Who was 11 feet long, with one eye, three legs, and an appetite for popcorn and marshmallows? If you said Blinky the alligator, Lakeland’s unofficial mascot during the 70s, you’re correct.
The iconic beast was re-memorialized as a 100-ft. jungle gym at Bonnet Springs Park.
Known as Blinky or One-Eyed Joe, the 11-foot beast held court in Lakeland’s Lake Mirror. He was saluted as the town’s unofficial mascot and heralded as a tourist attraction: Children often tried to pet him, and one man was even known to kiss him on the snout now and then. “Blinky is a special treat — the way Mickey Mouse is to Disneyland,” wrote Lin Clark of Connecticut in a 1978 letter to The Ledger. “We have pictures of him and articles about him — we have always thought his location should be part of your town’s attractions.” But it was Blinky’s disarming friendliness — and ferocious potential — that proved his undoing. “I simply can’t believe the fuss that is being made about something normally considered a public hazard,” S. Brown wrote in another letter. “Let’s remember that we are talking about a cold-blooded reptile and not a cute little puppy.”
Blinky was an alligator with a personality. Thought to be about 50 years old, he was missing an eye and a foot, making him a distinctive fixture on Lake Mirror throughout the 1970s. Although state law has long banned the feeding of alligators, it became a regular practice for people to visit Blinky and offer him everything from popcorn to table scraps. A lot of Lakeland residents thought it was cute. The Florida Fish and Game Commission, however, did not. “Alligators overcome their natural shyness and become accustomed or attracted to humans when fed,” the commission, now known as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, states on its Web site. “By feeding alligators, people create problems for others who want to use the water for recreational purposes.” By September 1978, Fish and Game officials said if the Lakeland City Commission didn’t do something soon to separate Blinky from the public, the alligator would have to go. Many of them being Blinky fans themselves, the commissioners considered several options. But placing a chain-link fence around the lake sounded tacky, and extending a concrete wall around the lake to match the rest of the Lake Mirror Promenade proved too costly. “A million-dollar gator,” said Commissioner George Burt, Blinky’s biggest cheerleader, groaning after he heard the estimate for the concrete wall.
In the end, Blinky was moved to Homosassa Springs to live out the rest of his days in peace. At least, that’s what the humans intended. Blinky, however, had other ideas. Not content to be just another gator at the small tourist attraction, Blinky immediately started jockeying for position among the other alligators and crocodiles. His biggest foe was a whopper: a 1,000-pound crocodile named Jake. “Being the king of that lake (Mirror) down there, I guess he figured he had to be king here, too,” told J.P. Garner, attractions manager at Homosassa Springs, to The Ledger in April 1979. “So he started following Jake. Every minute, every day, he’d be looking for him.” Blinky didn’t last long. Sometime in the night that spring, Jake and Blinky got into their final fight. What was left of Blinky was discovered the next morning. “Jake just couldn’t take it anymore,” Garner said. “There wasn’t much of a match-up.”
Blinky, or as some locals liked to call him, “One-eyed Joe,” used to freely roam downtown Lakeland as a beloved communal pet. While you might be hard-pressed to find such a friendly alligator these days, the 70s in Lakeland were, well, a different time (one that these 90’s babies editors are a little scared of, but overall bummed we didn’t get to experience).
With frequent pats on the head and treats delivered right to him, Blinky was considered a relatively harmless member of the greater Lakeland family. He was, after all, as much of Lakeland’s mascot at that time as our ever-beloved swans are today. Children frequently visited him at his Lake Mirror home to feed him table scraps, but his favorites were reported to be marshmallows and popcorn.
Like all good things, Blinky’s downtown residence and closeness with Lakeland’s youngins did come to an end. The cause? One local’s daring decision to give Blinky a kiss right on his toothy snout. While the kisser came out unharmed (although we might argue, a little less desirable as a valentine), a photo of the moment garnered attention from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (then called The Florida Fish and Game Commission), who ultimately called for Blinky’s removal.
In 1979, Blinky was moved to his new home in Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. Enter: Our story’s antagonist. At 1,000 lbs, Homosassa Springs’ resident crocodile, Jake, was a feisty and territorial personality who didn’t much care for 400-lb Blinky’s imposition into his kingdom. The two scuffled on multiple occasions, and it was one such event on March 3, 1979, that the rivalry proved fatal for Blinky.
For a time, a metal structure commemorated Blinky beside Lake Mirror. Although that sculpture has since been removed, a newer and much larger tribute to our dearly departed now lives at the Florida Children’s Museum, the new and highly anticipated expansion of Explorations V Children’s Museum located at Bonnet Springs Park. Children can climb the 100-ft. long Blinky jungle gym, which also features swings, a slide down Blinky’s tail, and plenty of spots to explore.
