By John Raffel
Correspondent
ALLEGAN –- What’s the significance of a goose to the Allegan County Board of Commissioners?
Chairman Jim Storey explains.
“At the May 25 Board of Commissioners meeting, Rob Sarro, our administrator, introduced new wall clocks for the various buildings the county operates, existing clocks were failing and needed replacing,” Storey said. “The new clocks contain the county seal which features the Canadian Goose prominently. In unveiling the new clocks, he talked about the goose and its status representing the county on our seal.”
“Our goose, over time in my tenure, I’ve heard the feeling that our county logo should be replaced, and the Goose replaced,” Saaro said. “We’ve never taken that step. The goose is very resilient and stable. The Canadian goose was at one time thought to be extinct and are now abundant. They live longer than other birds, 10 to 24 years.
“The goose embodies a team-based environment. They are famous for their V-based flying. An interesting fact is they take turns leading the way. They empower each other, they follow each other, and they stick together. They are efficient; they conserve energy which is a popular theme these days which we are trying to head too as well. We talk about the Allegan County culture. The goose embraces what Allegan County has to offer.”
Saaro added: “They love agricultural fields, they love bodies of water, so much so, they even stay year around even during mild winters. Now, truth is, they are messy; government is messy. Some folks look at what they leave behind, but we are all messy. That said, get close to their nest or try to attack that nest and they will fiercely defend it and their family. You will recognize their undeniable hiss, which I look at as being outspoken and communicative.”
In considering the county seal, it does feature many attributes of our county: water, flowers, wheat spears, lush greens, and, of course, the goose in mid-flight pointing the way to a great place to live, work and play,” Storey said.