09/01/1953
Jack and Jill, a pair of alligators who outgrew their backyard diggings, Monday were turned over to the City and joined the alligator family in the plaza pool.
Mrs. Myrtle Price, of 3508 Bisbee St., who bought the alligators a few days after they were hatched seven year ago, finally admitted that her pets were more than she could handle.
Tearfully she called Bryce Lammert, park superintendent, to offer the 40-pound alligators. Jack had jumped out of his pond at feeding time and when Mrs. Price had to call for help to get him back she decided it was time for the pair to go.
“They were great pets and would rear back whenever I brought them their horse meet,” Mrs. Price said, “but they would snap and hiss at strangers. My children have been wanting to get rid of them for some time but I waited until I just couldn’t take care of them any longer.”
PLENTY OF PETS LEFT
She won’t be too lonesome with 44 grown turtles and 22 small ones, all named and she can call off each one; more than 2,000 gold fish (“come and get them free. Just bring a container”); frogs, three dogs and parakeets.
Most of her aquatic livestock is in a pond 15 by 20 feet, 6 feet deep. But the alligators had to be kept separate to protect the others. They outgrew two private pools before getting eviction notices.
Mrs. Price came here from Brownwood, Texas, 17 years ago. In Brownwood she “really” had a private zoo. There was a fox, a wolf, and armadillo, porcupines, “(All very gentle,”) and a possum. (“You won’t believe it, but a possum makes as good a pet as a dog.”)
Her present assortment of pets fills part of the gap left by her seven children who grew up and left home, including a son 50 years old and her “baby” in his 30s.
ARRIVED IN CIGAR BOX
When her four alligators were sent from Louisiana by mail, in 1946, they arrived in a cigar box. Two died before Mrs. Price could learn that you had to force-feed them until they learned how to help themselves – jam food in their mouths and then hold them under water until they swallow.
She’s a little nervous about their new home in the plaza. They’re small, as alligators go, she says and with their pep they could slip out between the posts of the retaining wall. She expects to visit them as often as she can so they won’t feel too neglected before they go into their winter hibernation.
Mrs. Price, a widow, works by day to keep up her creeping, crawling and swimming adopted brood.
As a TWC alum and fan of El Paso I enjoyed the 'gator' tales and feel moved to add my own experience. I'm sure there are many 2nd hand stories of the gator pool exploits over the years but I can assure this one is accurate as I was a participant.
The year is a bit foggy, but likely spring of 1964. After a dress-up fraternity party about 4 or 5 of us who had been celebrating all Sat. evening decided to kidnap a couple of the gators at the plaza and relocate them to the campus. They were a bit hard to catch but we managed to subdue two larger ones, tying their mouth's closed with our neckties. We transported them in the trunks of two cars to the campus where we keep them for several hours in my dorm room. My roommate was George Fielding who was a bit more straight laced and reluctant to be involved with the matter.
One of the other participants, Pat O'Rourke, suggested we remove them to the TWC swimming pool, which we did around 5 a.m.
The next morning an unsuspecting coed went into the pool for an early swim and discovered our misdeed, she promptly notified the campus police who arranged for their rescue.
I don't recall anyone ever discovering who the yeggs were in this exploit and it sure was fun!
Posted by: Joe H. Smith | April 23, 2011 at 06:13 PM