An Early Platypus Member - Zoological Society of Milwaukee

July 2009
An Early Platypus Member
Carl Gosewehr has been a member of the
Platypus Society since it started 27 years
ago, in 1982. He’s one of the longest-term
members. And he’s very clear about why.
“Everybody thinks the Zoo is a great asset
to the community. There’s no question about
that. The Zoo is not only entertaining, but
it’s also educational. Then there are all of
these programs that the Zoological Society
continues to add to teach people about
animals and the environment. The Zoo and
the Zoological Society have so many virtues,
I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t put them
up high on their list to support.”
So when Gosewehr was president and chief
executive officer of Oilgear Company and also
president of Oilgear Ferris Foundation, he
made sure that the foundation supported the
Milwaukee County Zoo through the Platypus
Society. And when he retired in 1996, he
switched his Platypus Society membership
from a corporate one to a patron membership.
“I never let it lapse,” he says. Then he
increased his personal support and, in 2002,
made a very generous donation to the New Zoo II capital
campaign. He and his late wife, Ruth, gave the major gift
to remodel the Zoo’s old Monkey Island and build a new
facility for the Japanese macaques.
It really wasn’t that Carl and Ruth loved monkeys. It was that
children loved monkeys, he says. “We both enjoyed kids, and
we knew the kids would enjoy the monkeys.” He particularly
liked the fact that the macaques, also called snow monkeys,
were outdoors year-round. The new Macaque Island opened in
2002. Ruth Gosewehr died the next year, and her name, along
with Carl’s, graces a sign next to the Island.
With Carl’s love of the Zoo, it wasn’t unusual to find that
when he re-married, it would be to someone who was also a
Zoo aficionado. Carl and Karen, who had been a family friend,
married in 2006. “My children and my grandchildren have been
coming to the Zoo for decades,” says Karen. “My oldest daughter,
Lara, is 41, and she was here before she was 6 months old. All
the kids were at the Zoo when they were babies.” Adds Carl:
“Now we’re here with the great-grandchildren.” Karen loves
the orangutans and Carl is taken with warthogs. Both Carl and
Karen each have four children from their previous marriages.
“We always had a pet in the house when they were small so that
they knew how to take care of an animal,” says Carl, adding that
appreciation of animals comes naturally to him. “I was raised on
a farm. We always had a dog. We always had cats. We had young
calves. Animals were part of life.”
So to someone who is thinking about joining the Platypus
Society and supporting the Zoo, Carl Gosewehr would say: “Any
organization is made up of people. Just to be involved with the
people who work at the Zoo and Zoological Society, and to see
the dedication that they feel and show, is inspiring. They just
exude their love of what they’re doing.” Organizations that bring
out that type of passion in people are worth supporting.
By Paula Brookmire

PLATYPUS SOCIETY
STEERING COMMITTEE
Robert Anger
Paul Cadorin
Dr. Bert Davis
Gerald Dias
Mary Ellen Enea
Mike Grebe
Karen Peck Katz
Maria Gonzalez Knavel
Joe Kresl (chairman)
James Kuehn
Carrie Lemke
Daniel F. McKeithan Jr.
Shelley Mechenich
Deborah Musante
Bernard J. Peck
Joan Prince, Ph.D.
Andrew T. Sawyer Jr.
Judy Holz Stathas
DEVELOPMENT STAFF
Beth W. Carona
Vice President of Development
Katie Hess
Annual Giving & Events Coordinator
Lisa Ruidl
Development Assistant
Cassie Jeffery
Grant Writer
NEWSLETTER STAFF
Paula Brookmire
Editor & Writer
Julia Kolker
Writer
Kevin de Wane
Designer
Richard Brodzeller
Photographer
(Unless otherwise noted)
Flocks of F
They flew and fluttered. They chirped and sang. They ate millet
seeds right from guests’ hands and landed on their shoulders. The
Australian parrots in Wings From Down Under made the Platypus
Society/VIP premiere of this special summer Zoo exhibit a highflying
success. Sponsored by Lowe’s, this exhibit at the Milwaukee
County Zoo features hundreds of birds such as cockatiels, parakeets
and eastern rosellas that visitors can touch and feed. Guests at
the premiere marveled at the birds’ bright feathers as the parrots
flew through two aviaries (guests who didn’t wish to touch
these creatures could view them from outside the enclosures).
The photo below shows Lowe’s representatives feeding a flock of
cockatiels at the May 21 event (the exhibit opened to the public
May 23). From left are Amy Tymm of Hartland, Tom Nommensen
of Gurnee, Ill., Stacy Jones of Mukwonago and Aaron Stierman of
Richfield. The exhibit runs at the Milwaukee County Zoo through
Sept. 7 in the Otto Borchert Family Special Exhibits Building;
admission is $2 per person.
The Platy Press is a newsletter for
members of the Platypus Society.
The Platypus Society is the highest
level, donor-member-recognition
group in the Zoological Society of
Milwaukee’s network of support.
Members include about 375 area
foundations, businesses and
individuals contributing more than
$700,000 annually with in-kind
services and support. The Platy
Press is published four times a
year by the Zoological Society of
Milwaukee, 1421 N. Water St.,
Milwaukee, WI 53202.
www.zoosociety.org

iendly Birds
Dan and Marge Korsi of Brookfield feed cockatiels and parakeets
with their granddaughter, Brooklynn Hess, 10 months, of Pewaukee.
The Korsis are Platypus Society members.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (right) talks with Tom
Dempsey, vice chair of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM)
Board of Directors.
Kathleen and James Polaski of
Pewaukee watch parakeets and
cockatiels perch on their arms.
James Polaski is president of
Allied Insurance Centers, Inc.,
a corporate member of the
Platypus Society.
Gene Mallinger of Brookfield encourages
his granddaughter, Claire, 1, to touch a
cockatiel. Mallinger is a patron member
of the Platypus Society.
Representatives of New York Life Insurance Company were photographed at the premiere.
From left are Shawn Young of Delafield, Gail Gabrelian and Carrie Lemke, both of Franklin.
Lemke is a new patron Platypus Society member and steering committee member.

Development Office
1421 N. Water St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 276-0843
Please remember the Zoological
Society in your will or estate plan.
printed on recycled paper 4113F09
Names: Bill and Jeri Penzey.
Bill is the owner of Penzeys Spices, which sponsors the Zoo’s carousel.
City: Wauwatosa, Wis.
Web site: www.penzeys.com
Reason you joined the Platypus Society: We like the Zoo. It is
really an amazing place. We travel a lot and we always hear that
the Milwaukee County Zoo is an amazing one. We realize that having
this wonderful Zoo is not just luck. There are all these people
making the Zoo a great place to be.
Personal history with Zoological Society and Milwaukee County
Zoo: I grew up in Wauwatosa, and the Zoo was always a spot
where we would go. It was a part of my childhood. Now that Jeri
and I have Teddi, our 5-year-old daughter, the Zoo has rejuvenated
those feelings of what a wonderful place it is. I love watching the
penguins; they’re so sure of themselves. Maybe wearing a “tuxedo”
does that to you! We like how the Zoo has moved from structures
of concrete to natural-looking exhibits. You can read about nature
and what it means, but once you see it at the Zoo you get a sense
of how valuable it is.
Why the Platypus Society is important: We’ve been a business
supporter of the Zoological Society, but we joined the Platypus
Society for that personal level of involvement. We enjoy the
Now through-Aug. 30
Playhouse Raffle 2009, sponsored
by Northwestern Mutual Foundation
(kid-size playhouses and Zoo prizes
up for raffle. Playhouses displayed
at Zoo in August; raffle is Aug. 31).*
Now through-Sept. 7
Summer special exhibit at the Zoo:
Wings From Down Under, sponsored
by Lowe’s; $2 entry fee
July 22 & 29
Sunset Zoofari, sponsored by Tri
City National Bank, 6-9 p.m. Zoo
band concerts
July 27
The Zoological Society’s 20th Annual
Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament,
sponsored by MillerCoors*
New-Member Profile
Calendar
Aug. 5
Platypus Society Picnic at the Zoo,
5:30 p.m.; look for your invitation
in the mail.
Aug. 20-23
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a la Carte at the
Zoo, with major support from MillerCoors
Aug. 28 & 29
8th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival at
the Zoo, sponsored in part by BATCONE
Aug. 29
Animal Safari, sponsored by Welch’s
and Pick ’n Save; animal sponsors get
behind-the-scenes tours at the Zoo.*
Sept. 12 & 13
Family Farm Weekend, sponsored by
GG Golden Guernsey Dairy® & the
Platypus Society events and exhibit premieres, and we like
meeting the people who work behind the scenes at the Zoo.
It’s great meeting the directors of the Zoo and the Zoological
Society. Plus, the Zoological Society is turning 100 next year.
Just how many things get to be 100? And how many of those
are even more valuable than when they started?
Bill and Jeri Penzey with daughter Teddi, 5, feed parakeets.
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Sept. 13
Ride on the Wild Side Family Bike
Ride, sponsored by The Wisconsin
Heart Hospital and Wheaton Franciscan
Healthcare-St. Joseph.*
Sept. 19
ZSM members’ field trip to Harry Potter
exhibit in Chicago’s Museum of Science
and Industry*
Oct. 1
Platypus Society Recognition Dinner,
6 p.m., Peck Welcome Center; look
foryour invitation in the mail.
*For more information, call (414) 258-2333
or go online at www.zoosociety.org.