The animals, from the old Putt Putt on Kemp, finally arrived at their new home. Daniel Young, the owner of the Blue Fish restaurant on Kemp St., has donated the giraffe and elephant to an Iowa Park Elementary school. The animals have been a landmark of Kemp St. for many years. They were originally an attraction of the Putt Putt course that was located there. Once Mr. Young agreed to donate the animals to Bradford Elementary, several local businesses received some rather strange phone calls. Calls had to be made to find someone to appraise "an 18 foot giraffe and a 9 foot elephant." Zuber Auction didn't hesitate to take on the job. They donated their services to appraise the animals. Next, came the calls to find a crane to bring the animals down. Again, this was not a normal request. After two weeks of phone calls it was suggested to try a sign company. Gary and Nancy, owners of Express Signs, took the challenge. Hours of concrete chiseling to free the animal’s feet had been finished before the animals could be moved. Gary then came out to hoist the animals up with the crane while Tim Kingcade, owner of Kingcade Welding climbed top of the 20-foot mountain to cut the final bars holding the animals. The animals were then lowered onto Kingcade’s trailer, where they remained until their new home was ready for them. Thanks to the very generous donations of these businesses, the students of Bradford Elementary will have the finishing touches to their jungle theme reading safari.
The school dedicated a jungle painted hall to a teacher Cheryl Frederick Hodges that had passed away. Cheryl loved animals and the year-end Fifth Grade Zoo trip was her favorite experience, next to reading, to share with "her kids." Now, the door leading outside, from the hall, will lead to the new outside Reading Safari Courtyard full with a giraffe and elephant.
It took three years, from the time of first contact, for the animals to finally get moved to Bradford. The School and PTA are now working on finishing up the new "Reading Courtyard" that will house the Elephant and Giraffe. After years of gradually purchasing benches, IESI suppliying some large landscaping rocks,trees, and other landscaping that the high School Horticulture Dept.helped plant it has turned out to be a great Reading Refuge and Picnic Compound for our kids.
