grocery store now sits on Highway 31 before the state highway was constructed.

A crown given to Bitty Crozier, 94, by the late Stephen Porter, founder of Asgard Brewery and scientist, lays on her dining room table in her home in Columbia, on March 21, 2022. Crozier remembers Porter unofficially crowning her as MuleFest Queen in 2021 when Mule Day was cancelled due to COVID-19.
A crown given to Bitty Crozier, 94, by the late Stephen Porter, founder of Asgard Brewery and scientist, lays on her dining room table in her home in Columbia, on March 21, 2022. Crozier remembers Porter unofficially crowning her as MuleFest Queen in 2021 when Mule Day was cancelled due to COVID-19.

"You wanted to make sure the pony's mane was really shiny," Crozier said. "I prepared all year. I brushed her hair every day. In the parade, my father made me ride bareback because if your foot gets caught in the stirrup and you fall, you can really get hurt."

Crozier grew up in the once-standing historic home on the Annoatuck farm during a time when there was no running water.

"It was so windy on that hill," she said. "Even though there is no hill today, it's still windy."

The historic Annoatuck home was once part of a land grant, built after the Civil War by Col. John Brown. The property was then bought by Bitty Crozier's father, Col. Waverly H. Jackson of the 109th Infantry of the Tennessee National Guard, a position that his twin brother Col. Willoughby Jackson also held at one time.
The historic Annoatuck home was once part of a land grant, built after the Civil War by Col. John Brown. The property was then bought by Bitty Crozier's father, Col. Waverly H. Jackson of the 109th Infantry of the Tennessee National Guard, a position that his twin brother Col. Willoughby Jackson also held at one time.

She remembers waking up to bugles playing every morning as the Tennessee National Guard used her home as its meeting place every day. She said she also loved to ride her pony to downtown Columbia.

"My mother and daddy never worried about me. I'd ride my pony through town, and tie her up in front of the theater and watch a movie," she said. "Everyone else had bicycles. I grew up on a pony. I don't know how to ride a bicycle."

Bitty Crozier writes a letter to The Daily Herald in anticipation of Mule Day in 1974.
Bitty Crozier writes a letter to The Daily Herald in anticipation of Mule Day in 1974.

In 1974, Crozier was again invited to lead the Mule Day Parade when it was resurrected after a decades-long hiatus after World War II. That time, she rode atop her white and brown spotted horse, Tobiana, while flying the American flag. She again rode in the parade in 1983, when organizers invited her again to lead the parade. After her childhood years, she also marched in the parade as a teen with her high school marching band.

Bitty Crozier, 94, stands on her back porch in Columbia, where she enjoys working in her garden at her home in Columbia, on March 21, 2022.
Bitty Crozier, 94, stands on her back porch in Columbia, where she enjoys working in her garden at her home in Columbia, on March 21, 2022.

She even wrote a letter to the editor to The Daily Herald in 1974, stating how excited she was about the parade being reinstated.

Ever since, Crozier has attended almost every parade and plans to do so again this year with her family.

Bitty Crozier rode in the Mule Day Parade on her horse Tobiana from the 1970s to the 1990s.
Bitty Crozier rode in the Mule Day Parade on her horse Tobiana from the 1970s to the 1990s.

Crozier has enjoyed being a part of a foxhunting club her whole life and now plays golf — 18 holes — and gardens in her spare time. She especially loves lilies and has taken the responsibility of watering the flowers at the county Memorial Building for decades.

Kerri Bartlett is editor of The Daily Herald.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: 94-year-old Columbia woman remembers riding pony in first Mule Day parade