Grace DuMond, co-founder of Monkey Jungle
Hyfler/Rosner
BY TERE FIGUERAS
tfig...@herald.com
Grace Staton DuMond, who along with her husband founded Monkey Jungle in
Depression-era Miami-Dade -- and continued to raise the furry charges and
take tickets at the family-owned attraction even after her husband's
death -- died Jan. 24 at Baptist Hospital.
DuMond, who family friends say suffered congestive heart failure, was 95.
The Southwest Miami-Dade attraction, at 14805 SW 216th St., run by the
DuMond family for three generations, began as the brainchild of DuMond's
husband, Joseph, a commercial artist from Connecticut.
Enamored by the theories of Darwin and bent on building a home for primates,
the DuMonds uprooted their family in 1932 and headed for one of the few
places where a hospitable subtropical climate would make that possible:
South Dade.
''When we first got here, we were camping out in the Redland until a man
came over to my husband and told him about a piece of jungle farther east,''
Brooklyn-born Grace DuMond told The Herald in 1994. ``It was an isolated
land, surrounded by jungle.''
Joseph DuMond bought the 10-acre site in 1935, setting a few monkeys loose
in the open pine land along Southwest 216th Street -- where the curious
primates would often greet equally curious drivers who ventured from
downtown Miami and Coral Gables for a 10-cent tour.
''She was very progressive, very forward thinking,'' said family friend
Victor Acevedo, who was raised in the DuMond home, recounting a favorite
anecdote about Grace DuMond's brushes with racism in the early half of the
20th century.
''One day, a Homestead sheriff came in and asked to be let in for free,''
Acevedo said. Grace DuMond acquiesced -- only to see the man angrily rush
back out, his crying wife in tow. The reason: The couple was upset the
DuMonds allowed black visitors at the park.
'Grace just said, `At least they paid,' '' Acevedo said.
As Miami became a tourist mecca in the 1950s, Monkey Jungle -- where
visitors traipsed through cage-like walkways for a glimpse of monkeys and
apes -- evolved into a must-see attraction.
The DuMond residence also housed its own menagerie: Young monkeys were often
cared for by their adoptive mother -- who used to carry a baby orangutan
named Suzie in a baby carrier strapped to her chest.
In 1956, the DuMonds decided to spend their semi-retirement in Cuba, where
Grace taught English at a local school on the Isle of Pines -- but fled
after Castro took power.
The pair settled in Costa Rica, setting up a gun shop catering to sportsmen
before moving back to Miami in 1965, where son Frank DuMond was running the
family business. The couple's son from Joseph DuMond's first marriage,
Joseph Xavier DuMond, was a Miami city commissioner in the 1960s.
Joseph DuMond died in 1967.
Frank DuMond, whose tenure as head of Monkey Jungle included the completion
of a 10-acre replica of an Amazon rain forest on the property, died in 1977
leaving his wife, Mary, in charge.
After Mary's death 10 years later, their daughter, Sharon DuMond, took over
the park -- braving falling attendance, the ravages of Hurricane Andrew and
competition from other attractions to keep the family's work alive.
Cpl. O'Reilly
<rel...@rcn.com> wrote:
> After Mary's death 10 years later, their daughter, Sharon DuMond, took over
> the park -- braving falling attendance, the ravages of Hurricane Andrew and
> competition from other attractions to keep the family's work alive.
Local news reports after Andrew said many of the monkeys had fled and
were living in people's neighborhoods, rooting through the garbage and
so on. Many monkeys were never recaptured. There are supposed to be
wild-monkey colonies around there now.
Hyfler/Rosner
"Cpl. O'Reilly" <ra...@mash.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:310120032357373714%ra...@mash.com.invalid...
Quite a vivid image. Thanks for the post..
Robert Feigel (aka Bob)
Is it possible some of them have access to usenet?
ÿbob
********
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For email change "@earthsea.co.enzed" to "@earthsea.co.nz"
The Kentucky Wizard
consultations with my Joint Chiefs of Staff, being briefed by members of my
Cabinet and telephone conversations with various world leaders, I have come
to the following conclusions:
> On Sat, 1 Feb 2003 00:40:04 -0500, "Hyfler/Rosner" <rel...@rcn.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> "Cpl. O'Reilly" <ra...@mash.com.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:310120032357373714%ra...@mash.com.invalid...
>>> Local news reports after Andrew said many of the monkeys had fled
>>> and were living in people's neighborhoods, rooting through the
>>> garbage and so on. Many monkeys were never recaptured. There are
>>> supposed to be wild-monkey colonies around there now.
>>
>> Quite a vivid image. Thanks for the post..
>
> That was definitely the most thought-provoking post in this newsgroup
> today.
Which means ..... you actually a thought today, huh?
--
The Wiz ....
Heinz W. Wiggeshoff
"Robert Feigel (aka Bob)" <rrfe...@earthsea.co.enzed> wrote in
message news:4urm3vgd48hplvrrg...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 31 Jan 2003 23:57:37 -0500, "Cpl. O'Reilly"
> <ra...@mash.com.invalid> wrote:
>
> >Local news reports after Andrew said many of the monkeys had fled
and
> >were living in people's neighborhoods, rooting through the garbage
and
> >so on. Many monkeys were never recaptured. There are supposed to
be
> >wild-monkey colonies around there now.
>
> Is it possible some of them have access to usenet?
When you see the works of Will Shakespear posted
then you'll know.
WarpTwelve
>>were living in people's neighborhoods, rooting through the garbage and
>>so on. Many monkeys were never recaptured. There are supposed to be
>>wild-monkey colonies around there now.
>
>Is it possible some of them have access to usenet?
>ÿbob
>
Give a thousand moneys a thousand keyboards, and ...
Anywho, there was a similar monkey colony at Silver Springs in Ocala, Florida
that has gotten loose and now has descendants that roam throughout the area.
The legend is that they were brought in for a jungle movie of some sort and
were never recaptured.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?"