Kay the elephant doing her sitting-up exercises at the zoo at Mesker Park, a.k.a. Oak Summit Park, on west side of Mesker Park Dr. south of Wimberg Ave. It was laid out as a pleasure park in 1899 with many rides and concessions--it was the property of a street car company but open to public free. George Mesker, owner of Mesker Iron Co., donated the original 40 acres (across the street from Oak Summit Park) in 1900. In 1915 he donated $25k to acquire more land and improve the area. Around 1917 the two parks merged. The zoo was built on east side of Mesker Park Dr., opening in 1928 --one of first with a moat system. The name Kay is in honor of Karl Kae Knecht, a cartoonist for the Evansville Courier from 1906 to 1960. He was fascinated by elephants and led a cartoon to bring one to Evansville. Kay was featured in nearly all of his cartoons from this point on--frequently in a corner, commenting upon the cartoon. "Kay, Evansville's first zoo elephant, fan-fared though the city on June 14, 1929, at a parade attended by thousands. The Asian elephant arrived from Burma and was an instant hit with Evansville residents. The zoo immediately hired a trainer, and the 5-year-old elephant astonished zoo patrons by performing circus tricks. Newspaper reports first stated Kay was bright and happy to be at the zoo. Over time, Kay's described personality changed from happy to "playful" � but what they really meant by "playful" was really more dangerous. Kay was restless; she refused to sleep for days and shook her cage to the point where the sliding door rollers were dislodged. Twenty-five years after Kay arrived in Evansville, she attacked her longtime trainer and then-Mesker Zoo director Bob McGraw. McGraw suffered severe internal injuries -- his pelvis crushed. McGraw died. And the one-time beloved zoo animal soon just disappeared after being sold by the Parks Board. (https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/2018/05/16/two-elephants-explores-story-evansvilles-first-zoo-elephant-kay-bunny/617073002/) This is postcard 12 AT 641."