How The Zoo Grew

How The Zoo Grew. Honoring the Memory of Philip Mayer Good. , The spirit of a young boy who lived in Wheeling, and who died too soon, inspired this facility that is unique in scope and purpose. After the death of their oldest son, seven-year old Philip Mayer Good in 1971, the Laurence F. Good family pledged a substantial gift in his memory for the creation of a zoo at Oglebay. During his short lifetime, Philip created a special loving relationship with his family , special and unique because the bonds transcended what his parents, Barbara and Larry, hoped or dreamed could ever be., Energized by the enthusiasm of the Good family, the zoo concept caught on immediately. Thousands of contributions poured in, some in the form of pennies collected by school children. Because of this interest, the original ten-acre site was changed to a thirty-two acre wooded site between Camp Russel and the Wheeling Country Club property. With this change, the Good Zoo grew even before the first spade of dirt was turned., In August 1972, Joy and Paul Good, brothers of Philip, presided over the ground-breaking and became the founding members of the Good Zoo Friends with a contribution they had saved over many months from their allowance. IT would be the first zoo in the country to be built from scratch as a natural area. This concept would take time, and the raising of additional funds. By 1977 when the first phase of the zoo was completed, the Good Zoo Friends reached its goal of four thousand family memberships, and the facility opened to the public on Memorial Day weekend., It is the wish of park officials and Good Zoo staff that all who visit this special place with their loved ones and friends will sense the close relationship that existed between Philip and his family by finding their own joy and happiness through a renewed appreciation for all the world's creatures.