FOLSOM, Calif. — The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary celebrates its 60th anniversary at Folsom’s City Council meeting Tuesday.
Mayor Mike Kozlowski will issue a formal commendation celebrating the zoo’s contribution to the environmental education of roughly 2.6 million residents in the Sacramento region, according to city documents.
The Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary at 403 Stafford St. was established in 1963 to provide a safe haven for a bear cub who was orphaned and burned in a forest fire, according to the city’s website. The bear was named Smokey.
Folsom Park Superintendent Gordon Brong was keeping several animals around park offices that visitors would often come see when UC Davis contacted him seeking a safe home for Smokey, the city said.
Brong persuaded the city to provide space and local service clubs built an enclosure allowing Smokey to join the other animals. The sanctuary grew from there.
ABC10 reached out on Facebook to compile some of the community’s favorite zoo sanctuary memories. One Facebook user, Nancy Gomez, said she remembered Brong.
“The former zookeeper, Gordon Brong, used to give the monkeys the hose and they'd squirt us,” Gomez said.
John Bartush said he remembers going to the zoo with his mother when he was little. He said he would play on the park playground and go down the huge metal slide.
“I loved (it) because you'd go so fast,” Bartush said. “Then, we'd go to the zoo and stop at the snack bar for pink popcorn.”
In 2002, the zoo changed its name to Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary to best describe its goal, according to the city. The city said some animals in the zoo were illegal pets and many suffered injuries making life in the wild impossible.
The zoo’s seven-acre facility annually welcomes more than 130,000 guests and connects with roughly 15,000 people through outreach, city documents said.
The zoo’s ticket booth can be reached at 916-461-6629 or visit its website HERE.
