Back in the early 1980s, in a time before instant messaging and virtual teams, Federal Reserve offices around the country used methods of the era to stay connected. But occasionally those connections took a turn toward the whimsical.
Such was the case with “Allie Gator,” dubbed more than 40 years ago as the “unofficial toy alligator of the Federal Reserve System.”
From at least 1983 to 1986, employees at the Kansas City Fed and numerous other Reserve Banks decorated Allie with buttons, badges and many other mementos before shipping the reptile to another bank or branch office for more decorations and, according to System archives, at least a couple of poems along the way.
Internal publications of the era say that Allie’s “life” as an unofficial mascot began in New York. By the time a Kansas City team’s decorations were highlighted in October 1983, Allie’s travels had included Denver, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, El Paso, Memphis, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City.
“A most likeable alligator, he always has a smile on his face and consistently brightens up the day for the employees he visits,” a Salt Lake City office publication opined.
Unfortunately, Allie’s trail went cold in 1986, and the well-traveled gator’s final destination remains a mystery.