Interview 24153 – Caption Index: 253
So we’re talking about Connie as part of that elephant shipment. Yeah, yeah. Read More
So we’re talking about Connie as part of that elephant shipment. Yeah, yeah. Read More
How did you decide to keep that elephant?… Read More
No, not by any means. Three of them were sold as a group to Providence, Rhode Island. They were picked up by Allen Campbell who had previously been an elephant man in the Jacksonville Zoo and worked for me after leaving Jacksonville. was coming and going. He wanted to be… Read More
They arrived here about 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning. We finished unloading at three in the afternoon, four in the afternoon, something like that. One at a time in the barn, chained an individual, rear, front rear, front and rear chains, and chained in place, front and rear. As… Read More
So they were all sold?… Read More
Come here. She’s out with the dog. She went outside. Oh, with the dog. Okay. Read More
Yes. This was financed by a man in Miami. I sober. Oop, sober. A good man. Good in the sense that his money bought the elephants. I sold them. I got them, I sold them, and so on. I unloaded them with the two of us and about three other… Read More
So Connie was one of these elephants?… Read More
Who? Who, dear?… Read More
They were tough animals. They weren’t by any means tame. Rougher in hell. (chuckles) It took all day to unload the eight elephants. We were inspected that afternoon before we even had him 24 hours by a state inspector. Read More
They’re well trained, very well cared for. He had previously bought I don’t know how many, two or four, something like that. I think two, and he had, I think, one out of that shipment. But anyway, he lives up five miles out the highway. The shipment came in to… Read More
The crates that they originally came in are (chuckles) out here, crumbling away. There were three, three, one, and one. That’s the number of animals kept in each crate. They were housed in the big barn, the eight. The barn was much different than it is now, the interior. The… Read More
What?… Read More
Another African, yeah. just ask the question again, just ’cause you brought it up. Tell me the story of Connie the elephant. Well, – Connie was one of eight that I imported in the late ’60s. I can’t remember the exact year. I have it right here. 1988. 1988. Okay. Read More
Mostly successful?… Read More
Mostly successful. In my own case, I would say totally unsuccessful. I trained Connie. I sold her to a circus where I thought she was, I knew she was going to. Somebody had another Asian. African. Read More
What?… Read More
Did you have to educate them?… Read More
Tried to. Read More
As best I remember, I went directly to Africa. I can’t tell you who, but I have the correspondence with African dealers somewhere out there. Read More