It’s Love At First Sight As 2 Kodiak
Boys Send Valentine To Seattle Gorillas
Phil, left, and David Sundberg and Gorilla Valentine
Editor s Note: The following
story appeared in the Friday,
Feb. 15, edition of the Seattle
Post-Intelligencer about an epi
sode between David Sundberg,
son of Mr. and Mrs. Gene Sund
berg of Kodiak and Fifi, a gorilla
at the Seattle zoo.
According to their father,
Gene, who works at Kraft’s
Super-Market in Kodiak, the val
entine was the brain-child of two
of the Sundberg’s youngsters,
Phil 6, a first grader, and David,
7, a second grader at St. Mary’s
school here.
Of all the sights the youngsters
saw' on the trip, the two gorillas,
Bobo and Fifi, were the ones the
two lads talked about on their re
turn home, according to Gene.
One Valentine said “You bowl
me over!” and the other said
“You’re a cute number!”
He just looked at his Valentine.
But she reached up and touched
hers.
It was Valentine’s Day at the
Woodland Park Zoo yesterday and
because a 7-year-old boy from Ko
diak, Alaska, had such a good time
at the zoo at Christmas time, there
were real Valentines for two of
the zoo’s inhabitants.
The cuddly tiger cub? The polar
bears? The elephants? The bears?
NOPE! They were for the zoo’s
well-known gorillas, Bobo and Fifi!
The Valentines came from David
Sundberg, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Gene Sundberg. The Sundbergs
came “outside” for a month’s trip
—and David said he enjoyed the
zoo more than Disneyland and the
monorail.
J. J. Pernal, 1118 W. Howe St.,
was David’s guide at the zoo. Mrs.
Pernal and Mrs. Sundberg are cou
sins.
David remembered the zoo tr-.p
when he got homo—and remem
bered especially Bobo and Fifi. So
he sent the Valentines for Bobo
and Fifi to Mrs. Pernal for forward
ing to them at the zoo. With the
Valentines was a letter from Da
vid:
VALENTINE CARD
"Dear Bobo and FeFe (he
spelled it the way it sounded): How
are you and how is your country?”
Frank Vincenzi, zoo superin
tendent, and Pat Pichette, Bobo
and Fifi’s keeper, delivered the
Valentines personally. With Bobo
and Fifi confined to small rooms
alongside their “playroom,” the
two men taped the Valentines to
the inside of the thick glass win
dows. Then from outside, they let
Bobo into the big room.
The 510-pound, 11-year-old goril
la, ugly as a mud fence but hand
some as gorillas go, raced back and
forth across the room, beat his
chest (he’s beaten off all the hair
on his chest), swung on a pipe, sat
in a corner, scratched himself.
Every time he passed the Valen
tines taped to the glass he looked
at them. But he wouldn’t stand up
and touch them.
Then they let Fifi into the room.
Just like a woman, she was curious.
It didn’t take her long to stand up
and take a good look at both the
Valentine’s. Then she touched hers.
“Well, she appreciates it, even
if the old ham, Bobo, doesn’t,” Pat
said.
She’ll Never Forget You
If You Send
| A Corsage
A Dozen Roses
or
A Potted Plant
FLOWERS By ELAINE
Phone 486-5225 c/o City Market
Cornin’ Events
FEB. 22
Ceorgie’s Birthday, no stamps,
no money at the bank and no work
for federal and state employes.
FEB. 24
Russian dinner served at the
Russian Orthodox Church from 11
a.m. until 7 p.m.
FEB. 26
Borough Study Group meets at
courtroom over postoffice at 8 p.m.
FEB. 27
Ash Wednesday. Lent begins.
FEB. 28
Chamber of Commerce meets at
Town Club at 12 noon.
LIKE RUSSIAN FOOD?
If you have tasted it. You have l
chance to do so on Sunday when a
traditional Russian dinner will be
served from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Price
is only $2 for adults and $1 for
children.
Whaling Industry
Basis For “Moby
Dick” Performance
Moby Dick, America’s mythology,
its epic, its drama; written when
whaling was the nation’s greatest
industry, was as important to the
early economy as gasoline and nil
are today.
There can be no greater combat
than with the sperm whale which
lives on giant squid and can dive
where bell or diver cannot plunge.
The largest whale, from 85 to 90
feet in length and 40 feet in cir
cumference, will weigh 90 tons.
The tail alone would exceed 20
feet across at its widest dimension
and is over 50 feet from its root
to its tip.
Back in the days when Ameri
cans made whaling our greatest in
dustry these giant whales were pur
sued in small boats for as long as
12 hours and killed with a harpoon
and lance thrust by the sheer
strength of a man’s arm.
This, then is the sforv which will
be acted out by Philip Hanson as
he gives Kodiakans his rendition of
Moby Dick.
Mr. Hanson will portray, in the
tradition of America’s greatest
physical vigor, dignity and vitality
on the saga of "Moby Dick.”
This presentation will be pre
sented in the high school audito
rium on Sunday, March 3, at 8:15
p.m
MOKE LOST ITEMS
Mrs. Betty Springhill, principal
of the elementary school, reports
that a range finder and a man’s
diamond ring have been turned
into the office and may be claimed
by calling 6-2488 and identifying
the items.
NOW SEE WHAT’S NEW
AT YOUR CHEVROLET DEALER’S
Four kinds of sport—all super
Want to make spring come in a hurry?
Just pick a new car with whatever you
hanker for in performance and sporty trim
mings—like bucket seats, 4-speed shift*,
lots of horses—and start driving it now.
Chevy’s got a lot of sport in four entirely
different kinds of cars.
First, the Jet-smooth Impala Super
There’s the Chevy II Nova, also avail
able in an SS version. Special instrument
cluster. Front buckets. All-vinyl trim.
Distinctive SS identification. Fourteen
inch wheels and tires* with full wheel
disks. Three-speed shift or Powerglide*
with floor-mounted shift console.
Or the Corvair Monza Spyder with com
plete instrumentation, special identifica
tion, and an air-cooled Turbocharged Six.
Sport with your choice of 7
different engines that range up
to 425 hp and that include the
popular Turbo-Fire 409* with
340 hp for the ultimate in
smooth, responsive driving in
modem traffic. Optional equip
ment, including Comfortilt
steering wheel* that adjusts
to your convenience, makes it
as super a sport as you’d like.
And for a real wallop, see
the stunning Corvette Sting
Ray, winner of the “Car Life”
1963 Award for Engineering
Excellence.
All told, four beautiful con
vertibles, four handsome
coupes. You’ll get a four
barrel kick just looking them
over—and a whole lot more
fun out of driving one!
*Optional at extra cost.
Top—Corvette Sting Ray Sport Coupe and Corvair Monza Spydcr Club Coupe. Below
left, Chevrolet Impala SS Convertible; right, Chevy II Nova hOO SS Convertible. (All four available
in both!convertible and coupe models. Super Sport and Spyder equipment optional at extra cost.)
See four entirely different kinds of cars at your Chevrolet dealer's Showroom
DONNELLEY & ACHESON MOTOR COMPANY
Kodiak, Alaska