Well, actually the first aquatic building was largely paid for by a grant from one of our friends of Gladys Porter’s who were big rancher and farmer in the area of the Russell family. And that was back in the late ’70s or early ’80s, I can’t remember the exact date. Since that time, we’ve totally taken that building down, enlarged it, and now have a Russell Aquatic Center, which they also went ahead and funded only on a much larger basis. And so that’s one family that has funded quite a number of projects for the zoo. Well, first off Martha Russell was Gladys Porter’s closest friend, and she and Gladys would do things together. After her passing her son, Jame, has been a major contributor and supporter. He’s also been president of our zoological society, president of the endowment, and he still serves on the endowment board. How does the Gladys Porter Zoo cope with some of the severe weather in the Brownsville area must be different than what other zoos have to worry about.
