Old Zoo Near Lost Lake?!

[Smokey©]

Does it say anything on the back of the postcard? Maybe it says who took the photo or which company made the postcard . .. anything could help.

[tailtwister]

Here's the back... Duh!! THAT'S where I knew it was the Hertel family!!

[TH2008]

Here's the back... Duh!! THAT'S where I knew it was the Hertel family!!

Holy crap! What a great find! Good digging, tailtwister!

BTW, when I saw the front of that post card, it does look like the Rutherford Ridge area. Anyone else want to take a stab at this?

TH

[TH2008]

Here's a scan of a postcard from the old Rutherford zoo. If memory serves me correctly, there was information that the zoo was owned by the Hertel family. When it was closed, the animals were moved to Penticton. (I've also found other evidence that they may have gone to Port Alberni before Penticton but nothing to prove that).

Hopefully, someone will recognize the topography from this image. Not too sure this is from near the Amsterdam area off Metral though... I had heard it was somewhere in the area across Rutherford Road from where the Quilted Duck is now.

The Quilted Duck may be able to help solve this mystery.

Quilted Duck
Address: 5299 Rutherford Rd.
City: Nanaimo
Province: British Columbia
Postal Code: V9T 5N9
Phone: (250) 758-4806
Fax: (250) 758-3810

[Persephone]

I think this has to be my favorite thread.

And I agree, that in the photograph it does look like Rutherford Ridge.

[tailtwister]

I tried walking around most of the area and the closest I could get to a familiar ridge (keeping in mind that 50 years of growth will obscure and/or reveal new things...)



The search continues...

[Persephone]

I am going to go and search when my other half gets back from work on Tuesday.

I bought that "Patterson" book today and so I have read the story and it is made me feel more informed, but now I am way more curious then I was to begin with!

I called my mother-in-law earlier today, after I read the story, and she is well aware of the zoo and even remembers being there although only small details.
She new the Vanstones (went to school with one of them) and her hubby lived in the same area as the Vanstones when the tragedy occured (it was one of the Vanstone daughters who was attacked)........
She told me that it would be about the lower flat area of Bay Street (departure Bay) where the Vanstones lived...... (according to the book, the Vanstones lived within a mile of the zoo and where the lioness escaped)..... I think this totally coincides with what I was told on the phone this afternoon.
When I get a chance I am going to talk to Ryan's dad; he has lived here his entire life, so I may get some more info!

The zoo was about 90 acres, so it definitely wasn't a small zoo! My mother-in-law has an idea that the entrance may have been in the vicinity of Macs and Meritt Furniture.
This is occured in 1958, so we are looking back exactly 50 years this year.

This is all so very interesting and I am really wanting to learn more about it.

[RyanCoffey]

Man, considering that postcard... no wonder a mauling happened!
Humans act stupid and animals get blamed for acting like... animals.

I'm really surprised I never heard about this Zoo.

[Persephone]

It is very odd.....

Apparently the child did not get "mauled" but was grabbed and her neck was broken; i'll have to check the book again....

Interestingly as I have been searching around for more information, if you dig enough and willing to put money in to it, there are some articles in some newspapers dated back to 1958.
I was surprised to see an article in the New York Times, dated May 5, 1958; there was also one in the Lethbridge Herald.
I didn't pay to see it though, so I don't know exactly what it says......

It was a major event around here; I am surprised that no one really knows about it.

[tailtwister]

could you possibly email me those sources? I'd like to look into that a bit more and possibly make that purchase (depending on how out of hand it is)

thank you