New Phila Elks Safari Expedition Out of exotic locales and into Tuscarawas County

  • By Jennifer R. Demuth
  • March 12, 2010
  • 580
                        
On Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7, many mounted exotic and unique animals were on public display at the New Philadelphia Elks Safari Expedition, held at the Elks lodge on Union Avenue. And, since the animals were professionally preserved by taxidermists who used the actual animal skins (including the fur or scales) to create life-like three-dimensional representations, visitors were able to come within inches of each animal for a view unlike any seen at a zoo or museum. “When you go to a museum or zoo, you can’t get that close,” explained Cindy Rinehart, exalted ruler of the New Philadelphia Elks. “We thought this event was something really unique and different that we could offer to the public that would allow visitors to get as close as they wanted to the animals. It’s been a great weekend, and we’ve had a lot of people come through.” Nearly 200 people enjoyed the free expedition, which included 32 animals from all over the world that are part of the private collection of Chuck Matthews, an avid hunter from Dover who is a member of the New Philadelphia Elks. He said he acquired the collection across roughly 20 years of pursuing his hunting hobby while on vacations to such exotic locales as China, South Africa, Ukraine and Zimbabwe. Matthews was happy to let the public view the collection of rare animals. “Everybody wanted to see them,” he shared. “People didn’t know a lot of these animals existed.” The show included a yak, two snow foxes, a European brown bear, leopard, warthog, white rhinoceros, wildebeest, zebra, hyena, lion, lioness, crocodile and many more. Georgie Johns, of New Philadelphia, enjoyed taking her grandchildren to the event. “This is really a nice opportunity to see the variety of animals that are out there,” she commented. “They (grandchildren) were pretty impressed by the crocodile’s teeth.” Johns’ granddaughter, Cambri Mushrush (5), of New Philadelphia, said the animals were great, and her favorite was the white rhinoceros “because he’s so big, and I love his horns.” Sally and Doyle McCombs, of Dover, also enjoyed viewing the collection. Doyle McCombs said he attended to see animals he had never seen before. His wife, a retired teacher, noted, “It’s such a unique display of wildlife. I think everybody should take advantage of seeing this, especially the children.” Rinehart, who helped organize the event, said invitations were sent to schools of the blind throughout the region to allow blind children to attend and touch the animals at the expedition. Taylor Harding, a New Philadelphia resident and third-grade student at the school for the blind in Canton, attended with her mother. Rinehart said that Harding’s visit made all the work that went into the event worthwhile. Rinehart noted that the event went so well that the New Philadelphia Elks hope to host a similar event sometime in the future for area residents who missed the opportunity to visit the Safari Expedition.


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