On Sept. 3, 1938, a monkey escaped from its enclosure at the Royer Park Zoo in Roseville. Raymond Root, a park employee, gave chase while members of the public watched in amazement. Suddenly, smoke began emanating from Root’s overalls. After a few laps around the zoo, the monkey finally came to a stop on top of the enclosure from which it had escaped. When Root caught up to the monkey, his overalls burst into flames. He was able to quickly put it out.
When Root was running after the monkey, matches in his back pocket scraped against a faucet handle and ignited. According to the Sept. 7, 1938, Roseville Press Tribune: “When a monkey escapes from a zoo it is news – but when the man trying to catch the monkey suddenly bursts into flames, that’s extra edition stuff.”
The Royer Park Zoo, built by Works Progress Administration workers in 1934, operated for 64 years. It housed at various times sheep, deer, mountain lions, birds, rabbits, monkeys and bears. Floods throughout the 1980s prompted city officials to begin the process of closing the zoo. It languished on for another decade before closing for good in 1998.
Photo: From the June 17, 1982, Roseville Press Tribune: Zookeeper Paul VanderPloeg feeding the monkeys at Royer Park Zoo
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