I am not very nostalgic, and I’m quite bad at remembering and acknowledging anniversaries and birthdays within my personal life (sorry friends and family).
I’m also not the most patient person. I tend to just plow ahead into the future, driven by a feeling of urgency that time is passing and there’s a lot to get done.
Today, however, I was struck with some deep nostalgia thanks to Facebook reminding me of a post I made on my personal page this day twelve years ago.
It simply said, “is anxiously awaiting seven chimpanzees”
(this was back when many people bizarrely worded their Facebook status updates in the third person – it was a thing, it wasn’t just me).
Wow, did that memory ever bring back some feelings.
Here I’ve been plowing ahead in my usual fashion, anxiously preparing for our upcoming first-ever virtual event on Saturday, without taking the time to truly contemplate what the event is celebrating, all that has occurred between that date twelve years ago and now, and all of the people who have been a part of the sanctuary during those years.
This nostalgia drove me to the blog. I posted twice on the blog on this day twelve years ago.
The first post was a brief thanks to those who had attended our housewarming party days prior, an update that founder Keith and J.B. had visited the chimpanzees at Buckshire (J.B. had made a point of telling me that Negra was great and was going to love her new sanctuary home), and a reference to an article that has long since disappeared from the internet.
The second post was the first report from the road! Keith and J.B. were following the truck that was transporting the seven chimpanzees from Pennsylvania and the post included a photo of the truck and trailer that held those seven precious lives and one of Jody in the transport cage on the truck.
In just a few days we will be celebrating twelve years of sanctuary for this ragtag group of seven chimpanzees who have embedded themselves into the hearts of people who have gotten to know them both in person and at a distance through this blog.
We will be celebrating Queen Negra’s 47th birthday. We will be celebrating the addition of the three Californians who joined us less than a year ago.
And we will be celebrating all of forages, naps, play sessions, and adventures that the next year, and even the next twelve years, await these chimpanzees and future chimpanzees who will call Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest home.
I hope you will join this celebration, The Queen’s Brunch, on Saturday at 11:00am PT. You can set a reminder via Facebook right now. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to watch even if you don’t have a Facebook account.
Originally, Saturday’s celebration would have involved a party for the chimpanzees and a separate in-person gala event in Seattle for about 200 human attendees.
With the pandemic, we had to pivot to an online virtual celebration.
Our budgeted fundraising goal for the original in-person gala was $200,000. Not knowing when we pivoted (and still not knowing!) what to expect from a virtual event and what will come of our postponed gala very tentatively scheduled for September 18th, we set the fundraising goal for The Queen’s Brunch at a much more modest $50,000.
Thanks to everyone who has donated and bid on online auction items so far, we are inching towards half of that goal as I type this.
I’m still plowing forward because there’s a lot to be done and a lot at stake.
But I will certainly take a break to celebrate Honey B’s birthday tomorrow! In addition to all of the lovely details that Katelyn wrote about on Monday, did you know that Honey B has a particular nesting style? It’s related to her sarong-wearing that Katelyn mentioned. After creating her nest base, she takes a blanket and wraps her lower half in it, tucking herself in perfectly.
Then she’s ready for sleep
Thanks to Earthrated for the new cozy green blankets.
I will also take some time to think about just how much has transpired since the day that truck pulled up in the driveway with seven chimpanzees who had no idea what was ahead for them.
I will especially think about the last twelve years of sanctuary for the chimpanzee who will always be my queen.
This is one of the very first photos I took of Negra at the sanctuary:
And this is the photo that Anna took of her a few years ago that we’ve been using as part of the logo for The Queen’s Brunch (available in pillow form to buy now).
Thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has been a part of her life and a supporter of the sanctuary at any point during the past twelve years and even before, when it was all just a dream.
Diana, big emotions right now. (Tip: they’re going to get more intense in the next while.) Enjoy the celebrations, in whatever form they take.
Curious what that lost article is.. My job is largely online research. I might be able to find it.
Thank you for the tip, Francoise – I suspect you are correct. I’m so curious to see if you are able to find that mysterious old article.
I remember when KOMO news did their episode of the Cle Elem Seven. I fell in love with all of the chimpanzee. I don’t know how many times I watch the video of BJ letting all seven of them outside for the first time. I cried too.
Thank you for sharing that, Beverly!
This is a touching post. How could you not feel emotional right now. I know I have said this before but just look at everything all of you have accomplished in 12 years. It’s astounding! With a small staff and 12 years time you have drastically changed the lives of ten chimpanzee people and four bovines (and Ellie too!). CSNW’s tagline said it all, you created Hope, Love, Home, Sanctuary. I have too many reasons to count as to why I support, follow, admire, and love CSNW. But, that “before” photo of dear Negra, especially when it is compared to that particular sunflower image, just about sums it all up for me. It is hard to image that those two photos are of the same person. You gave Neggie her dignity. You’ve given each of them a life of their choosing.
And I have to agree with Beverly Donovan, the first video of The Seven venturing out onto Young’s Hill still brings me to tears. I have seen it more times then I can remember. I loved the ‘Out of the Box’ videos (that was the name right?!).
Best of luck with all the exciting upcoming events!!! XOXOXO
Kathleen, thank you. I almost wrote something about our tagline in this post. Thank you for all of your support, admiration and love of the sanctuary.
Yes – Out of the Box was the name we gave our event before it was HOOT!
of course you wouldn’t forget, Diana. It’s really apparent from the blog posts that you in particular hold Neggie just a bit closer to your heart than anyone else, even if everyone else loves her to death.
The contrast in the photos is astounding. You’ve put some (not all, but enough) hair back on her head. You’ve erased the bags from under her eyes. But most importantly, you’ve taken away the haunted look from her eyes and put a bright little light in them. She may not be as fast as Missy or as smart as Jamie, but she is definitely happy and appreciative.
You’ve given her choices, the warmth of the sunshine on her face, the breeze on her skin, (even if she doesn’t always like it), all the snow, blankets, lettuce, and peanuts she can ask for. You try to increase her odds of getting that sunflower or the top of the pineapple when there’s a forage, just because you think she deserves it.
Beyond all of that love, you’ve given her respect, a home, and most importantly, a family.
Thank you.
Linda – true about her bare head :). Your comment shows that you know Negra well! Thank you for being part of her extended human family!
on a lighter note…does anyone else appreciate the fact that the auctioneers behind our queen’s brunch are “auction frogs”??? 😉
Diana, I’m so excited for The Queens Brunch on Sat. My Party box arrived today, and I’m waiting to open it until then! Because of the pandemic my Birthday totally sucked this year, so I’m choosing this as my alternate plan 🙂
Those before and after pic’s of our Queen Negra are heartbreaking, I just love her so much, what a wonderful life you have given her, she deserves it, she’s a very special girl.
CeeCee – I’m so glad you received your personal Party Box, and really happy you will also be celebrating your birthday too. I believe the queen would approve.
12 years! Beautiful. Thank you!!??
I remember learning about the 7 on the news and I remember that first post from the road. I’ve been following and loving the 7 since then. Count me among those who have no idea how many times I’ve watched the video of the first time out on the Hill – Burrito doing that little dance. All the reassurances. When I’ve had a less than stellar day, I watch that vid again. And now there are 7 plus 4 cattle among the humans to attend to them. My heart is bursting. xoxoxoxoxox
Isn’t it crazy that it’s been twelve years?! What a touch of luck that you tuned in to that newscast that evening and learned about the sanctuary way back then. I’ll miss seeing you on Saturday.
I was so involved in your nostalgic post that I forgot to comment on Honey B and her creatively cozy nesting strategy.Those two photos are just priceless. Plus they make me smile. Volunteering at a “pit bull” dog rescue, I am so used to seeing the famous green Earth Rated blankets (they donate these to shelters!!) in every dog bed. It warms my heart to now see these blankets wrapped around my beloved primates. Nothing says comfort and “I am loved” like a safe, warm, cozy place to rest your head. (Thanks Earth Rated, we can feel the beat of your big hearts in Honey B’s photos!!)
I’ve seen some of these photographs before of Negra, but even now tears pool in my eyes as I consider how she and the other six chimpanzees had been imprisoned. I had not seen that photograph of Jody before, but, how I wish that I could have somehow reassured her (and the others riding with her) that she was going to a beautiful home on a mountainside, free at last from her past as a laboratory’s capital possession.
As I have written before on this post, you brought them out of death into life.
I still can’t look at these before photos without them breaking my heart all over again…Especially the ones of the chimps in those horrid, small, cages! But look at them now…Beautiful, healthy, happy and most of all Beloved around the world! 🙂