A Zoo Farce in Two Acts
Norman Rozeff
August 2009
Harlingen has had zoos in several periods of its history. When Bowie Park, that city block now occupied by the Casa Del Sol and the Harlingen Community Center, first came into existence it featured a very bare-boned zoo with local wildlife such as deer and wildcats. Later Fair Park, now named Lon C. Hill Park, featured an expanded zoo operation but nothing the likes of the current Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. It was simply an added attraction to fairgoers attending the Valley Mid-Winter Fair at the park. This fair was a major attraction for Valleyites in late November of each year from 1922 until the early 1950s when it ceased forever. The zoo was to close what with continuing expenses and declining interest in its limited menagerie.
Act I The Coming of Betsy
In late 1964 and early 1965 a confluence of strange events precipitated considerable local interest and subsequent newspaper coverage. Apparently a wire service national new item first caught the attention of Wilson Fry of San Benito. It seems three coeds at Smith College, Southhampton , Massachusetts had, as a lark, purchased a ten year old hippopotamus from the Brooklyn Prospect Zoo. Naturally the school authorities denied them permission to bring it onto the campus. Fry envisioned the bargain basement purchase of the hippo. He offered the girls the same $400 that they had paid for the animal plus a few dollars to cover some expenses which they had incurred. Finding a suitable Valley home for the two ton lady was another matter.
Soon interest picked up when the Valley Zoological Society, soon to be transformed into the Lower Rio Grande Valley Zoological Association, came into being. Its president was Harlingen attorney Polk Hornaday, Paul Darden of Harlingen as vice-president, Dr. Raymond Fowler of San Benito as secretary-treasurer, and Fry as curator and director.
In mid-December a site for the zoo was donated. It was 2 ½ acres adjoining the Harlingen-San Benito Veterans of Foreign Wars building on Whelan Road. Darden was commandant of this post. On December 30, 1964 ground was broken for the first Valley-wide zoo. Meanwhile Harlingen City Manager Marshall Bingham made clear in no uncertain terms that the city wanted to play no role in a new zoo.
Almost immediately donations of wildlife were made. First on the scene was Ringo the raccoon and a playful coatimundi. For the zoo's prime attraction, Betsy the hippopotamus, construction of a tank was commenced in the second week of January. It was to have a maximum depth of 10' with six feet below ground, be eight feet wide, and have a 14' sloping ramp into it. It was lined with concrete blocks. Surrounding the tank was an enclosure built of heavy timbers sunk into the ground and pierced in their middles by ten parallel strands of heavy ¾" metal cable.
A special truck was dispatched to New York to bring Betsy to her new home. Four men accompanied it and the special $500 cage crafted to transport her. Handling problems began almost immediately. When Betsy was finally coaxed into the transport cage, flashing camera light spooked her, and she easily smashed the top timber guard on the cage. It was a scary moment but by covering the top of the cage she was calmed and then allowed to return to her old quarters. Costs began to accumulate for truck parking, food and lodging expenses, and then to replace the first truck with another sent from the Valley. When nothing under the sun would work to move Betsy into the cage for a second time, a dragline was rented to push the leery Betsy into the newly constructed and reinforced cage. It was no easy matter to entice 4,000 lbs. of a temperamental lady into such unattractive transportation for a 2,200 mile trip. At last she was on her way. For her daily rations her handlers needed to feed her about 14 quarts of grain, 90 pounds of hay, and a bushel of assorted fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile back in the Valley the newspapers were playing up the drama of it all. Another arrival had beaten Betsy here to glean media attention. It was a ten month old 110 lb. lioness that came from St. Louis.
Naturally Betsy's arrival on 1/17/65 brought forth a crowd of very curious people. Not taking chances with what had now been portrayed as a fairly wild and disgruntled animal, there were on hand six riflemen furnished by Cameron County law officials and the Border Patrol. John Estevas who accompanied her here was quoted as saying that Betsy was "just a little bit raunchy and too ornery to describe." While in Brooklyn she was experiencing a climate-controlled 65 to 70 degrees. Now in the Valley where a cold front was expected to plunge temperatures into the 30s, some thought that she would perish from the cold. A $1,760 climate-controlled building was planned but not yet available despite the admission charge now instituted to cover operation expenditures.
No fool this animal, upon being released into her enclosure Betsy quickly submerged herself in the tank and was protected from the elements. Sightseers were mightily disappointed not to see Betsy with her gaping mouth and 9" tusks. Meanwhile the curator brought in a butane blowtorch to keep the tank water warm in the cold wintry days being experienced. When the temperatures finally rose the curator had to pump the murky water out of Betsy's tank in order to get her in view of her waiting audience.
Act II Hands on Inexperience
With the zoo now fitfully operating, it appeared to become a dumping-ground magnet for all species of animals of which people wished to divest themselves. Added to the menagerie were a deodorized skunk, two white-tailed deer, a pair of javelinas, and numerous monkeys. A bird cage house was in prospect for various meat-eating birds. Within three months the zoo's financial situation worsened. At this time the hippo and the lioness Tammy disappeared from the premise along with three Canadian bears, two raccoons, four monkeys, a 450 lb. sea turtle, an iguana, several poisonous snakes, and a parrot.
The LRGV Zoological Association went to court to obtain a restraining order against curator Fry and to present arguments concerning ownership and the alleged kidnapping. In mid-August the 41-year old Fry sold Betsy to the Fuentes Brothers Circus of Mexico. Judge Myrlin O. Johnson of the 107th District Court then released Fry from an early May court order and explained that he could make the $2,000 sale, however $1,500 of the proceeds would have to be deposited with the court clerk to satisfy outstanding claims against Fry. The $1,500 he received was distributed to various business creditors, a bank, and others. In the final resolution of the issue Fry received all the remaining animals, along with cages and physical facilities connected with the zoo. The newspaper stated that all parties breathed a sigh of relief. Upon hearing Fry state that he had another hippo, presently nursing, available, all parties departed helter-skelter from the proceedings.
The collection of animals in this short-lived zoo had no acts but was a circus nonetheless.
It has taken 44 years, but San Benito has recently indicated it wants no repetition of animal farces. It did so by passing a new city ordinance outlawing the maintenance of wild animals within the city limits.