MANHATTEN MERCURY (Kansas) 07 April 08 The reunion of a man and the well-schooled snake he once captured (Kevin Elliott)
Manhattan doctor Kent Kiracofe was 16-years old when he brought "Squiggy" home.
"My mom despised him," Kiracofe said. "She would never let him sleep in the house. I had to convert an old doghouse into a snake house." It's not an uncommon reaction to meeting Squiggy — the 6-foot long bull snake Kiracofe caught as a teenager.
Kiracofe said he captured the snake while fishing with Manhattan High School friend Steve Peters. He cared for it using knowledge gained in the school's Wide Horizons program. "Once people see you hold the snake and touch it, they can get used to them," he said.
After graduating from MHS in 1987, Kiracofe donated the snake to the program. MHS science teacher Myron Schwinn cared for the snake while Kiracofe attended Kansas State University. By the time he left Manhattan to attend medical school and complete his residency, the former pet had been adopted by MHS music instructor Steve Easterday.
About eight years after returning to Manhattan to practice medicine and raise his own family, Kiracofe ran into his former science teacher at an area barber shop. To his amazement, Kiracofe learned that "Squiggy" was still alive and living at Easterday's home. Kiracofe then made contact and set up a weekend reunion with his scaly friend.
"He looks the same, just bigger," Kiracofe said. "When I caught it, it was about four and-a-half-feet long — now it's over six feet." In addition to growing out of his old skin, Squiggy apparently grew out of his old name too. "They call him Sam now," Kiracofe said. "He changed his name as he got older."
While Kiracofe was happy to see his old pet, he said the old snake showed no emotion. "It didn't bite," he said.
Easterday said he ended up caring for the snake around 2000 when his son was a student and took an interest in the animal. He feeds the snake a regular diet of about four mice each week. Normally, Easterday said, he would eat two rats, but the snake is no longer able to swallow larger rodents.
Easterday said some teachers at MHS have been tracking the snake's history. "Sam" is still a part of the Wide Horizons program and is used to educate grade school children about nature and animals.
Kiracofe said his daughter was most excited about meeting her father's former pet. "She puts it around her neck and cuddles it ... she knows I had it when I was 16.
"The snake is probably not far from being 30-years old — which is unheard of," Kiracofe said. "I was amazed that the snake was still around."
The reunion of a man and the well-schooled snake he once captured