What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. On board the ship were some unique passengers: two Giraffes. Determined to meet his cousin at that Brooklyn dock, he arrived only to find that his cousin was killed on board the Goodfellow during the hurricane. Amid advertisements for California Fig Syrup and Hoods Sarsaparilla, a glowing 1898 profile of the community of La Mesa by a writer using the initials, J.W., Privacy PolicyTerms of ServiceSign Up For Our NewslettersSite Map, Copyright 2023, The San Diego Union-Tribune |. The great hurricane of 1938, which hit on September 21, was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869. Now get that head back in its hole, ignore those know nothing scientists, and relax. [] department store employees could be fiercely loyal. unlike almost every other reviewer, i could put the book down without any trouble. If youd like to read about a wild ride one family took during the storm, click. Those Giraffes, caught in a. The giraffes, probably only a few years old, were met at the Brooklyn dock by the San Diego Zoos head keeper Charley Smith (Riley Jones and Old Man in the novel) and city truck driver Ed Seuss (Earl). Survivor. 1938, near the Cape Verde Islands. It was some time before they found out. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Collections Division. It turned out to be the storm surge, topped by waves 30 and 50 feet high. Sept. 21, 1938, was supposed to be a breezy fall day in New England. box-shadow: none; No one recalls exact conversations, the gap teeth of a service station attendant, the color of vehicles along the road after 80 years. . Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They were finally able to leave quarantine on October 10, 1938. Hooray Lynda Rutledge. Day and Night. My mom was 16 and lived in New Bedford on Acusnet ave.(not sure of the spelling) with her mom and dad. . One of the aspects of the novel I enjoyed the most was the depiction of Belle Benchleysweet but tough, and highly respected. In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. It may not be sold or redistributed, copied or distributed as a photograph, electronic file, or any other media. With thanks to The Great Hurricane: 1938 by Cherie Burns. . In 1938, there was a terrible hurricane that caused massive destruction to New York. Copyright 2023 The History Guy. Orphaned during the Dust Bowl, he found his way to New York to work for a distant cousin. A Cherry & Webb employee drowned during the Hurricane of 1938 while trying to rescue the stores furs in the Providence stores [], [] waves in the hopes ofreaching the Pendleton, an oil tanker that had snapped in two during the fierce storm. The animals were loaded onto the S.S. Robin Goodfellow in Mombasa, British East Africa (present-day Kenya), for a 52-day, 3,200-mile journey to the coast of New York. Wonderful to see the photos and learn the history! Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Lofty and Patches became national figures, From the Archives: In 1893 Jos Gabriel was the first inmate to be executed at San Quentin, From the Archives: 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee galvanized the modern American Indian Movement, From the Archives: The queens 1983 visit to San Diego drew a crowd, From the Archives: Egg poached to save condor 40 years ago. I dont know how I was led to this book.Thank you to whomever suggested it. I highly recommend the book: Sudden Sea by R. A. Scotti. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time, you're watching the live cam from the Safari Park. 1999. This is a good book for the whole family to read. One of the 19,000 buildings destroyed by the hurricane. The Great 1938 Hurricane pushed the Tulip onto land. The AMC breached the contract once, after the Great Hurricane of 1938 required downed trees to be [], [] Snow called the High Tide Storm of 1723 one of the big four New England storms. The 1938 hurricane was the worst natural disaster in American history a gale that wreaked more death and havoc than either the great Chicago fire or the San Francisco earthquake. In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and towns. Another regular occurrence, this one fictional, was the sighting of a fancy green Packard, driven by a redhead full of determination. Could not imagine the river that high. Smith, who was quick to express his affection for Lofty--the giraffe that didnt kick him--directed that his crate be the first to be unloaded by the whirring, grinding, chug-chugging crane. 1938 hurricane giraffes Conservation Status: Threatened. Join my Locals community for exclusive content at. All Wildlife. Traveling shows displayed them as early as 1837; however, they were difficult to capture and transport, making them expensive to procure. 'jetpack-lazy-images-js-enabled' .pf-button.pf-button-excerpt { And in Vermont, the storm caused a train derailment and uprooted maple trees and apple orchards. Imagine waves so severe that a rhino is tossed overboard. Giraffes have a small hump on their back and have a spotted pattern similar to that of a leopard. } They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. San Diego Zoo keeper Charley Smith and driver Ed Seuss were also at the dock, having made their way to New York to collect the giraffes. Charley Smith was certainly the man for the job. I felt safe when I arrived at my house. (And New York would not experience one as destructive until Hurricane Sandy in 2012.) Empower curiosity about the people, places, and stories of our past. Fred Ghent and Ray Sheldon were honest men who made a mistake. InNew Hampshire, fire destroyed four buildings in Peterborough and wind blew down part of the Cog Railway on Mount Washington. Melanie says: In 1938, two giraffes bound for the San Diego zoo survived a hurricane at sea and a cross-country trip by truck. color: #3AAA11 !important; Good book! 100 Years of the San Diego Zoo. where is the serial number on vera bradley luggage. On board the ship were some unique passengers: two Giraffes. Smith stayed with the giraffes during their time in quarantine, sleeping beside their stalls, nursing the females injury, and getting to know these towering creatures of Gods pure Eden. After their quarantine was complete, it was time to load the giraffes into their custom-made, heavily padded 12 8 crates, which were large enough for the giraffes to lie down on piles of peat moss and straw. Gawky Giraffes to Leave Athenia Today for Coast. Paterson (N.J.) News (October 10, 1938): 35. The storm totaled about 26,000 automobiles and blew over 20,000 electrical poles. A charming and wondrous enchantment of a novel Sunday, February 14, 2021 Michelle Newby Lancaster HISTORICAL FICTION Lynda Rutledge West with Giraffes: A Novel Lake Union Publishing Hardcover (also available as an e-book, an audiobook, on audio CD, and in paperback), 978-1-5420-2174-6, 356 pgs., $24.95 February 1, 2021 The storm hit Long Island and Southern . In 1938, two giraffes were transported by boat to New York, then by trailer to the San Diego Zoo. Charley Smith would update Benchley via telegram during the twelve-day trek. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. It is one of my favorite books I have read in my 84 1/2 yrs. Red paper hearts, ribbons and Kewpie dolls were just the thing for Valentines Day entertaining 100 years ago. San Diego, already a world-class zoo, opened their WPA-constructed Reptile House and a zoo caf. float: right; I rode Miss Jim when I little every summer and even in her cage to feed her a carrot. At 12:30 PM, a 30-foot bank of what looked like fog rolled in toward Long Island. The first giraffes could be seen in Central Park in 1872 and in Philadelphia in 1874, and the first baby giraffe in captivity was born in Cincinnati in 1889. [] years earlier, The New England Hurricane of 1938, one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, had struck without warning and killed more []. Show more I remember water lines painted on telco poles along the Merrimack river. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. 1. 1938: Two giraffes, Lofty and Peaches, arrive. In 1947, the mill still used wood cut from trees downed by the Great 1938 hurricane. .printfriendly.pf-aligncenter { Parts of Falmouth and New Bedford, Mass., were submerged under eightfeet of water. As the truck finally reached the San Diego Zoo entrance on October 17, 1938, the nearly unthinkable had been accomplished. All rights reserved. Apparently they subsisted on pancakes that the cook made for them for three days until they got to shore. Check out our new community for fans and supporters! Fantastic, and such a good read. [], [] This story was updated in 2018. https://zoohistories.com/2021/02/11/west-with-giraffes/. My grandparents were on their honeymoon and when they returned to Salem, CT from Niagra Falls, the whole region was in disarray. The 45-mile drive from Brooklyn to the quarantine facility through flooded and debris-ridden streets, avoiding potentially low-rise overpasses, was certainly a true test of how the giraffes might handle a drive across the country, which in fact had never been done before with the towering creatures. .printfriendly { Just finished this wonderful book!! Stone stairs from a washed away house stood on Atlantic Ave through the 80s. In the eastern part of the state, a fire started in Newport among fallen timber from the 1938 hurricane around Tonomy [], [] This story was updated in 2019. Next thing I knew, we were floating, Moore recalled. Overall, says Magilligan, the Hurricane of 1938 and Irene dumped similar amounts of rain - between 7 and 10 inches in most locations, often within just a few hours. Location: Urban Jungle. HURRICANE GIRAFFES TO QUARANTINE. Thank you Lynda Rutledge for researching this story and writing this wonderful fictionalized account!! Non censuram.Please send suggestions for future episodes: Suggestions@TheHistoryGuy.netThe History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. A very rewarding read. While hiding out at the barn in Athenia, Woody does his own acquainting with the giraffessneaking into the paddock to feed them apples and onions, and checking on the injured girl. It was a three-hour ordeal. The story begins with a centenarian named Woodrow Wilson Woody Nickel sitting in his nursing home watching a TV documentary on the near extinction of giraffes and other endangered species in Africa. Virginia Beach: The Donning Company. The events of the twelve-day cross-country drive are difficult to decipher outside of what Smith revealed to journalists and The Boss Lady. He did not keep a journal, so Lynda Rutledge takes creative license to fill in the blanks for us. Visit our other Wisconsin Historical Society websites! .figcaption {font-size: 75%;} Nothing worked until, after a couple of hours, he tried an onion. Funny in many parts. What a delightful story! By clicking "BUY" you agree to our Terms of Use. San Diego Zoo Centennial Timeline: 1938. https://www.sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/timeline/1938/1938/ (accessed 2/9/2021). What we called highways were barely tolerable for transporting people much less chauffeuring giraffes. Volume 1: The Founding Era, 19161953. 670 views, 48 likes, 3 loves, 2 comments, 12 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The History Guy: In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. } The book was wonderful and reading this was the icing on the cake! Giraffe Transport with International D-40 Truck More. I headed to San Diego and their new zoo, where Id heard that the animals get treated better than the people. Amazingly, one of the crew saw the female giraffe move, so they covered and protected her as the storm raged on. In 1938, the San Diego Zoo acquired two giraffes from east Africa. In October 1938 the first breeding pair of giraffes arrived at the San Diego Zoo from east Africa. I loved this book from the first page to the very last. Above, Bushnell Park in Hartford after the storm. 1997. Giraffe to leave his crate was another matter. As one of the most costly hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland, Cleaning up timber damaged by the Great 1938 Hurricane, How the 1st Storm Chasers Saved New England From the 1944 Great Atlantic Hurricane - New England Historical Society, Flashback Photos: When Downtown Department Stores Spelled Christmas - New England Historical Society, The Heroic Rescue of the Pendleton Crew, 1952 - New England Historical Society, 6 Hollywood Stars Buried in New England - New England Historical Society, Six Historic Apple Orchards - New England Historical Society, Six Historic Post Offices - New England Historical Society, Six Autumn Paintings of New England (And How They Look Today) - New England Historical Society, Six New England Ghost Towns - New England Historical Society, Six Breathtaking National Natural Landmarks - New England Historical Society, The High Tide Storm of 1723 Strands Puritans in Their Meeting Houses - New England Historical Society, The Portland Gale of 1898, and the Cat that Saved a Life - New England Historical Society, Hurricane Carol, So Deadly Her Name Was Retired - New England Historical Society, The Great September Gale of 1815 - New England Historical Society, Four Days in May: The 1942 Rhode Island Forest Fires - New England Historical Society, Hercules Had It Easy Compared to the Great 1938 Hurricane Tree Cleanup - New England Historical Society, Sept-21, 1938: The Most Powerful Hurricane in New England History Today Past, In Search of the Roosevelt Outhouse in New England - New England Historical Society. Lion Country . Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at: Please send suggestions for future episodes: Suggestions@TheHistoryGuy.net. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to become Southern California's first giraffes. But getting Mr. Brooklyn Bridge. Around 60 people died on Long Island - 29 of them at or near Westhampton Beach. Told through the memory of an aged veteran, the story is set against the background of the Dust Bowl, the Depression and the advent of a World War. -webkit-box-shadow: none; West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge was inspired by the true story of two giraffes in 1938 that "survived a hurricane at sea, then were driven cross-country for 12 days in little more than a tricked-out pickup truck to become the first giraffes in Southern California." There were many reasons giraffes were hard to come by for America's first zoos. document.documentElement.classList.add( It's 1938The Great Depression lingers. Giraffes. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. DeLeon, Clark. . I absolutely loved this book! But when she was angry she made Mount Vesuvius seem considerably less dangerous. The family moved first to the second floor and finally to the third floor to stay above the storm surge, watching as house after house succumbed and neighbors were washed away. Glover/Barton VT to be precise. The giraffe is in a large crate on the bed of the truck which appears to be inside a building. As soon as Smith had apprised Belle Benchley of the giraffes poor condition, Benchley contacted Dr. Charles Schroeder from the Bronx Zoo to assess her condition. West with Giraffes, a novel by Lynda Rutledge, gripped my attention from beginning to end. As the country teeters between a depression and Europes looming war, a pair of giraffes, survivors of a hurricane at sea, left a wake of much-needed cheer while driven cross-country to the San Diego Zoo, where lady zoo director Mrs. Belle Benchley awaited. too many authors seems to be using this idea and with this book it definitely did not work for me. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. San Diego, CA: Zoological Society of San Diego. Woody Nickel is 105 years old when he hears the news that giraffes may be going extinct. Please Credit: Wisconsin Historical Society. } One of those books that make you not want to even start another cuz. Three improbable protagonists take it upon themselves to transport two giraffes, that survived a 1938 hurricane at the end of their trans-Atlantic crossing, in a trans-continental adventure from New York to San Diego. Two-thirds of the boats in New Bedford Harbor sank. Kraft, Joy W. 2010. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. Amanda Heidt | Mar 19, 2021 | 5 min read. Real estate developers wiped out many of the orchards that the hurricane [], [] for 103 years, until 1958. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal, https://www.thetiebar.com/?utm_campaign=BowtieLove&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_source=LanceGeiger, https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryGuyYT/, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1, https://teespring.com/stores/the-history-guy. > waynesville, mo police reports > 1938 hurricane giraffes. My Life in a Man-Made Jungle. .printfriendly.pf-alignright { border: none; [], [] Sailing master Joseph Kemp compared the Portland Gale to the Great Hurricane of 1938. The "Teenie Weenies" cartoons enchanted readers of all ages for more than 50 years. 1923 campaign for safe and sane driving in San Diego urged citizen vigilance in reporting traffic violations. Yesterday at 12:30 Eddie drove the truck through the gates at San Diego zoological gardens and all hands followed it to the mesa where the citys big crane was waiting and the camels were wondering what the heck. Lofty and Patches. San Diego Zoo: 100 Years. In normal conditions this would be a rough trip, especially for temperature-sensitive giraffes, which were placed in crates and forced to endure whatever the high seas threw at them. Connect to database. The dead filled funeral homes. So very touching and heart wrenching!! If you like history too, this is the channel for you.Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1.Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at:https://teespring.com/stores/the-history-guyScript by JCG#history #thehistoryguy #SanDiego Life Magazine Digital Archive. Perhaps the most astounding story of the storm comes from the Moore family of Westerly, R.I. As the storm grew stronger, the familytried to evacuate their beachfront home, but could not. 5th grade business fair ideas. -moz-box-shadow: none; No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. After three days of being fed pancakes (and the giraffes are indeed fed pancakes at one point in the novel), she mustered up the energy to pull herself up. Benchley preferred to transport the giraffes by vehicle so that they could stop as deemed necessary to nourish and rest the animals. Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1. Cross Country. My family always talked about the 38 Hurricane. Our giraffe habitat lets you get amazingly close to these tremendously tall creatures. 2016. Two huge broken-up crates are lifted off containing amazing cargo: two Baringo giraffes. There is only one giraffe species, but there are several subspeciestwo of which are endangered. Even today, the numbers are startling. They survived, although the female was injured. One of the giraffes is hurt and the cage is crushed around her. But the author does a magnificent job. 1938 1939 LIFE Magazine October 10, 1938 LIFE Magazine October 10, 1938 Legion Drum Majoretts $ 39.99 9 in stock Add to cart SKU: 113-810-1000 Categories: LIFE Magazines, LIFE Magazines 1930's, LIFE Magazines 1938 Tag: Description Additional information Description So preciousIt reminded me of my days at the St Louis Zoo and Bill Ross the elephant man. Those Giraffes, caught in a storm that killed hundreds of people, were en route to San Diego, California, and the storm was only the beginning of their cross-country journey. They never have kept house together before, and just o make sure they do not kick the daylights out of each otherand make the Zoos $7500 investment worth no more than the current quotation on dead giraffesthe animals were shown to separate apartments for the time being. Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1. At one point in the novel, Old Man stops at the zoo in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the night to procure some medication for Girls wounded leg. He done a grand job and he knew it. A crane was used to lower the giraffe crates out of the truck and onto terra firma. In the novel, Woody is able to stop chasing the truck as, after much begging and pleading, he is offered the driving job by Old Man after a falling out with Earl. Taken on September 22, 1938, the day after the category-3 "Great Hurricane" of 1938 struck Old Lyme, the image focuses on the upturned roots of a monumental tree that dwarfs the wood-framed house behind it. The hurricane chewed away at roadbeds, like Shore Drive in Winthrop, Mass., above. Print out this index page and present it to the librarian. My Mother remembers a tree falling through their roof in North Conway, NH. Of course, I knew your zoo history background already, so I was delighted to see your additions to this beautiful story. For the in-depth story, see The San Diego Zoo: The Founding Era, 1916-1953 Three giraffe subspecies are housed at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park (as of July 2016; Amanda Lussier, personal communication): The Great 1938 Hurricane took almost everyone by surprise. Pictures taken just after unloading from ship.". When she sent him on a collecting trip to Africa in 1940, she noted, I am quite sure that we shall not hear much about Charleys trip until his return. 1938: Giraffes Lofty and Patches arrive (survived a hurricane on the journey to the United States) 1940: Benchley publishes My Life in a Man-Made Jungle; 1941: Dr. Harry Wegeforth dies at the age of 59; zoo plants its own garden to save money during the war Based on true events, this adventurous historical novel is the story of 17 year old Woody, the giraffes known as "Boy" and "Girl", the "Old Man" and a host of other characters met on their travels.
