(This Footnote to History article was printed on page 4 of the January 3, 1961, publication of the Chicago Tribune, and is reprinted word-for-word below.)
A STEWED DUCK IS TOO SAUCY TO SUIT COPS
An aroma like that of a tasty wine sauce wafted from the duck in a cell at the Woodstock city jail yesterday.
It wasn’t that the duck was about to become someone’s meal. The duck was alive and quacking. Every once in a while it would utter a plaintive hic.
Now, Policemen Don Liston and Tom Vernire are not men to sneer at a drunken drake. After all, they are worldly men.
But no one could blame them for regarding the duck with something less than affection because he caused them considerable trouble.
Leads Cops Merry Chase
The affair of the duck began in the morning when the two policemen were sent to the south end of Woodstock in answer to a radio call that a weaving duck was wandering about.
On arrival, they spotted the duck waddling about the slippery streets and sidewalks, occasionally flapping his wings. They detected a noticeable stagger in his stride.
They set out to pursue the duck.
The duck seemed to enjoy this considerably. He would scoot along, just a few inches off the ground, sail over a snow bank [something the policemen couldn’t do], then pause politely until they almost caught up to him.
Then he would take off again, gamboling across the snow covered lawns, all the while looking back to make sure that the two man posse was still in pursuit.
Pursuit Draws Crowd
Needless to say, this activity —the quacking of the duck and the puffing of the winded policemen—attracted quite a crowd. Many small boys watched with interest.
The duck finally outfoxed himself, tho. He scooted into a garage and the policemen triumphantly snared him. Last night he was lodged in cell No. 1, a guest of the city of Woodstock.
Liston and Vernire speculated that the duck was a tame one and that an exuberant owner might have experimented on the duck with some New Year’s eggnog.
The duck did not seem to take to black coffee. But he did like lettuce.
