TOLEDO, Ohio — Early Friday morning, Mary Kasper and her family to the Toledo Zoo's Botanical Gardens for the second time in one week.
This second trip was different, though. The zoo's vice president of development and membership, Tana Benford, accompanied the family for the surprise they had in store for Kasper, a former principal at St. Patrick of Heatherdowns.
A plaque stood in the gardens, honoring Kasper's long-standing membership to the zoo of 68 years.
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"Every year we have an event for our 25-year members and we have one for our 50-year members. Pulling the information for our 50-year member event, we thought 'How long has the longest member been at the Toledo Zoo?'" Benford said.
Kasper's daughter, Kathy Smith, said she laughed when learning about the call for Mary's membership status from the zoo.
"She had been called by the zoo with this wonderful opportunity to be interviewed because she was the longest-standing member. I asked her at that time how long she'd been a member," Smith said.
Kasper didn't really remember how long she had been a member, though, she just kept up her membership because it's important to her. In the Formal Garden is where her granddaughter got married in 2018. It's now where her plaque sits.
"Oh my goodness. I can't believe that. It's so pretty," Kasper said when she saw the plaque. "Oh my goodness. Never expected anything like that. Oh, this is beautiful."
Smith said it was special for the family to be present, too.
"All the family is very excited that this was gonna happen for mom," she said.
Kasper explained to Bendford how her late husband was a zoo board member and a city of Toledo public service director. She wanted to support the city too, so she got a zoo membership.
It's her love of education as a former principal as to why she continues her membership. She said the zoo give ways to educate families about the world, even though she'd moved to Florida long ago.
"I think it's important to Toledo. I think anytime you have something that can offer this facility to families good, clean fun and knowledge at the same time. You can't beat that," Kasper said.
Kasper has seen it all from the unveiling of the pandas, being at the hippo aquarium and attending Music Under the Stars concerts. One concert in particular still sticks out to her.
"As went into the orchestra pit, they handed everybody a kazoo and at one point we all played. I think, I don't know it was 'God Bless America' or something patriotic. Everybody is sitting there with a kazoo. You can imagine the sound and then they pan the camera over. It really looked funny," Kasper said.
Kasper isn't the only member of her family who loves the zoo either.
Multiple family members have been members here for a long time. We're pleased to continue the tradition," Smith said.