Cleveland's First Armadillo on Display at Museum Center

An armadillo that crept into Cleveland, Tennessee last summer to the astonishment of area residents unaccustomed to seeing the shelled-creatures has now been mounted and will be placed on display at the Museum Center at Five Points.

The pointy-noised varmint, dubbed Dilla the Armadillo after it was killed by a motorist in June, was mounted by WOOP 99.9 FM and the Allan Jones Foundation. The two-foot armadillo is enclosed in a glass case and will be available to view at the museum Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Jones, the founder of Check into Cash and Jones Management Services in Cleveland, Tennessee, was impressed by the story of the armadillo’s arrival in the South and wanted to preserve it for future generations.

“Armadillos are migrating north into Tennessee in search of the fire ants that they feed on,” said Jones. “In the next 50 years, armadillos should be plentiful in Tennessee. We’ll be the only community around with enough forethought to preserve the very first one.”

Museum Center Executive Director Lisa Simpson Lutts said the armadillo will be a welcome exhibit.

“We’re delighted to have this as it should be of great interest to the local area,” Lutts said. “We are pleased Allan Jones has made this available to the community.”

Dilla was discovered June 8 after becoming a speed bump to an unidentified motorist traveling east on 25th Street. The armadillo’s demise under the Interstate 75 overpass drew a large response from the Cleveland community, even prompting Police Chief Wes Snyder to visit the scene and investigate. The nine-banded armadillo was eventually taken by animal control and kept until its adoption by WOOP radio.

Dilla was adopted as the mascot of WOOP, a nonprofit, low-power community radio station, after deejay Jeff “Frodaddy” Rentfro read in the newspaper about the need for animal adoption.

A ballad honoring Dilla the Armadillo has also been played over the WOOP airwaves. It was written by Jim Park, the vice president of sales at Hardwick Clothes. The ditty is to the tune of Davy Crockett, who met his demise after leaving Tennessee for Texas, an ironic nod to the reversal of fortune for the western-born armadillo.

The song honoring Dilla the Armadillo can be heard online at www.woopfm.com.

For more information about the Museum Center at Five Points, call 423-339-5745 or visit www.musuemcenter.org.