Spokane Trash Goat

🐐💥 Got bangers in the chamber and trash talk locked ‘n loaded.

Y’all thought I peaked at eating napkins in ’74?
Nah. I’ve been training in the alley… and the content’s about to get spicier than a Bloomsday porta-potty.

Stay tuned. The GOAT’s about to go viral.

Put some respect on my name 🗑️🐐

🐐 1. A Quirky Origins – Expo ’74
• Installed in 1974 at Spokane’s Expo ’74 in Riverfront Park as part of the environmental-themed world’s fair .
• Created by Sister Paula Mary Turnbull, the famed “welding nun,” from corten steel, recycled springs, railroad spikes—and with a hidden vacuum so the goat could literally eat trash .

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🎥 2. Interactive, Educational Art
• Designed to encourage kids to pick up litter: press a button, feed the goat, watch it suck up paper and napkins .
• It even had a voice recording of the goat asking to be fed, though that was eventually removed after mechanical hiccups .

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🤠 3. Controversy? Of Course
• Dairy farmers objected, calling it “misleading” and demanded signs explaining that real goats don’t eat garbage. Expo organizers obliged .
• Sister Paula cheekily replied, “It’s a billy goat, not a dairy goat,” keeping the playful spirit alive .

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🎉 4. A Local Legend
• Left in Riverfront Park as part of Spokane’s permanent art collection—over decades, it’s vacuumed up thousands of cubic yards of litter .
• In 2014, the city threw a 40th birthday bash: they “fed” it cake, Sister Paula was there at age 93, and Iron Goat Brewing served beer at 1974 prices .
• It inspired a secret goat culture, goat-themed businesses (hello, Iron Goat Brewing), a popular kids’ book, and even a replica in Kennewick .

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❤️ 5. Sister Paula’s Legacy
• Sister Paula taught and welded public art well into her 90s, passing away in 2018. Her Trash Goat remains her most cherished and enduring creation .

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In a nutshell: What started as a playful, educational trash receptacle has become Spokane’s beloved garbage-guzzling mascot—an interactive piece of public art with decades of stories, controversies, and community love behind it.