There certainly are many fewer monarch butterflies than in the past.

That’s too bad for many reasons, one of which is that the monarch is our state insect.

This monarch butterfly was attracted to the milkweed in my front yard last week.

I remember the sponsor of the bill that granted that designation.

It was sponsored by State Rep. Webber Borchers, a really conservative Republican from Decatur.

A World War I Veteran and who had a real soft spot for those in nursing homes, Borchers went to a grade school one day.

He sitting on the stage while an upper level class–maybe 5th grade–presented him with arguments for make the monarch butterfly the state insect.

Borchers was clearly embarrassed at presenting such a minor bill.

The kids, who had colors pictures of monarchs and pasted them on the backs of cottage cheese container tops asked,

“Representative Borchers, will you please introduce our bills?

“What was I going to do?” Borchers explained to House members in 1975 while presenting his bill.

“250 beady eyes were looking up at me

“What was I going to do?”

The bill passed with youngsters from the school in the gallery.

Earlier they had passed out their colored monarch butterflies on the cottage cheese container tops to legislators in their offices.

Naturally, the bill passed.

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More on Webber Borchers softer side here.