History of Amigo de Oro explained

Submitted by Carol Suggs

Don’t they say that when you are in your 60s that’s the new 40s? This year the Mariposa County Fair and county mascot will be turning 64, and he has not aged a bit.
Amigo De Oro (Friend of Gold or Golden Friend) was imagined by Pauline Trabucco who artistically brought the cowboy butterfly to life on Sept. 5, 1959 and shortly thereafter, Rhesa Bagby provided him with a name. The Trabucco and Bagby names are some of the well known pioneering families in this area.
Little is known about Amigo De Oro for his first ten years,
At their regular County Fair Board meeting on April 21, 1969 the board granted permission for the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors to formally adopted him, and they did so by a very eloquent resolution (1969-044) the very next day, April 22.
The forever faithful guardian of the Mariposa County Fairgrounds, Amigo De Oro is found in various images throughout the fairgrounds, his large eyes and sweeping eyelashes, golden wings and always dressed in a ranch hand outfit complete with chaps, spurs and of course a ten gallon hat. He adorns many a trophy and various awards given out during the Fair. Most recently he has honored several Mariposa County Fair Rodeo Queens as his image adorns their saddles, sporting pink wings instead of gold.
Amigo De Oro even has a 5k and 10k run walk named after him. Typically taking place on Sunday during the annual Labor Day fair in Mariposa this event draws young and old, swift and steady as the 10K participants make their way down Ben Hur, Buckeye and Old Highway enjoying the beauty that is Mariposa and maybe a sighting of Amigo De Oro along the way.
The Trabucco estate had gifted the fairgrounds with some original art work of Pauline Trabucco’s which hangs in both the fairgrounds main office and in the board room. The whimsical drawings are done in black; the once presumably white paper has yellowed over the years. They depict Amigo De Oro performing a variety of tasks from riding a bucking horse to panning for gold. The office also has a handmade mask on display from the Trabucco collection.
Next time you are at the fairgrounds keep your eyes open and you just may see a magical butterfly with a twinkle in his eye dipping his hat to welcome you.