It is no surprise that Dick and Jeannette Reid chose to sponsor an animal on the carousel. Jeannette grew up on a farm in Crabtree, Oregon. Dick grew up close by in Albany. He was a second generation veterinarian working for his father’s veterinary practice. They met when Dick treated the cattle on her father’s farm. Tim Reid, Dick and Jeannette’s son, and the third generation of veterinarians in the family grew up in a house with dogs, cats, and gerbils. He never doubted the decision to sponsor an animal and the hours they spent carving. “My parents always had great judgment and come from a generation that learned to be patient and frugal.” Quigga the Quagga and the ring-tailed lemur, Katook riding on his side, are in the pages of a book, The Katurran Odyssey, by David Michael Weiger with illustrations by Terryl Whitlach. It is a children’s fantasy book, telling the story of the brave lemur and his tests of trust and friendship. In his journey, Katook meets Quigga and they become friends and travel together. Terryl Whitlach brought her illustration of Quigga the Quagga to the attention of the carousel board who endorsed the idea of creating this unique animal. The only change to the original design from the book was to replace a flower at the top of Quigga’s neck with the veterinary caduceus to honor the Reid family’s four generations of commitment to their profession. The Quagga (a name derived from the animal’s call) are an extinct sub-species of zebra native to Southern Africa. As far as we know, the Albany Historic Carousel is the only carousel to have a Quagga as one of its animals. Jeannette Fae Reid passed away in 2014. The Quagga was her idea and one of the first animals to be designed. She used her artistic talents to carve for a while and got to see her unique animal completed.
Quigga, the Quagga Zebra: sponsored by Dick and Jeannette Reid
