Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Thursday, July 11, 2024
The 51st Citizen. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. The 57th Chevrolet is here. Sweet, smooth and sassy. Your road trips will never be the same. When you're behind the wheel of an American legend, Cam Caragius is giving you the chance to win a 57 Chevy Bel Air Sportgoob. This is the car people turn their heads for. Get your raffle tickets now at camcaragius.org. Learn more and get your raffle tickets now for a chance to glide down the road in a classic 57 Chevy. Visit camcaragius.org. Back in 1981, the folks in Cooper in Green County were planning their centennial celebration. Like most Iowa towns, they wanted to do things upright. So the town of 50 people held a contest seeking to adopt a well-known person as the town's 51st Citizen. They invited some 200 celebrities to apply, including Iowa native Johnny Carson. And that led to a trio of Cooper residents, Gerald Lawton, Myrtle Witcher and Terry Rich, being invited to review Carson's application on the Tonight Show on NBC. Centennial organizer Terry Rich asked Carson about his qualifications. I milked a cow. That was one of the questions. You bet. Have you ever chewed tobacco? I tried it once, didn't like it. Do you know the difference between an apple pie and a cow pie? You bet, yeah. Oh, yes. There's a middle muffin also we used to call them. As more than 10,000 persons packed the town for its centennial celebration, the results were announced. More than half the citizens selected Johnny Carson as Cooper's 51st resident, with prizes including a free burial plot, a lifetime pass to the Cooper tennis court, and renaming the main street in town in his honor. Townspeople and 10,000 of their new closest friends enjoyed a two-block parade, tractor pull, mule jump, and more. And the naming of Johnny Carson as the honorary 51st Citizen of Cooper, Iowa, during the town's centennial on this date in 1981. And that's Iowa Almanac for July 11th. Follow us on Twitter at Iowa Almanac. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.