I had never heard of Mike Flieg until Monday, when I read his obituary. I’m sure thousands of people in the region didn’t know he was responsible for the first penguins coming to the Saint Louis Zoo, back in the mid-1960s. Apparently, one was here “on loan,” but Flieg traveled to Antarctica, found breeding couples, and the rest is penguin history.
The Reid family takes a trip to the zoo at least twice a year, and I can tell you that the new Sea Lion Sound is absolutely fantastic. Still, Penguin & Puffin Coast remains my favorite (at least until the multi-million dollar Polar Bear Point opens in 2015).
My thanks to the late Mr. Flieg for hours of entertainment while watching penguins at the zoo over the past four decades.
My thanks also to the civic leaders and forward thinkers who created the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District (ZMD), in a spirit of cooperation that's hard to imagine in this bitterly partisan, shortsighted era of American history. In 1971, voters in the city and St. Louis County approved the ZMD to support the zoo and Saint Louis Art Museum. With voter approval, the Missouri Botanical Garden was added in 1983, and the Missouri History Museum in 1988, respectively.
As a result, the Saint Louis Zoo—one of the finest on Earth—is free. This should never change.
Yes, city and county residents help foot a bill that residents of St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin, and all other Missouri counties do not help pay. Yes, tens of thousands of visitors from across the nation and world walk into the zoo, and it does not cost them a cent. In the mean time, a one-day unlimited pass to the San Diego Zoo cost $42 for adults and $32 for children under 12.
Had my family had to pay an entrance fee, I probably would not have gone to the zoo as much when I was a child. It was a nice treat to always have the zoo as a family entertainment option.
The day that the zoo begins to charge visitors—any visitors—is the day that some kid somewhere will not be able to visit the zoo. That would be a shame.
I think of the ZMD as this region’s gift to the world. And the world never has to say thank you. Just enjoy our penguins, sea lions, and the zoo's other 18,000 animals.
I can’t wait to get back to the zoo and possibly see some of the living relatives of Mr. Flieg’s first penguins. Apparently, one of the original birds that he brought back lived until July 30, 1980. His or her great grandkids could be out there swimming around even today.
Commentary by Alvin Reid
