Turnbull the Garbage Goat

Some things in life create joy by their very existence. While this work of art may have a functional purpose of sucking up straw papers, napkins and smaller pieces of trash around the area, we hope that comes in second place to making kids of all ages smile and create memories that will connect us all! 

The story starts back in the early 1970's when when a Catholic Nun, Sister Paula Mary Turnbull, was commissioned to create a sculpture for the World's Fair of 1974. The fair's theme was ecology and this art was to be a work focused on the environment. (President Nixon's opening speech for the Fair can be found here.) I mean why not merge art and a garbage can to make something fun and functional? Just to add a bit more "what did you say?" content to this topic, we've read that Sister Paula was known as the welding nun, refused to wear her habit while welding because "it was hot" and just maybe was known to have nude models pose for some of her art classes. 

Sister Paula seems to have been quite the character! She is one of those people you read about in life and think "Man! I wish I could have sat down with them for a few hours. I bet they were an absolute hoot!" We encourage you to not stop here but to read about her and some of her lifetime's work. Sister Paula was present at the Garbage Goat's 40th birthday celebration and even fed him a piece of cake! While the Garbage Goat of Spokane might be her most famous work, she has many works of art spread primarily through the Spokane area.  

Alicia has always loved the Garbage Goat and I love Alicia. Whenever we have visited Spokane, no trip was complete without a stop to visit the Garbage Goat. After multiple trips, I (Micah) decided to gift her a goat and create an interpretation of the original Garbage Goat for our community in McDonough. 

While Sister Paula Mary elected to call her goat by his function, we'd like to give our's a proper name.  We introduce you to... Turnbull, in honor of the original artist. We not only love her goat but also the ways she found opportunities to use her gifts and passions to bring joy to others. We hope she'd love to know that her work was admired and her legacy made people smile even after she left this earth. 

Some things in life create joy by their very existence. If you find yourself in the Spokane area, we highly recommend you take a minute- and a pocketful of trash- to see the original Garbage Goat! Find out more info here.  Thank you so much Sister Paula Mary Turnbull!