I'm focused on the goose.

Brookfield Zoo, May 1961. That's okay; I already looked at the camera today.

It's Sunday. Let's get dressed up and go to the zoo.

Brookfield Zoo, September 1961. We briefly visit the Polar Bears, and then we head to my favorite spot: the Children's Zoo.

The llama sat still.

Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, 1961. The tolerant llama endures a chase and an embrace.

A Sunday Encounter

Brookfield Zoo, 1967. I get a closer look at that baby leopard.

General Manners: Don't hog the animals.

Brookfield Zoo, September 1963. I decide whether to let the other girl pet the guinea pig.

The Best Part about Sundays

Brookfield Zoo, May 1961. I so enjoyed our weekly visits to the Children's Zoo. I'm standing next to the goat pen, but the billys must be in the shed.

It's a baby goat!

 

Brookfield Zoo, August 1960. Mom rarely was free to join Dad and me on our weekly visits to Brookfield. Here, Mom has released me from the stroller to meet the goats at the Children's Zoo.

A Tolerant Llama

Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, 1961. A llama at the Children's Zoo endures my embraces long enough for Dad to snap this shot.

Don't hog the goats.

Brookfield Zoo, June 1964. There's a line of admirers behind me waiting to pet the goats at the Children's Zoo.

Gentle

Brookfield Zoo, June 1962. I admire a goat at the Children's Zoo.

I've always liked wool.

Brookfield Zoo, October 1964. I feed the sheep at the Children's Zoo.

Guinea Pig

Brookfield Zoo, Autumn 1962. I get acquainted with a new friend at the Children's Zoo.

Baby Antelope

Brookfield Zoo, August 1961. I am at the Children's Zoo, getting to know a juvenile antelope. I think it's an Oryx, but I am not certain.

Alpacas and Llamas

I met a friend today for a wonderful lunch. She told me that The Great Midwest Alpaca Festival will be in town this weekend. Alpacas and llamas were among my favorite animals when I was little. Now, I also love them because they produce beautiful fibers for soft knitting yarns.

Time spent with alpacas and llamas also generates great material for the memory bank.

*     *     *     *     *

Children's Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, September 1965. I cannot distinguish whether these photos depict me feeding a baby llama or a baby alpaca.

Do you remember how exciting it was to ring the cow bell?

Brookfield Zoo, Spring 1965. I reach for the cow bell, the central spot of the Children's Zoo.

*     *     *     *     *

Brookfield Zoo, Fall 1964. Although ringing the bell was a thrill, I had more fun feeding a sheep.

*     *     *     *     *

Brookfield Zoo, Fall 1964. A guinea pig for your thoughts? Am I worried about going back to school on Monday?

Oh please! Let *me* pet the baby cow.

Brookfield Zoo, June 1962. I am distressed by the possibility that I'll miss an opportunity to pet an animal in the Children's Zoo.

A Strategy for Visiting the Children's Zoo

If you get to the Children's Zoo early on a Sunday morning—when everyone else still is at church—then you can have the petting area all to yourself.

Brookfield Zoo, September 1967. That's adorable; but is that a baby leopard I see behind the beehive?

*     *     *     *     *

Brookfield Zoo, September 1967. I can barely contain my excitement.

*     *     *     *     *

Brookfield Zoo, September 1967. It was fun, of course, always to hold the "regular" Children's Zoo animals, like the white rabbit ....

... the mellow donkey ...

... and the billy goat.

Where I spent most Sundays.

My Dad enjoyed taking photographs of animals. Nearly every Sunday morning, he packed me up, and he drove the short distance from our house to Brookfield Zoo. Because we went so frequently, he and I rarely did the "touristy" things other people did at the zoo. For example, we didn't go to the porpoise show very often, and we rarely visited the lion house. Instead, we'd spend hours watching one type of monkey or another, waiting for just the right shot.

The one indulgence my Dad allowed me every Sunday was a visit to the Children's Zoo. There, I could interact with baby animals and even pet a number of them. I remember that feeling of excitement as we used to approach the gates of the Children's Zoo. Even today, just thinking about it, I recall the smell of the baby goats and the sawdust.

My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, once implored my Dad to take me to church on Sundays instead of to the zoo. He responded, "She'll learn more about God at the zoo."

Brookfield Zoo, June 1965. I cradle a white rabbit at the Children's Zoo. My Mom knitted the white cardigan that I am wearing. I have a strap around my neck because my Dad had given me a "Brownie" camera with which to start taking photographs.

Baby Llama!

Brookfield, Illinois, 1961. I visit the Children's Zoo, within Brookfield Zoo, and fall in love with a baby llama.