Im jamie colby, and today im headed to palm harbor, florida on the gulf coast, about 20 miles northwest of tampa. Yoknow, sotimes the strange things at peoplinherit on this show reflect timeless american values. Sometimes, though, they tell us how much times have changed. This is one of those stories where the heir is faced with a gorillasized challenge. My name is debbie cobb. My grandmother, Anna Mae Noell, passed away in october of 2000, leaving behind her 53 primates that i had to figure out how to care for. Debbie, im jamie. Nice to meet you. Glad to meet you. You know, i see theres a lot of retirees here in florida. Yours are a pretty wild bunch. Well, you havent seen the half of it. What a beautiful place. Its a 12acre primate sanctuary, full of irresistible characters. Like pongo, a 400pound male orangutan. He really, really likes you jamie, because he doesnt just purr for anybody. [ pongo vocalizing softly ] thats purring. Thats purring. I can tell hes a flirt. Oh, a big one. Pongos original home was a zoo in south carolina. But he didnt play well with the other orangutans. Bye, pongo. These guys dont get the option of being able to go to a zoo, so they would have had to be euthanized if they didnt come here. Theres somebody else i want to introduce you to, is blue is a spider monkey. Hes 57 years old. Whats special about blue . Well hes a critically endangered species, and the number one thing that makes him so special to me is hes actually the same age as i am and he was around when my grandparents were here. Debbies grandmother, Anna Mae Noell, is born into a North Carolina family of traveling performers in the vaudeville era. As a boy, her grandfather bob joins a troop of vaudevillians from virginia who raised him like a son. Anna mae reminisces about those early years in this recording decades later. In 1931 by chance or kismet, their traveling families wind up in the same town, pamplin, virginia at exactly the same time. They combine acts for a one week variety show. Your grandparents met pretty young. Oh yeah. They were really teenagers. And suddenly, theyre teenagers in love. Grandma would always tell me we werent supposed to be seeing each other, but we did. [ laughing ] thats funny. They had planned this big getaway and off they were. They eloped to new orleans and at first stick with what they know, vaudeville. Then one day bob goes to see a man about a car. He returns, instead, with a 90pound chimp named snookie. Grandpa actually put up 300 to get him, and back then that was a lot of money. He plans to make it all back, and more by taking a new act on the road featuring the worlds only athletic ape. So, they went from juggling and joking to Monkey Business . Absolutely. Yes. And part of this act was allowing people to go in the ring with a chimp. They said, how can we do an act, not get people hurt or killed, make sure the animals have fun. Grandpa would go talk to the Police Department and find out who was the biggest, baddest bully in the town. And then they would spread the word that this big, bad bully was gonna be there to box and wrestle with the chimpanzee. Did any man ever win . No people didnt know what a chimpanzee was. A 95pound chimp can pull 850 pounds in one arm, and when theyre mad 1250, so it didnt happen. You got to think if bob tried this today hed be the one getting the beatdown from a disapproving public. But in 1940, its a laugh riot. Nothing like a chimp humiliating you. He wasnt the big, bad bully anymore. Snookie is such a hit that bob and anna mae add more chimps to their show. They also add two kids velda mae, who would become debbies mom, and bobby jr. , her uncle who, years later, recalled the snookie routine fondly. For 14 years the troop follows the carnival circuit, not always to screams of delight. How many injuries have there been in your family as a result of dealing with exotic animals . Well, i dont know how many injuries, but you have to remember they have great teeth and they can hurt you. I remember that grandpa lost his fingers. Grandpa bob noell tells the story again and again through the years. At least he wasnt also losing an arm and a leg. In fact, by 1954 the noells have socked away enough to purchase 12 acres of Incorporated Land in florida, a place to call home in the winter months. This is where granddaughter debbie is born to velda mae in 1959. Howd your parents feel about you hanging out at the chimp farm . Well, my dad loved it. My dad was more like a son to my grandparents. My mom on the other hand, she was there, but, ill be honest, i think that was very hard for my mom. The noells certainly make for interesting neighbors. The animals had as much freedom as we did back in the day. Bill stanton, a kid on a farm a stones throw away, pals around with debbie and the chimps. Some of them didnt actually go into cages at all. They literally lived in the houses and the trailers with people. Was that smart . Maybe not, but when you have grandparents that arent normal. And youre playmates are gorillas, orangutans, and chimps it doesnt get better than that. Somewhere along the way the noells enterprise begins to shift. Theyre still entertainers, but with a growing focus on animal rescue. Grandma and grandpa were one of the first in the state of florida to have a great ape license, and thats how it all began, cause they went from chimps to orangutans to gorillas. Blue the spider monkey, arrives about that time. Then theres a young lowland gorilla named otto that her grandmother rescues in 1968. I was a child and i heard my grandmother was gonna go get this sick gorilla. He couldnt even stand up, and he had this septic arthritis and he had tb, so he had to be quarantined. The family nurses otto back to health, and he becomes almost a brother to debbie. You dont look afraid. Oh, not at all. I felt more secure with him than with anybody in the world. Was he dangerous . I never was afraid of him never. He grows up to be a fearsome sight though. So fearsome that American Tourister casts him as the 400pound suitcase abusing star in its famous luggage ads. By then debbies grandparents have quit the carnival circuit. But they dont retire in florida. Instead, they open their home to the public. They call it noells ark chimp farm. Theyre hoping all these lovable creatures can keep tourists entertained and support them and their rescue efforts. It doesnt quite work out that way. The attitude and the people changed. People would picket. They were being chastised. Thats next. But first, our strange inheritance quiz question in 1953, j. Fred muggs becomes the first regular animal cast member on a Live Television show. Which show was it . 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In 1971, bob and Anna Mae Noell turned the florida headquarters of their traveling animal show into a family compound and permanent roadside attraction. They call it noells ark chimp farm. Everybody would come and see grandpa play with the gorilla. Because that was very abnormal to see a 650pound gorilla playing with a 250pound man. Grandpa would go with a young gorilla on a motorcycle, go up to the 7eleven, go get a slurpee. There would be chimps, orangutans, gorillas sitting up on the front wall. Neither of anna mae and bobs kids, debbies mom and uncle, wants a career in the family business. Undeterred, anna mae devotes her golden years to the serious work of rescuing more apes. We have had practically no social life, because all our life is wrapped up in these animals. I dont go out to cocktail parties, i dont go to tea parties. Y of that uff. Not that theyre getting invited to a lot of parties down the block. With every passing year more and more neighbors complain the chimp farm is a smelly nuisance. New people come in, and suddenly instead of growing lettuce and tomatoes, theres a Housing Development that goes up. Steve fiske is chairman of the local chamber of commerce. He says some new residents find the chimps a little too close to home. If the winds in the right direction youre gonna realize it has odors. Odors . Debbie doesnt even notice. Throughout high school she helps care for the apes. She then studies nursing and Veterinary Technology in college. At 21, i decided to set off and go visit 21 zoos across the united states. And when she does, she keeps hearing something that makes her proud. Seems folks everywhere actually know of her grandmother. And they would say you know mae knoll . I had a job at the atlanta zoo just off of her name and her reputation. But by now, back in florida, grandmas reputation is under assault. Animal Rights Groups put the chimp farm on a black list. People would come from other places in the world and even stand there and picket the facility. How did grandma react when there would be protesters . It bothered her, but even then in her onlygrandma style would bring animals out to the picket line and say this is what youre picketing against. Things only get harder for Anna Mae Noell. In 1991, debbies grandpa bob falls into a diabetic coma and dies. Anna mae loses her lifelong companion of 60 years. If you knew anything about them two, they were a team. It was the hardest time in my life watching her go through that. It also leaves debbies grandma, now in her 80s, to run the chimp farm. So, debbie stays in florida to help keep it going. I thought i would just come to the chimp farm and work on the weekends and visit all my friends. And then my whole world changed. Because in 1999 state and federal authorities closed the chimp farm to the public citing its small cages with rusty or jagged edges. They can keep the animals for now, but they can no longer charge admission. Were they right in terms of condition . Maybe for the enclosures, but not in love, care, and consistency in the care of the animals. Authorities give the chimp farm three years to make the necessary improvements. 85yearold anna mae responds by taking in yet more primates. They can live for years, a lot longer than the increasingly frail anna mae can expect to. So what will happen to the place when shes gone . One day she gives debbie a sealed envelope with an explicit instruction. I was told dont open this envelope until i pass away. Then in october 2000, Anna Mae Noell dies at age 86. What would happen to the chimp farm without grandma . Mm. The answer is in that envelope. Debbie opens it after the break. Heres another quiz question for you. Where is americas mostvisited zoo . San diego, the bronx, or washington d. C. . The answer when we return. Cmon in, pop pop happy birthday i survived a heart attack. 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If you cant afford your medication, astra zeneca may be able to help. So, which is americas mostvisited zoo . Its the San Diego Zoo where the lucky animals live within site of the Pacific Ocean and captivate more than 3 million visitors a year. In the fall of 2000, Anna Mae Noell dies leaving behind her lifes work the chimp farm she and her late husband created. Its home to more than 50 primates, and its sitting on some prime florida real estate. But if any of anna maes heirs have plans for that land, shes about to throw a Monkey Wrench into them. When grandma died. Mmhmm . There was a brown envelope. [ sighs ] tell me about it. An envelope changed my life. Inside that envelope is a document that names debbies uncle bob, her mother velda mae, and debbie as heirs and trustees, and instructs the three of them to hold the property jointly for the benefit of the animals. Grandma put a trust together for the animals, and its clearly stated that as long as there was one animal and one person that came back, then the animal park would be there. In other words, if one of the trustees wants to keep the chimp farm alive, the other two cannot shut it down and sell off the land. Anna mae must have known it wou be just one person debbie. That one thing she did changed my life forever. I had to either help the chimps or walk away. How much was the land worth when you inherited it . Somebody said that it was worth about 6 million. Heres the point where a strange inheritance splits a family apart. Debbies mother and uncle, she claims, push her to give up the chimp farm so they can sell the land. They told me why would you want it and ruin your life for a group of animals when you could have 2 million in the bank, and youd never have to work again . You could do it. Some would, but who are you going to sacrifice in that . Were you gonna lose otto . Were you gonna lose her oldest chimp that lived well into his 60s . Which animal was gonna be sacrificed for a dollar bill . It was two against one. I knew that some of those animals had been ones that they had grown up with. Could they really, at the end of the day, turn their back on them . Neither debbies uncle or mother would appear in this program. Both denied to us they wanted to see the chimp farm closed. Whoever said what to whom, theres no doubt debbie was only given two options put up or shut down. That sounds like an ultimatum. It was. Game on. Thats next. Whats your strange inheritance story . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website, strangeinheritance. Com. Ostriches dont really stick their heads in the sand. A peanut is not a nut. And a real john deere is actually real affordable. You learn something new everyday. The surprisingly affordable john deere e series tractors. Now you can own americas tractor for just 99 a month. Learn more at your john deere dealer. Now, back to strange inheritance. In 2000 when Anna Mae Noell dies, she leaves behind a shuddered chimpanzee farm with dozens of apes, chimps, and critters. A trust provides that the sanctuary remain open so long as her son, daughter, or granddaughter debbie is willing to run it. Only when it closes can those three sell the land. The heirs do not see eye to eye. I had to be the person that said these animals needed someone. Debbie says the family dispute is so bitter it ends her relationship with both her mother and uncle. But in the end, Anna Mae Noells trust for the benefit of the animals prevails. Did the get anything out of the estate . They werent supposed to get anything in the beginning. Remember, it was a trust for the animals. It didnt say a trust for debbie, a trust for uncle, and a trust for mom. It said a trust for animals. But now what . The antiquated chimp farm is already on notice with authorities for its rundown enclosures. I already had planned on building a larger enclosure for the animals, because that was what my heart was. And if theres one thing ive learned about debbie, its that the first thing she inherited from her crazy family is heart. Anybody who wants to help come to the chimp farm. It will change your life. Its changed mine dramatically. It takes nearly a decade, but her big plans become reality. In 2008, she reopens the animal she to the public as the gleaming suncoast primate sanctuary. [ ragtime music plays ] and to think this all started with a chance meeting on the vaudeville circuit, a boxing chimp named snookie, and a madcap bunch of bike riding apes. But not everything changes aboard old noells ark. In fact, things come full circle when debbie marries and chooses to raise another generation. Thats my daughter. Say hi, brandi. Hi. Hey, brandi. Thank you, brandi. Amidst the gorillas and monkeys and birds and reptiles. Its a decision that affirms all that grandma anna mae worked for. Good job. So, this is sort of a refuge hoping that our greatgrandchildren will be able to see a live chimpanzee. This is the hardest journey ive ever been in in my life. All my blessings were restored by making sure i did the right thing for the right reason. Youre my buddy. Debbie tells me that parting with one of the primates is like losing an old