The Life and Times of Benjamin Leroy "Roy" Love

Benjamin Leroy Love, who was known as Roy, was born on July 6, 1890, at the Lynch Dairy Farm near Pilot Knob, Leavenworth County, Kansas to Daniel and Tressa Love. He was named after Benjamin Leroy "Bennie" Edgell, whose family lived next door to the Loves when Roy was born. The name was suggested by Bennie's mother, Virginia Edgell. 

Sometime after Roy's birth, the Love family moved from Pilot Knob to West Spruce Street in Leavenworth. As a child, Roy attended Sumner School, located at 1501 Fifth Avenue, and was taught by Blanche K. Bruce. By the age of nine, Roy taught himself how to play the piano and was performing in several bars and dance halls throughout Leavenworth and the Salt Creek Valley. During school, he also did yard work for Robert B. Yoakum, a prominent builder in Leavenworth. However, Roy considered his first real job working for the Good John Sash and Door Company where he worked ten hours a day and earned $1.50 a week. In total, Roy completed 10 years of schooling in Leavenworth. 

The 1907 Leavenworth High School freshman class picture. Roy is the 2nd person in the 2nd row.

In 1907, Roy moved with his family to the town of Kickapoo, Kansas to a home formerly owned by his aunt and uncle, Luke and Fillis Overman. Roy's first job in Kickapoo was working as a farm laborer for his neighbor Arthur St. Leger "Texas" Mosse, the head football coach at the University of Kansas. During football season when Mosse was away, Roy was responsible for plowing more than 90 acres, taking care of 500 Chester White hogs, milking 5 Holstein cows, and feeding 6 mules and two horses. Despite his heavy workload, Roy still found time to perform and play the piano and on July 22, 1915, he copyrighted the lyrics to a song entitled, "Come and See Me Sometime." 

During the First World War, Roy enlisted in the United States Army and became a drill sergeant in the 365th Machine Gun Company at Camp Funston, Kansas. Later, Roy was transferred to the 349th Machine Gun Company, but never saw active duty abroad. 

On August 10, 1932, Roy married a white woman by the name of Daisy Watson (1895 - 1977), whom he described as "a beautiful singer and entertainer." Roy waited to marry Daisy until after his mother’s death because his mother was worried about his safety. On September 29, 1941, Roy copyrighted the lyrics to, "In My Garden With You."The infamous Leo and Hector Richard, known as Richard Brothers, wrote the musical score to this song. (Click here to listen to this song.)

In 1967, Daisy became ill and Roy did everything he could to take care of her, which included reading medical literature, but she eventually lost both of her legs. When Daisy passed away on December 7, 1977, they had been married for 45 years. Roy planted a cedar tree in his front yard to commemorate her life. In his old age, Roy loved being among friends, reading the Bible, and storytelling. He died on December 4, 1994, in Kansas City, Kansas at the age of 104. His funeral was performed by the Davis Funeral Chapel in Leavenworth.

A view of the Salt Creek Valley taken behind what remains of Roy's house.

The money that Roy saved for his burial was stolen and he was initially buried in an unmarked grave in Kickapoo Memorial Cemetery. When I discovered this, I reached out to one of Roy's distant relatives and with their help, I applied for a VA headstone. The headstone was installed in December 2015. 

A few years later, I bought Daisy a grave marker, which was paid for in part by a GoFundMe.com campaign. Sadly, Daisy is buried several miles away from Roy in Mount Muncie Cemetery. If you have a photo of Daisy, please send me a message or leave a comment on this post.

A Short Biography of Susie the Gorilla

Susie, originally named Kivie or Kivi, was born in late 1926 in the Kivu Mountains of the Belgian Congo. At about six months old, a group of Pygmy hunters killed Susie’s parents and sold her to an expedition of French explorers. The Frenchman shipped Susie to France and named her Susi, which was later changed to Susie. Susie spent the next year touring Europe.

In August 1929, Susie was sent to Lakehurst, New Jersey aboard the Graf-Zeppelin, a hydrogen-filled rigid airship and sister vessel to the Hindenburg. Susie’s longtime trainer, William Dressman, accompanied her across the Atlantic or met her shortly after arriving in the United States. After a brief tour of the United States and Canada, Robert J. Sullivan bought Susie for $4500 and put her on permanent loan to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in 1931.While in the Cincinnati Zoo, Susie became well-known for her performances where she would eat sitting at a table with a knife and fork.

Susie allegedly died on October 29, 1947, of leptospirosis, a bacterial disease. Susie’s skeleton was housed at the University of Cincinnati until a fire partially destroyed it in 1974. While it was initially reported that Susie’s skeleton was completely destroyed, a biology professor named Dr. Robert Hehman salvaged Susie’s skull and mandible. In 2018, Dr. Hehman’s nephew, David Janzsen, donated these remains to the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Dr. Pearl Missoura (Zeek) Minning, who performed Susie's autopsy, kept many of Susie’s organs. Where these organs are now is unknown, but they were kept in Dr. Minning's basement for many years.