Betty LaCourse May 10, 2008 18:54:22 (EDT)

I came to Bensons with my grandparents 38yrs.ago and boy do I miss that place.I wish my kids had seen it,there is no place on earth like Bensons.Families had a wonderful time there nomatter what age you were you loved Bensons.God I miss that place, wish someone anyone could have saved it,but we still have our memmories.

Charlie May 5, 2008 06:43:40 (EDT)

My last year could have been 1980..It has been so long. The main areas that I took care of were the monkey house, the bears and other areas as needed. I would have been there to the end, but I had a big blow out with Connie and that was the end of my Benson's career.When I first started at Benson's,the head of the animal crew was George Marshall and crew members included Bruce,Skip and Tim Dutton,Sonny Gilchrist,Reid and Bob (cant remember their last names,Gerry Landry who was Pinky Madisons assistant in the elephant house and a couple others that I cant remember their names at this time. The GM was Jim Murray and the head of the concessions was Jim Crowley.Of course a few of these changed when Art took over. I still feel that if they did not try to turn it into a super attraction and left it just an animal farm it would probably still be there. But that is just my opinion.And we had Joe training the lions and Roland with the seals And Tony's name was Tony, not Colossus.

Paula W May 4, 2008 14:36:23 (EDT)

Hi! I miss Benson's...I bought my house from Aurthur P. in 1982 (this was a Benson's property) and watched as the train station was moved from the property to the park! The property was subdivided and sold (we bought 5 Greeley). I spent much of my time at Benson's and have quite a history with many of the former employees! I miss them all so very much! My two daughters knew elephants as "family pets" and wondered why noone else had Christmas Cards that included Tanya!! I still correspond and talk to Bret Bronson and Beth Ryan...almost daily! Bret just sent me a youtube of Tanya and her baby (her calf was born Nov. 2007 at the Montgomery Zoo, Ala) I just needed to share that exciting news!

Kathy May 4, 2008 12:34:17 (EDT)

OOOPS, sorry about the double post, was trying to reset for this one. For those of you wondering about other former keepers, I just got this in an e mail from another former employee: Bruce Ashmore is back in Maine, Mika is still at York. Arthur is doing well, Connie passed away last August, Bret Bronson is in Virginia no longer working with animals. It's great to be hearing from people again. If we get enough responses, we should plan a reunion.

Kathy May 4, 2008 12:28:16 (EDT)

Andy- I get it all now. I thought that you were the Andy that was on the zoo crew in '81 and I just found out that there were TWO Jackies so I must be thinking of Jackie #2 (who was a 4 year old African when I left)and Andy #2, who, if I remember correctly, worked with Mika with the hoof stock animals. Thanks for you feedback and my condolences for your Jackie.

Kathy May 4, 2008 12:25:40 (EDT)

Andy- I get it all now. I thought that you were the Andy that was on the zoo crew in '81 and I just found out that there were TWO Jackies so I must be thinking of Jackie #2 (who was a 4 year old African when I left)and Andy #2, who, if I remember correctly, worked with Mika with the hoof stock animals. Thanks for you feedback and my condolences for your Jackie.

Andy May 4, 2008 11:12:42 (EDT)

Hi Kathy - I only worked there in the summer of 79, and I was there with Tammy Miller on that early morning when Jackie died. Tammy's dad was Whitey Baker, who had been one of the elephant trainers.
I'm pretty sure of the year, since I only worked that one summer.
Aurthur had the copyright for the image of Jackie the elephant as a cartoon character, so maybe he had another elephant named Jackie afterwards.
I remember the morning she was put down, she had been brought back up to the elephant barn, After she died, one of the maintenance workers had to cut off the outside bars of one of the enclosures so that they could pull her body out with a tractor. This developed into a rather grisly scene, the details I will not post here.

Kathy May 2, 2008 15:19:36 (EDT)

Charlie, I've often wondered what became of Bruce is too. He did go to York and so did Mika and Alcia. But that was so long ago now. What department (animals) did you work in? I have a group picture of the zoo keepers from 1981 with all their names and I don't see yours.

Charlie May 2, 2008 13:58:06 (EDT)

Anybody know what ever happened to Bruce Ashmore? I know that he left to go to Yorks Wild Kingdom in Maine.And I know that Tim Dutton now runs an exotic bird/veterinary clinic in Weare.Just a couple more of the former animal crew members.

Kathy May 2, 2008 11:33:50 (EDT)

Hey Andy, So good to hear from a fellow former keeper. Just read your post about Jackie. I had no idea that she passed and in such a sad way. She was so sweet. Hope that you had a chance to see Queen & Liz at the sanctuary before we lost Queenie too. But I have a question.........are you mistaken about the year? The Jackie that I knew was still very much alive and well when I left there in 1981.

Andy May 2, 2008 10:42:04 (EDT)

Jackie the elephant passed away the summer of 1979. She had been left outside overnight, and had spent the night standing in a pond. In the morning, she was in such distress that the zoologist Pat Quinn had to put her down. I remember talking to Aurthur that morning and he was quite distraught. He had been with her at the end, and it was a very sad scene.
She was buried at the bottom of the hill, near the entrance to the park.
Jackie was a small female elephant whose mother had accidentally sat on her when she was an infant, and one of her front legs had been broken in such a way that it healed with a curve to the inside. Aurthur had assumed the responsibility of taking care of her so that she would not be put to sleep. He had cared for her at his Merrimack facility named "My world of Pets", and had moved her to Benson's when he purchased the property.
She had a sweet disposition, and is greatly missed.

kevin April 30, 2008 07:38:00 (EDT)

I worked there for the last 2 years. 2nd year i was in the big barn restaurant cooking with an elderly gentleman - can't rember his name. I can still picture the 2 waitresses, 1 waiter and the bartender. They were great to work with!

Kathy M April 29, 2008 14:48:16 (EDT)

I worked at Benson's from '79 to '81. I started in what was the new Beer Garden directly overlooking the elephant ring where they performed two shows a day. I really wanted to work with the animals but then again, so did everyone else. When an opening came up in the elephant department I asked about the job but was told that they were looking for a male applicant. This seemed like sex discrimination to me until I found out that elephants are matriarchal, meaning females rule the heard. In other words, I would get less respect than a male would. A few weeks later, the trainer said that he had been kicking around the idea of having a girl ride the elephants in the shows and parade. Needless to say, I jumped at the idea and became the assistant elephant trainer/show girl for the next year or so. It was an experience I'll carry with me forever.
I'd aslo love to hear from any of the great people I had the pleasure of knowing during my employment there.

Dot B. April 29, 2008 09:53:18 (EDT)

Fred, You asked if it were true about Betsy the elephant being buried on the property on Benson's. According to the book, Remembering Benson's Wild Animal Farm, by Bob Goldsack, it is true. She died in 1971. Later, there was an African elephant, named Jackie, who died unexpectedly on July 4(1983?). It was the busiest day of the year. They covered the body with a tarp and kept the visitors from finding out about it. But, the book does not say where they buried Jackie. I'm sure that Betsy was not the first elephant to have died there. The place was open for sixty years and I get the impression that Benson's was like the "Ellis Island" of zoo animals. John Benson actually was an animal dealer. He bought exotic animals from Germany and sold them in the USA. He even went to Africa and rounded up some animals himself. He was keeping them in a warehouse in New Jersey, but the neighbors complained of the smell. So he moved his operation to Hudson and brought the animal into the country via Boston. People started coming around on Sunday afternoons, out of curiosity, to see Benson's animals, and that is how the park got started.

Ray P April 28, 2008 08:02:40 (EDT)

Check out this link,,it is about Tony the Gorilla ,,a well know gorilla from Benson's,,his name was changed,,read the story on the left side of the page,,,I loved when they had to enclose his cage with fiberglass to keep visitors from being hit with thrown gorilla poo!!!

http://www.gorilla-haven.org/ghspringagain.htm#Colossus

Fred April 27, 2008 23:53:10 (EDT)

Hello I live behind Bensons on Flying Rock Rd. Someone told me that Betsy the elephants is in a grave site on the property is that true What memories I have from Benson's, driving past it today you can't tell it was even there. My family went to Benson's and the kids all rode Betsy the elephant...I can remember going to Benson's I miss it. Great site I will check back soon.

T.C April 20, 2008 20:48:05 (EDT)

WHERE DO SWANS GO IN THE WINTER.AN HOW DO THEY GET THERE?????

Rick Matias April 20, 2008 15:21:24 (EDT)

RIP QUEENIE, I Was going to come visit u this summer.

=(

Damn. i really wanted to bring her an apple.

Kevin O'Keefe April 17, 2008 20:10:19 (EDT)

I can remember the gurilla spitting at me thru a little window,some forty years ago.Also going up in the barn loft,getting wrapped in a blankett,then sliding down from the loft.