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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Oregon Arts Summit coming to Ashland ... Herb Rothschild: A year of conversation ... Quake warning system tested for Northwest ... Oregon Arts Summit coming to Ashland ... Herb Rothschild: A year of conversation ... Quake warning system tested for Northwest ... AS IT WAS Snakes alive! Must be the end of the parade Comment By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society DailyTidings.com By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Jul. 8, 2015 at 6:30 PM By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Jul. 8, 2015 at 6:30 PM » RELATED CONTENT • As It Was: A woman ahead of her time » Social News As the last entry in the Fourth of July parade in Ashland, Ore., pulled to a stop in the plaza, children would begin shouting, “There he comes, there he comes!” And, sure enough, there would be Bill Johnson in his sawed-off Jeep with the bed filled with cages of writhing rattlesnakes. From the 1940s into the 1970s, Johnson’s snakes marked the end of the parade. Johnson became interested in rattlesnakes in 1937. He developed a “catcher-contraption” and soon his hobby became an international business. If a farmer wanted a field cleared of snakes or a hospital needed venom, they called on Johnson. Zoos from as far away as Panama got their rattlers from him. Bill Johnson was an Ashland fixture, but he was more than a snake man. He owned one of the first private airplanes in the Rogue Valley, raced cars and motorcycles and played the bag pipes. He introduced myrtle trees into Lithia Park, and was a school bus driver who loved taking children on field trips and teaching them about the natural world — but Johnson remains best remembered for his rattlesnakes in the July 4th parade. Source: Alley, Mary. "Ashland's Snake Man." Ashland Gazette July 1993. As It Was is a co-production of Jefferson Public Radio and the Southern Oregon Historical Society. As It Was stories are broadcast weekdays on Jefferson Public Radio and are available online at asitwas.org . By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society DailyTidings.com By Alice Mullaly Southern Oregon Historical Society Posted Jul. 8, 2015 at 6:30 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501