Tuesday, March 07, 2017

#2 Animal Farms

This is Elizabeth Green and "Queenie" at the Bill Green Animal Farm.
I'll see if I can get my wife to make a comment on this picture.

Posted by Buckles at 3/07/2017 05:48:00 AM

4 comments:

BARBARA WOODCOCK said...

There were two places they did the water skiing, that I knew of. One was here in Fla. and the other was in Pa. Mom said that Queenie liked it for when it was hot she would reach down and get a trunk full of water and spray it on herself. And she said that there was not much training to it as you just walked her out onto the pontoon and put leg chains for safety, and the boat pulled it. The pontoon was below the water, and the skies were above the water. Mother didn't like to go out with Queenie because she would get her hair wet, and it took a long time to dry and braid her hair. Sorry I don't recall the name of the towns. We visited her in both towns. I think the one here might have been Ponce De Leon Springs. Not sure about that. I don't know why Philadelphia, Pa. comes to mind. Mother trained all of the animals for the Animal Farm in Fairlee, Vermont. They were beautiful animals and beautiful acts. I worked a little with Queenie when I went up to Fairlee to visit Mom. I will never show any pictures of me at that time though, because I was fat. I would take Queenie out and let her play in a mud puddle that I made for her. I had to teach her how to pull grass. She was so little that she didn't know how to use her trunk in that way. Later with Baby Stella on Polack Bros. Circus I had to teach her how to use her little trunk, the same as Queenie.....Barbara....

07 March, 2017 07:10
Chic Silber said...


Liz Green Dane & her husband Gary

came to Sarasota for the Ring Of

Fame in 2015 & visited with many

of us primarily Barbara & Buckles

at the ShowFolks Club

07 March, 2017 08:37
Larry Louree said...

There is a small museum at DeLeon springs, which is now a State Park. They had a documentary style movie about the animal show there and the water skiing elephant Queenie. This the the state park with the pancake place where you can make your own pancakes family syptyle in the old mill building. It's just north of DeLand

07 March, 2017 20:25
Liz (Green) Dane said...

Barbara is correct regarding Ponce de Leon Springs (now called DeLeon Springs State Park). However, the other major location was Pittsburgh, PA. We (my Dad, Bill Green, Barbara's mother, Lalea, and myself) were all there for the entire summer of 1959 when the city was celebrating its bicentennial. My Dad and Queenie would waterski on the Monongahela River - to the "Point" then go a short way up the Allegheny River before heading back to the dock on the Monongahela. But the waterskiing came to an abrupt halt when two big barges (going in opposite directions) created waves that toppled the skis, Queenie and my Dad over. Luckily, Dad was able to get Queenie free of the skis (she came up between them). Fortunately, one of the work barges had a big crane on it and was able to wrap straps around Queenie and pull her to safety. The ASPCA decided it was "cruel to make an elephant waterski" and ended it all. Little did they know she loved it and successfully skied many times again in Florida. I have to add - Barbara made my very first real circus costume that summer she spent with us in VT. Her mother taught Queenie and I together and we went on to work many specialty shows, Shrine circuses, Television shows, Fairs, Amusements Parks, etc -- just little Queenie and I, in the ring, all alone - and I did all the usual "mounts" plus a couple I designed myself. Sure wish I could go back in time - I miss my hugs from Queenie!!! Liz (Green) Dane

08 March, 2017 22:45

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