There are stories that forever haunt your mind. These are the disasters and events in which there is a loss of life or devastating effect on property. So often, when I reflect on these times in terms of local history, I could be thinking about the major floods of this region. I could be referring to shootings at the American Civic Association, or the loss of life at the Binghamton Clothing Company Fire in 1913.
In this instance, however, I am going back to my childhood days, and an event that has forever reminded me of how fleeting life can be, and how often we take the “normal” for granted. For this column, I have intentionally left out those photographs that depicted the deaths of both a human and an animal. For some readers, this may provide a clue as to the event to which I am referring.
It was an early Tuesday morning on May 21, 1963 when Ross Park attendant Ralph Landis arrived at 5:30 to begin his duties at the park and zoo for the City of Binghamton. Upon arrival, he was to relieve the overnight attendant, Guy E. Carey, a 43-year-old man who lived with his wife and 3-year-old daughter at 53 Murray St. in Binghamton (his two older sons lived outside of this area). This day, though, Landis could not find Carey right away.
He recognized that Carey had not completed all of his overnight duties during his shift that began at 10 p.m. the previous evening. Carey had been with the Parks service for just over a year, and worked at Ross Park only one night each week. Walking the zoo grounds, Landis made a horrible discovery coming upon the lion’s cages in the zoo. Within an inner room of the two-cage arrangement, Carey lay dead with Timba, the male lion, next to the body. Tina, the lioness was also in the cage, but not near the mauled body of Carey.
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