Sweet memories. Sometimes the men even stopped under appropriate food trees and let Lofty and Patchesstretch stretch their necks up for an afternoon snack. : https://thehistoryguyguild.locals.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheHistoryGuyYT/Please send suggestions for future episodes: Suggestions@TheHistoryGuy.net. So very touching and heart wrenching!! All Wildlife. box-shadow: none; Giraffes, rhinos, and more! Lofty and Patches lived at the San Diego Zoo for nearly 30 years and had seven offspring, including Raffy, D-Day (born June 6, 1946), Rusty, Patty and Lofty Jr. From The San Diego Union, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 1938: alive and kickingaccent on kicking--the two much-heralded animals that blazed a publicity trail across the continent were unloaded in San Diego zoo yesterday. 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. 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. I loved this book! So, although he cant speak, falls out of his wheelchair, isnt eating, he commits this story in sprawling detail to the pages of notebooks. Conservation Status: Threatened. } What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to become Southern California's first giraffes. No one recalls exact conversations, the gap teeth of a service station attendant, the color of vehicles along the road after 80 years. Amazingly, one of the crew saw the female giraffe move, so they covered and protected her as the storm raged on. For commercial or non-profit use, please contact Image Sales. The stormblew down so many trees that paper mills processed them for nine years. 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 Generous contributions from supporters allow The History Guy team to continue creating the snippets of forgotten history that have been seen by viewers all around the world. No more Maple Groves, no barn, the cows were standing in what used to be their stalls.. There were many reasons giraffes were hard to come by for Americas first zoos. But was he proud of the two beautiful animals! Erosion from the Great 1938 hurricane. Another regular occurrence, this one fictional, was the sighting of a fancy green Packard, driven by a redhead full of determination. 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. i loved the idea of the story, a road trip from new york to california with two young giraffes, the only part of the book that is non-fiction. In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing. Parts of downtown Providence were under 14 feet of water, with people sheltering on the second and third floors of buildings. Benchley preferred to transport the giraffes by vehicle so that they could stop as deemed necessary to nourish and rest the animals. They were given names Lofty and Patches, the winning entries in a naming contest. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. My sister passed it on to me and knew Id enjoy it. 1944. The first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed the topic, the setting and the giraffes!! 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. Our giraffe habitat lets you get amazingly close to these tremendously tall creatures. You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar: There the family stepped back on to land and back into their lives. They prepared to transport the animals across the country to San Diego, in the tall, oddly shaped crates that had been custom built for the purpose. 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. It turned out to be the storm surge, topped by waves 30 and 50 feet high. Find The History Guy at:New community! I remember my mother saying she got the last bus out of downtown Providence go home to Jenkins St I think they were living there then. Ever wonder why beer is so popular in Wisconsin? Sept. 21, 1938, was supposed to be a breezy fall day in New England. The main produce from that farm was Maple Sap and Dairy. In 1938, it was lifted from its foundation by flooding caused by the Great New England Hurricane and moved to a new []. On board the ship were some unique passengers: two Giraffes. But Charley Smith couldnt start the journey to San Diego just yet. .printfriendly.pf-alignright { Her writing is clever and imaginative. ); The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered is the place to find short snippets of forgotten history from five to fifteen minutes long. The dead filled funeral homes. } It was the voice of the narrator that I struggled with. Official Guide Book of the San Diego Zoo. 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. At 8:15 pm electric power went out and with it the fire . The book was wonderful and reading this was the icing on the cake! . Lofty and Patches became national figures when they made the last lap. 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." 2016. San Diego, already a world-class zoo, opened their WPA-constructed Reptile House and a zoo caf. ATHENIA, NJSept. i enjoyed the parts about the giraffes, their attachment to various characters, their enjoyment of the warm weather, sunshine, cool breezes. A total of 4,500 homes were destroyed and 25,000 damaged. War, recession and lousy farmland created other ghost [], [] would ever be picked and that no ax ever be used. West with Giraffes. Cincinnati. Realizing that punching all the TVs in the world wouldnt save the giraffes, he set out to document his story of how two giraffes changed his life forever. and sweet foreign farm dung. For a farm boy who grew up listening to his father prattle on that animals were nothing more than food, this experience was life-changing. What a delightful story! HURRICANE GIRAFFES TO QUARANTINE. Upon discovering that two of the passengers were giraffes, a whole new set of stories quickly developed. View this selection of cartoons by William Donahey. Im going to include a part of the blurb that enticed me to listen to this wonderful audiobook: From the beginning, this remembrance of a few short weeks of one mans life captured both my attention and my heart. According to the National Weather Service,a storm surge of 12 to 15 feet destroyed most coastal homes, yacht clubs and marinas on Narragansett Bay. By this time, the hurricane giraffes had made national headlines. I headed to San Diego and their new zoo, where Id heard that the animals get treated better than the people. I did some research too and found a website that gave me an idea of what the two crates looked like. 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.Show more, Check out our new community for fans and supporters! 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. that's really only 2-1/2 stars. We were on the water with the waves crashing over us, and part of the house still attached, one of the walls still attached to this piece of floor, and it almost acted as a sail.. Published September 20, 2017 at 11:17 PM EDT. Is there any talk of turning this into a movie? The peculiar travelers were a sensation everywhere they wentand their story provided some much-needed humor and enjoyment for a nation still struggling from the Depression. It destroyed cemeteries, slammed boats into shore, uprooted entire orchards and smashed structures into splinters. Born in the wild country of southeast Africa, these babies, less than three years old, set sail from their native shores last summer and were 54 days at sea. https://www.thetiebar.com/?utm_campaign=BowtieLove&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_source=LanceGeiger. This book has a special place in my heart. Giraffes at Lion Country Safari remained outdoors and kept their heads down during Hurricane Irma. But when they underestimated an approaching hurricane, at least 250 luckless World War I vets died, caught in the path of the most. News of the storm-tossed ship had reached reporters, and they gathered on the dock to get the story. box-shadow: none; This is about 30 miles from Canada. Along with the rhino, the food for the giraffes was lost as well. Sixty years ago this week, the San Diego AeroSpace Museumrenamed the San Diego Air & Space Museum in 2006opened to the public in Balboa Park. Smith lured him with an acacia branch. Empower curiosity about the people, places, and stories of our past. The "Teenie Weenies" cartoons enchanted readers of all ages for more than 50 years. Schroeder was a former zoo veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo and would later become the zoos director after Benchley retired in 1953. That is when he locks eyes with the giraffes (Boy and Girl). I rode Miss Jim when I little every summer and even in her cage to feed her a carrot. It's hard to imagine a time when most of the population had never seen a giraffe. Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1. 1st ed. The accomplishment topped off what turned out to be a very successful year for the zoo. . 1938 hurricane giraffes display: none; I absolutely loved this book. Original giraffe caravan photo from "The New York Sun" 1938 Rutledge had to grasp what it was like to live during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, with the physical problems and racial situations, to create realistic characters. While conducting research in the archives of the San Diego Zoo, Rutledge came across a trove of newspaper articles about two giraffes that had survived a hurricane on the deck of a freighter and a cross-country trip, from New York to California, in 1938. Instead of running away from the crazed primate, she stretched out her arms and caught it in mid-air and carried it back to its pen. cursor: pointer; Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. They were finally able to leave quarantine on October 10, 1938. 1938 hurricane giraffes. In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. Charles A. Smith, head keeper at the zoo, was putting in that time devising ways and means of getting them into crates and on to a San Diego city truck for the last lap home. train station pub happy hour 1938 hurricane giraffes. Just finished this wonderful book!! Good story line well written. I Loved this book, and hated to see it come to an end. it was the main character that i could not bring myself to like. When they finally were in their new house, a picturesque building that resembles a fairy-tale illustration, every connected with the job was ready to fall apart except Mr. and Mrs. As the giraffes were rolling out of sight, Woody runs as fast as he can through the flooded streets, passing dozens of reporters, and eventually steals a motorcycle to keep up with the truck bound for the quarantine facility. Thank you for sharing it the magic of googling. Good book! That historical event inspired this fictional story starring an experienced zoo keeper, a 17 year old orphan, an aspiring photo journalist and 2 giraffes. Images altered beyond standard cropping and resizing require further negotiation with a staff member. display: none; justify-content: center; 3rd ed. . A storm formed in the eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands on September 4, 1938, and headed west. Lofty and Patches. San Diego Zoo: 100 Years. Arriving in New York Sept. 23, they had to keep quarantine officers company for 16 days. This improbable, but fact-based, story of two giraffes transported cross country in what was basically an over-balanced flatbed truck made me laugh, cry. Nothing worked until, after a couple of hours, he tried an onion. Wendy Eckart. Imagine waves so severe that a rhino is tossed overboard. Getting to see a giraffe in 1938 was a pretty rare occasion. Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at: You'll be supporting this record of the past that helps to inform our present. Glover/Barton VT to be precise. She used a set [], [] known as Apple Valley. Apple growing reached its peak in Smithfield during the 1930s, but the Great Hurricane of 1938 wiped out many trees. My Life in a Man-Made Jungle. It brought down 20,000 miles of power and telephone lines. mastro's downtown los angeles opening date. Americas First Zoostory: 125 Years at the Philadelphia Zoo. It is one of my favorite books I have read in my 84 1/2 yrs. Little did anyone now that in September 1938, during the final few days of their trip, these animals bound for San Diego would encounter what was then the most devastating hurricane to hit the upper East Coast, killing nearly 700 people. font-size: 14px !important; Lofty and Patches became national figures when they made the last lap of the journey from south eastern Africa a transcontinental trip from New York by truck. The Great 1938 Hurricane inflicted tremendous damage on shipping. Subscribe for more forgotten history: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4sEmXUuWIFlxRIFBRV6VXQ?sub_confirmation=1. Itwashed away railroad tracks, sent bridges downstream and downed electrical wires, leaving some New Englanders without electricity for weeks. 2021. Cleaning up timber damaged by the Great 1938 Hurricane took years. You can purchase the bow tie worn in this episode at The Tie Bar:https://www.thetiebar.com/?utm_campaign=BowtieLove&utm_medium=YouTube&utm_source=LanceGeiger. This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society. I was 7 yrs old and I remember getting out of school late afternoon. If you like history too, this is the channel for you. Another indication that Benchley was loved by the zoo staff came after she found herself in the hospital for eleven weeks following an auto accident. display: none; The user is responsible for all issues of copyright. padding: 0; As the truck finally reached the San Diego Zoo entrance on October 17, 1938, the nearly unthinkable had been accomplished. @media screen { Awesome The History Guy merchandise is available at:https://teespring.com/stores/the-history-guy, The History Guy: History Deserves to be Remembered, Enjoyed this video? They also included the Colonial Hurricane of 1635, the Great September Gale of 1815 and the Hurricane of 1938. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection. 1938, near the Cape Verde Islands. [], [] From the New England Historical Society: [], [] 1938 New England Hurricane upended the outhouse at the Israel Putnam farm, and no one seems to have restored it. 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 Another awesome animal book! Photo courtesy Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries. 1947. https://thehistoryguyguild.locals.com/. text-decoration: none; They talked about the bridges that had washed away. Boston: Little, Brown and Co. Croke, Vicki. By clicking "BUY" you agree to our Terms of Use. ship I am getting all chocked up and tearing ..I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH ! 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. . September 22, 1938. In 1938, the merchant steamer SS Robin Goodfellow was caught in the Great New England Hurricane. Initially they refused to leave their traveling carriers but were eventually lured out with onions. A very rewarding read. Charley Smith was certainly the man for the job. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. . } She was right. Homeless refugees crammed into town halls, armories and fire stations. Charlestown, R.I., lost a bit more: 160 out of 200 homes were annihilated. outline:none; 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. DeLeon, Clark. Non censuram. New York: Scribner. Gawky Giraffes to Leave Athenia Today for Coast. Paterson (N.J.) News (October 10, 1938): 35. In 1938, the San Diego Zoo acquired two giraffes from east Africa. This is original content based on research by The History Guy. margin-left: 6px; Isadore Jachman and the Battle of Dead Mans Ridge, Christmas Flowers and Foreign Wars: Joel Roberts Poinsett, Best of The History Guy: Christmas History, Air Raid on Bari: the Little Pearl Harbor.. .printfriendly a, .printfriendly a:link, .printfriendly a:visited, .printfriendly a:hover, .printfriendly a:active { 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. 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. One of the aspects of the novel I enjoyed the most was the depiction of Belle Benchleysweet but tough, and highly respected. 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. Above, Bushnell Park in Hartford after the storm. My grandparents were on their honeymoon and when they returned to Salem, CT from Niagra Falls, the whole region was in disarray. Wonderful to see the photos and learn the history! Join my Locals community for exclusive content at. . I hope to die there, I do. Start your day off right, with a Dayspring Coffee No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. (Side note: these events occurred one year after young Nicky Arundel got his wish for giraffes at the National Zoo.). The Great 1938 Hurricane pushed the Tulip onto land. To see newsreel footage of the Great 1938 Hurricane, click here. The youngest child, just turned 2, was with her and a tree limb fell and gave him a bad cut on his head. There is only one giraffe species, but there are several subspeciestwo of which are endangered. According to Benchley, Our relations as Boss and Man-Friday are ludicrously funny, and when he thinks he is working for me I am overjoyed. Nominee for Best Historical Fiction (2021). 1938 Atlantic hurricane season Season summary map Seasonal boundaries First system formed January 3, 1938 (record earliest) Last system dissipated November 10, 1938 Strongest storm Name "Great New England Hurricane" Maximum winds 160 mph (260 km/h) (1-minute sustained) Lowest pressure 940 mbar(hPa; 27.76 inHg) Seasonal statistics .printfriendly { Visit our other Wisconsin Historical Society websites! Even today, the numbers are startling. It then took two years for the 50 CCC camps and 15,000 WPA workers in the region to finish the job. The narrator is the orphan, now 100 years old and nearing death, who has decided that he cant let the story die with him. From the Archives: In 1958 interview 18-year-old Raquel had heart set on professional acting career, From the Archives: San Diego Air & Space Museum opened 60 years ago, From the Archives: Advice for Valentines parties from 1923, From the Archives: Rare Lincoln photograph came to light in San Diego in 1937, From the Archives: War on wild drivers waged in San Diego 100 years ago, From the Archives: The Nagano Olympic Games opened 25 years ago, From the Archives: A view of La Mesa 125 years ago, Protest held after medical examiner rules inmates death a homicide, Romanian citizen arrested on suspicion of stealing more than $5M in COVID relief funds, Two women suffer major injuries after head-on collision in Lake Murray-area, Man suffers major injuries after car hits ice patch on road, overturns in Ramona, San Diego Roman Catholic diocese facing yet another lawsuit now from its own insurance company. If you love history, this is the channel to support! 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). The crates holding giraffes Lofty and Patches are loaded onto the truck from the ship in New York, 1938. . The National [], The Great 1938 Hurricane, A Once-In-A-Lifetime Storm, Cherie Burns. .printfriendly { Thank you again. Giraffes have a small hump on their back and have a spotted pattern similar to that of a leopard. Write by: . One of the giraffes is hurt and the cage is crushed around her. Enjoy this live view of the African Plains habitat that comes to you from the Kijamii Overlook at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. On board the ship were some unique passengers: two Giraffes. Without warning, a powerful Category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and southern New England, causing 600 deaths and devastating coastal cities and towns. If you liked. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. Thank you for this! Visual materials in the Archives do not circulate and must be viewed in the Society's Archives Research Room. San Diego Zoo. The original caption reads: "D-40 Internationals sold to San Diego Zoo to transport 2 giraffes across the continent from New York. My Grandparents had a Farm in Northern Vermont. 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. Volume 1: The Founding Era, 19161953. Total cost of the storm for the East End of Long Island alone was estimated to be $6.2 million (1938) Almost 50 . San Diego, CA: Zoological Society of San Diego. As they neared the eastern coast of the U.S., the ship was thrashed about in a hurricane, tumbling their crates and washing all their food overboard! 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. That was the plan, anyway, but the female giraffe had had enough of travel crates! 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. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. With horrible writing. Westerly, a bastion of quiet old wealth, never quite regained its prestige after the Great 1938 Hurricane. Image-purchasing questions? The blurb describes this book so accurately, that I don't want to repeat it. 1997. In New London, Conn., high waters pushed a five-masted ship, Marsala,into a warehouse and started a fire that demolished a quarter-mile section of the citys business district. Thank you for such an amazing story! } float: right; The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) [1] [2] was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. There is not a man now on the animal staff who is not in the work because he would rather be in it than anywhere else in the world, and because he feels that his contribution is important to the Zoo and to the community. According to Ken Stott, a former San Diego Zoo curator, . She smelled of fur . What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California's first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. 100 Years of the San Diego Zoo. .fun to weave the book with your stellar research! Many zoos simply werent willing to take the risk or didnt have the funds. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration. Riley Jones is hired to handle the giraffes and get them across the country. San Diego Zoo Centennial Timeline: 1938. https://www.sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/timeline/1938/1938/ (accessed 2/9/2021). She was presumed dead while every precaution was taken to protect the male. Check out our new community for fans and supporters!