July 15, 2011 by Amy Elliott Bragg
Adorable vintage newsreel: Jackie Coogan and Sheba the Elephant
In 1923 Detroit school children saved their pennies, nickels and dimes for a very special purchase: an Asian elephant named Sheba for the Belle Isle Zoo. You may remember her from this picture I posted about a year ago.
(via Virtual Motor City)
Today I found some adorable NEWSREEL (!!!) of Sheba the elephant. I promise it will make your Friday.
Child star Jackie Coogan came to Detroit in 1926 in support of Near East Relief. He got to ride a carriage driven by Sheba the Elephant. He also got to hug Mayor John C. Lodge. MAYOR LODGE HUGGING ADORABLE CHILD STAR!
Adorable overload. Watch the reel.
Warning: VMC has digitized several HUNDRED of these newsreels and it is dangerously easy to lose your whole day watching them. Just be prepared.
Happy Friday,
The Night Train
(UPDATE, as of 7-20-2011: Jackie Coogan’s Near East Relief tour was in 1924, not 1926.)