Deb January 14, 2012 17:35:41 (EDT)

I do enjoy reading the upbeat posts and traveling back in time, growing up in Nashua, Benson's was a treat and I have many memories. We were kids in a simpler time, not thinking about where the animals came from, only that it was amazing we were able to see them, for most of us that was a close as we would ever be to some of the animals we went to visit. So let us have our nostalgia. Sure when I think of it now, of course it saddens me. On another note I did get the chance to visit NH and Benson's over the holiday and I am so happy to see the wonderful park that they are creating! Bravo! Residing in VA now, I look forward to my next visit!

Dee Stellato Bean January 12, 2012 20:10:16 (EDT)

In the late fifties and early sixties, when I was very small, my parents drove me up from Shrewbury, Mass. in the summers to visit the farm. I just loved it.

cheryl January 12, 2012 17:00:17 (EDT)

I don't feel mentally defective but I do feel badly about that way of life.

:( January 11, 2012 21:26:36 (EDT)

Well, it was good while it lasted. A lot of interesting nostalgia and updates recently. Now the mentally defective animal activists are back with their cesspool antics again. Way to ruin a good thing Wilbur and Company.

Wilbur Mercer January 11, 2012 18:51:00 (EDT)

Word on the street is that there's a good chance Cole Bros. Circus will be invited back for a show in the summer. Just wanted all you fine folk to be aware of the massive amounts of violations and fines this disgusting establishment has received. This is just a short list: http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=429&more=1

Highlights include:
-"illegally selling two Asian elephants named Tina and Jewel to a man who planned to use them for private parties and elephant rides"
-"failure to correct previously identified noncompliances including failure to demonstrate adequate experience and knowledge of the proper handling of dangerous wild or exotic animals, failure to have dangerous animals under the direct control and supervision of knowledgeable and experienced animal handler"
-"An elephant named Viola, who had been leased from Carson & Barnes to perform with Cole Bros., escaped in Lynchburg, Va. She bolted from her handlers and ran directly past a line of people waiting to buy tickets sending patrons running toward the parking lot. Viola injured her shoulder and broke a toenail when she slid in the mud and fell into a steep ravine. She was on the loose for approximately 30 minutes before being recaptured"

i know how much you guys like to wax nostalgic about the good old days when the animal abuse at Benson's was acceptable, but this is now. There are plenty of alternatives to allowing these monsters to profit off of their neglect and our townspeople.

carol wood January 7, 2012 14:31:55 (EDT)

My grandmother and mom used to take my sister and I to the farm on Sundays. It was always such a treat. We loved it.
It's been at least 60 yars since I was there. Been doing some family history for my granddaughter and told her all about the "fun" Sundays we used to have. Especially remember the big ice cream cones we got on that trip. We lived in Roslindale, Ma

David M Moulton Sr January 7, 2012 08:21:52 (EDT)

It sure has been a long time since my Mother used to take me to Benson's in the 40s,50s. Wow sure doen't seem that long.
Anyway ,I found this site and wanted to say I have a cigarette dispenser box from Benson's!

Jay January 5, 2012 23:13:38 (EDT)

Cheryl, they sure are we love to keep up on Liz and the entire group.

Cheryl January 7, 2012 07:11:04 (EDT)

I hope reports on Liz are considered upbeat.
I love watching her progress.
Her relationship with Frieda and Billie is so sweet !

Happy New Year !

Jay January 5, 2012 09:36:36 (EDT)

Happy New Year All !!!!! Let's keep this site a little more upbeat in the New Year !!!

Cheryl December 27, 2011 18:20:46 (EDT)

also...
December 20th elenotes has a cute picture of Liz.
elephants.com

Cheryl December 26, 2011 15:32:15 (EDT)

from,
The Elephant Sanctuary
December 22,2011
Gifts we Receive from the girls

Caregiver Sam says..........

"Lizzie gives Joy to each and every person who gets to meet her."

"In the face of her sickness, she is still bright and sneaky.
She begs for attention and treats from caregivers with a gaping open mouth."

"She spins and dances with her sisters Frieda and Billie when they get into their bouts of playfullness."

"For one who has been sick for quite sometime and suffered for even more time before she got to us, Lizzie exudes happiness in such an infectious manner that we can't help but get happier in her presence. "

As their greeting cards say....

Peace on Earth
Sanctuary to all

Bret December 18, 2011 08:51:39 (EDT)

Joyce, 'Ruth' has lived at the Buttonwood Zoo, New Bedford, Mass since around 1985. Doing well.

Joyce R. December 17, 2011 15:17:05 (EDT)

Does anyone have photos or information about the elephant Ruth who was at Benson's at the same time as Liz and Queenie?

Craig Johnston December 16, 2011 17:08:08 (EDT)

I'm happy to hear they ended up at the elephant sanctuary in TN. What a great idea to set that organization up. It was sad to learn of their fate this week of their treatment with the Hawthorne Corp. At least there was some good news to that story with them eventually living their lives in TN.

Thinking back at the 1987 Union Leader article that talks about the funding boycott threat by the American Association of Zoos for buying animals at an auction..... goes to show how seemingly good intentions has the opposite effect. I never understood the logic as to why they were opposed to the animal auction. Just think if the San Diego zoo were able to bid and potentially have won, the good lives they would have had for the 19 years that Hawthorne misstreated them.

Cheryl December 16, 2011 15:19:33 (EDT)

I just looked again at those pictures of Liz and Queen swimming in the pond.

they look so happy !

cheryl December 15, 2011 22:23:48 (EDT)

Many of you already know but it's worth repeating.

Liz has TB.
She has rounds of treatments. With another to start soon
if hasn't already.

She's in good and loving hands in Tennessee and
her elephant sisters, Frieda and Billie, are there for support. They're always together.

Craig Johnston December 12, 2011 21:40:47 (EDT)

I just returned from the Manchester public library and searched for a newspaper article on the auction at that time. They keep the Union Leader on microfilm and was able to recover the following story. It would be good to provide this text somewhere else besides this forum where it will eventually get buried away.

Union Leader – October 24, 1987
Colossus and Friends Tell Benson’s Bye-Bye
By Ed Roberts

Hudson – Even the giraffe, who usually stays above the fray, could be seen with a tear in his yesterday.

Hundreds of small zoo keepers, pet store owners, animal lovers and curiosity seekers flocked to New England Playworld, formerly Benson’s Ani mal Park, to see the spectacle of more than 400 animals being auctioned to the highest bidder.

A pair of mountain badgers fetched $400, a femal squirrel monkey brought $500, the Australian Binturong $350 and a Bobcat just $150. An anteater sold for $550, a zebra got $3,750. A Pair of tarantulas netted $50.

People were buying exotic animals for half their retail value. Smaller items could be had for bigger bargains, four full size cages sold for $175 a piece. A white picket fence for $10, a birdfeeded for $25. Four elephant ride saddles sold for $145.

“We came up to see what kind of prices they’re getting and check it out. This is the sale of the century,” said Marin Scott, of the Double M Ranch in Hasting, New York, Double M runs a small circus act.

But it was a sad day for many of those participating in the sale. “I’m very sad,” said Sandra Wright from East Lebanon, Maine, who hoped to buy some stock for her petting zoo. “It’s a shame they all have to go like this”.

It was a tremendously emotional moment for Benson’s owner Arthur Provencher, who tried to save the park for the last five years despite declining financial fortunes. The proprietor could be seen with tears in his eyes as his elephants were auctioned off.

The bright spot of the day for Provencher came when the popular 550-pound Colussus the Gorilla, was purchased by a zoo in Pensacola, Fla., which is run by former Benson’s zoo keeper Pat Quinn. “I’m glad to see Pat get him. They deserve each other,” said Provencher.

Provencher was a bit disappointed in the price the elephants were sold for. The three-adult elephant act was sold for $65,000 to the Hawthorne Corp of Grey Lake, Ill which supplies elephants and tigers for animal acts. It supplies the animals for the annual Shriners shows.

Tanya, the three-and-a-half year old elephant, was bought for $14,500 by Al Jones, a Hanover man who is involved in the campaign to save Benson’s. Jones said he has worked out an agreement with Provencher to keep Tanya at Benson’s and they will use the elephant for publicity for a bailout scheme.

Four lions sold for just $800, a 14-foot-tall giraffe fetched $2,750. A pair of rare Siberian tigers went for $550. A mother and three baby baboons got $100. The giraffe was bought by David Ford of Northwood who plans to keep it with several other animals he and his family have on their small farm.

The lions were bought by Jurgen Shultz, an animal trader from New York who plans to sell them overseas. Allen Seletsky of Brookline, Mass purchased an eight-foot long red Burmese python he says he will put in a display case in his light shop for publicity. He said he didn’t expect to have any trouble transporting the snake back to Brookline inside a cloth sack.

Luther Cooper of Hooksett said he bought a 10-foot long python as a gift for his mother, who used to keep a pet snake , “But it died about five years ago,” said Cooper, who paid $140 for the snake.

Provencher said the prices for some of the animals were depressed when some of the potential bidders pulled out at the last minute because of a boycott threat by the American Association of Zoo, Parks and Aquariums for participating in animal auctions.

He said the San Diego Zoo was ready to bid on the elephant act but pulled out five minutes before the bidding started because of the threat.

Despite an entrance fee of $10 a head, more than 500 bidders and several hundred interested onlookers turned out for the auction. Provencher said the entrance fee was necessary to discourage members of the public. “They had their chance to come and see the animals,” he said.

Two Japanese sika deer sold for $325. A Wilderbeast fetched $1,050; a large female elk brought $1,000; an ostrich brought $950.

It was not clear how much yesterday’s auction earned but Provencher is expecting about 1.5 million for the two-day sale. The auctioneer, Norton of Coldwater, Michigan, will get 10 percent of the sale earnings.

Yesterday the animals. Today the Galleon ship, the ferris wheel, and the rest of the park’s novelties. Provencher said he is expecting a bigger crowd today because no animal permits or licenses or special requirements are needed to bid.

Craig Johnston December 12, 2011 20:41:51 (EDT)

I had the box turtle for a couple years until I went off to college and sold him to a freind who I have been out of touch with. Hopefully the turtle lives on today.