It was the stuff of legends at the Toronto Zoo on its 50th birthday and history will show there were at least three beings in attendance who were there on opening day back in 1974.
One was the chairman of Metropolitan Toronto, Paul Godfrey, who is the founding president of Postmedia.
The other two still live at the zoo.
All three were taking a lot of pictures and bows on Thursday.
Deservedly so.
Original habitants of the old Metro Toronto Zoo from day one are a 52-year-old gorilla named Charles and a 57-year-old orangutan named Puppe.
Both have outlived what their lifespan would have been in the wild and have called the Toronto Zoo their home since Pierre Trudeau was prime minister, Bill Davis was premier and Godfrey was the chair of the six cities that made up Metro.
“I was so excited and proud to be here that day and I am equally as excited and proud to be here on this day,” said Godfrey.
In 1974, two of his three sons, Rob and Noah, had been born and were with him.
“We wanted the zoo to be a family place and a world-class place,” said Godfrey. “The good folks at the zoo have made it both.”
They have. It really is a magical place. But spend a day there half a century after it opened and what really stands out is how far ahead of the curve the decision-makers were back in the day to make sure this zoo was as much wilderness park as it was enclosures for engangered animals.
With the focus on green and sustainability being what it is today, these people were way ahead of the curve.
“Our founders did an amazing job and they were led by leaders like Paul Godfrey,” said Toronto Zoo CEO Dolf DeJong. “Thank you so much for your vision and creating the environment for us to do our work.”
Their work is a lot more than taking care of wild animals. They are on the cutting edge of all of that environmental mumbo-jumbo you often hear people pretending to care about. They care at the Toronto Zoo.
And they practice what they preach.
We often use our platform to keep politicians honest and so we should. But sometimes they desereve at pat on the back and Mayor Olivia Chow, Councillor Paul Ainslie and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie are receiving one today.
So is the zoo staff. They run a tight ship there.
“I have been to zoos all over the world,” said Godfrey. “I put ours in the top five.”
From seeing moose to bison to grizzly bears to alligators to all sorts of big cats, this place brings out smiles and laughter from young and old alike.
“This is my happy place,” said zoo membership holder Debbie Lawley.
With her husband Mike, they practically raised their kids there and now that they are grown up, they still go there regularly anyway.
“We are like kids,” joked Lawley.
Godfrey, 85, said the zoo makes him feel like a kid again, too.
“It’s just a great success story and I am so pleased they invited me to the birthday,” he said.
The one thing about the Toronto Zoo is it does not rest on its laurels.
“We are still growing,” said DeJong. “And still evolving.”
In 50 years at the 100th anniversary, some of the thousands of school-aged children on hand for the 50th will be able to come back and celebrate the centennial with the knowledge that the Toronto Zoo has always been a trailblazer.
Sometimes you have to pay tribute to that and we do that today for Mr. Godfrey, Charles and Puppe.
They are all the roots of Toronto Zoo and it’s soul, too.