De Leon Springs' Queenie the Waterskiing Elephant passes away

I received this email from Liz Dane, Queenie the Elephant's original owner last night:

"Folks - The last chapter in my "Memories of Queenie" has been completed.

I last saw Queenie in January and knew that it probably wouldn't be much longer before I would get the "dreaded" phone call. Debbie, Queenie's main caregiver, made that call to me this morning.

Queenie was laid to rest yesterday - Debbie was with her until the end and gave Queenie one last hug and kiss from me. Debbie and Queenie developed a very special bond. I am so grateful for all that Debbie and the rest of the caregivers at Wild Adventures did to make Queenie's life the best that it could possibly be.

If you would like to see and hear the news that was broadcast this evening on a local Valdosta, GA TV station - click on the following link. You should then see a video clip with a "start icon" on the right of the screen.

Memorial Day will have an extra special meaning for me from now on.

Take care - Liz"

I had the opportunity to meet Liz in person in February at De Leon Springs. It was a great thrill to walk the grounds with Liz and hear firsthand what it was like to perform in the days of great Florida roadside attractions. It was clear she had a special connection with Queenie, and Liz loved talking about her days performing there. She brought a video created from home movies of her act with Queenie, and it was amazing. I believe they run the video in a loop at the little museum at DeLeon Springs, so that Liz and Queenie can continue to entertain a whole new generation.

The water skiing elephants of De Leon Springs

Yesterday I took some out of town visitors to De Leon Springs for a delightful pancake lunch and learned more about what the place was like when it was a roadside attraction. But first this tip: the restaurant is much less crowded on a weekday at lunch. While you might experience a wait of an hour or more during a weekend morning, we were able to walk right in and get the best table in the house, by an open window in front of the gigantic water wheel. A light breeze came across the water and cooled us and the sound of rushing water was audible below the water wheel. Well worth taking a day off for!

At the small museum on the opposite side of the spring from the restaurant are some wonderful murals including the image above showing some of the aquatic attractions of the spring. In the background is a small motorboat jumping a ramp- I've seen multiple postcard images of the same and imagine that was a staple of the show. Also note the tram or people mover now seen at most theme parks and the Cypress Gardens-like water ski pyramid. But the star of the show had to be the water skiing elephant. I found this wonderful first hand account on the circus history website about Queenie, the water skiing elephant:

"My Dad, Bill Green, trained Queenie to water-ski at Ponce de Leon Springs in the winter of 1958-1959. I water-skied with Queenie the winter of 1959-1960.
We bought Queenie in 1953 when she was approximately nine months old and she remained in my family until 1967 when we sold her to Walt King of Kings Performing Elephants in Richmond, Michigan. Walt sold Queenie to Circus Gatti in 1981. After suffering various forms of mistreatment and neglect, she was transferred to Wild Adventures, in Valdosta, GA, in 2001 where she remains to this day. After not having seen each other for 38 years, Queenie and I were reunited in October of 2005 - and the old saying "an elephant never forgets" is true. She remembered me! I have seen her each year since and will see her again this June."- Liz Green Dane, March 21, 2008

I found this video online of Liz and Queenie performing:

Postscript: Liz Dane, who performed with Queenie, pointed out that the elephant in the painting at De Leon Springs is actually Sunshine Sally, a circus elephant who was Queenie's predecessor. Liz and Queenie performed at De Leon Springs in the winters of 1959 and 1960. Look for more in a future post!