So I presented my findings so far to the Glocester Historical Society in Chepachet last night. There were over a dozen people present and I was delighted at their interest in what I have dug up so far. The presentation, in spite of some early techno panic, went off really well.
The big hit of the evening, of course, was the world premiere of the digital version of the Baby Roger movie. For the first time anywhere in over a century, "A Visit with Baby Roger" ran for all of its 80 seconds. The applause was deafening. (OKOKOK. Maybe not deafening, but audible at least.) I thought it was appropriate that this cradle of elephant stories was also the spot where the movie came back to light...
One of the cool things about giving presentations is what you end up learning from the audience. One Civil War researcher/historian volunteered the fact that in 1862-63, there were supposedly several sitings of a wild elephant in the woods north of Woonsocket. I can hardly wait to get up north to see the info myself since the archives of the paper hasn't been digitized yet and I haven't run across any other references anywhere to this ghostly phenomenon. He (and I) suspects that this was just a case of mistaken identity, but, of course, it's a great adventure to track it down. After all, an elephant did run amuck in 1854 and cause a lot of damage just east of Pawtucket. Who's to say no elephant broke free from its menagerie and holed up in the woods for a winter? However, no bones have ever been found, no traces, as far as we know. But perhaps it was just passing through on its way to Florida...
On another front, I was shooting an interview with a woman who was at "Goodbye to Fanny Day" in 1993 up in Pawtucket. She was really articulate and passionate about Fanny. At the end of our time together, she said something that pierced me to the quick- "I'm glad someone is doing something for Fanny," she said. "So that people will remember her."
And in fact, that's what this is all about- remembering the animals that touched us so deeply. Here's to Fanny and friends...
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