CINCINNATI — Guarding front steps and patios across the Midwest, a familiar — and delightfully quirky — figure is making a comeback: the porch goose.
These concrete creatures, once a staple of grandparents’ homes, are finding new life with a younger generation that’s embracing nostalgia, humor and personality right outside their doors.
For Sarah Nichol, her porch goose isn’t just decor — it’s family.
“Like trying to come up with a funny name, and we were like Reba Quackintyre. So that’s her government name,” Nichol said.
Reba lives with Nichol and her roommate Elena Short in Northern Kentucky, part of a growing gaggle of Gen Z goose lovers who are reviving the trend. For Nichol, the connection runs deeper than decoration. Her goose was passed down from her grandmother.
Watch below to see how Tri-State residents are embracing the porch goose trend:
“I went over and I was like, I need a porch goose — like, desperately need it. I’m just gonna steal yours,” Nichol said. “And she finally was like, ‘All right, take the porch goose, let it live on.’”
Porch geese have long dotted neighborhoods across the Midwest. Today, they’re reappearing on porches throughout the region — often dressed in seasonal outfits, themed costumes or personalized looks that reflect their owners.
At the Buckeye Trading Post, just off Highway 50, the trend is impossible to miss. The shop offers geese in a variety of sizes, from small “desk geese” to full-sized porch guardians, along with handmade outfits designed to keep them stylish year-round.
“There’s everything from tiny baby ones … to kind of a middle-sized,” said Shannon Vinson. “It’s just a really big trend right now that we’re having a lot of fun with.”
What was once a quiet tradition has now expanded into a massive online community. Sisters Erika Gross and Sydney Lorenzen run one of the largest Facebook groups dedicated to porch geese, boasting more than 350,000 members.
“I started The Porch Goose Club of America because there was just nothing on Facebook like it," Gross said. "In a space that’s often negative and political, how funny would it be to have pictures of geese on people’s newsfeeds?”
The group has become a place for people to share photos, swap outfit ideas, and celebrate their collections — turning a simple lawn ornament into a shared cultural phenomenon.
For many younger fans, the appeal is rooted in nostalgia and comfort.
“[Grandma's] house just felt like home growing up,” one enthusiast said. “And I felt like that goose was such a big part of that silly, homely feeling. I thought, someday when I have a house, I’ve gotta have a goose.”
Even those without childhood memories of porch geese are embracing them now.
“Gen Z, millennials — we think they’re so cool,” Lorenzen said. “Our parents didn’t really think about porch geese, but to us, they’re fun and different.”
As the trend grows, so does the demand — and the challenge of getting one. Porch geese are notoriously difficult to ship, leading many fans to travel long distances or track them down through Facebook Marketplace.
Whether dressed for the season or standing proudly in their classic form, porch geese are once again becoming a familiar sight — bringing humor, nostalgia and a sense of home back to porches across the Tri-State and beyond.
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