GENTRY — Love for family and for animals pretty much describes Ross and Freda Wilmoth and their lives in this world. And that love has made a big impact on lives in both the Gentry area and around the world.
In 1951, Ross Wilmoth, a WWII Navy veteran from the Falling Springs area north of Gentry and west of Decatur, married Freda Luttrell, a native of Siloam Springs. After landing Marines at Iwo Jima, rescuing the wounded and transporting troops throughout much of the west Pacific during and after WWII aboard the USS Napa, Ross had seen enough of the world; he just wanted to stay close to home. The newlyweds planned to farm and raise a big family.
And raise a big family they did. They were blessed with eight children: Linda Joy, Ross Leon Jr., James Lewis, Freddy Mack, Sheva Jean, Lisa Ann, Charles William and Chana Rose. And now, with all the in laws and grandchildren, the Wilmoth Family has become quite a host and continues to grow.
For Ross and Freda, the farming part of their dream took a twist that neither imagined. How could a small Arkansas farm with cows and chickens grow into the Wild Wilderness Safari, with lions and tigers and bears, so many people know and love today?
It started simply enough. In 1960, Freda bought three buffalo for her husband. Ross was breeding buffalo with domestic breeds such as Herefords, Brahmas and Angus, but the focus of the farm began to change. Being animal lovers, they began raising herds of elk and deer on their farm as well, and people would bring them injured animals to nurse back to health.
And, with the growth of their family came also a growth in the numbers and varieties of animals kept on the farm as pets. The Wilmoth Family kept not only typical pets like dogs and cats but added such animals as monkeys and peacocks, though Freda said the monkeys were difficult and do not make good family pets.
As the number and variety of animals increased, so did the word about the exotic animal farm in northwest Arkansas. Visitors began to show up at the Wilmoths’ door asking to see the animals, and the family finally decided in the 1970s that it might be time to open the farm to the public and sell tickets. Ticket booth sales began in 1976.
In addition to his responsibilities at the Safari, Ross continued to operate heavy equipment and raise cattle until his death in 2005. He operated bulldozers, both on the family farm and for other area farms. Freda recalls that she could always tell what he had done that day by how his clothes smelled when he came home.
“If he smelled like diesel fuel, I knew he worked that day,” Freda said. “But if he smelled like cigar smoke, I knew he had been playing dominoes all day; and if he smelled like grease, I knew he had been to the cafe,” she added.
Lisa King said she still likes the smell of dirt today because it reminds her of her dad, who was often working in the dirt with his heavy equipment.“He always greeted us kids with a big old smile,” she said, explaining that sometimes he would come in with his face so blackened from the diesel exhaust of his bulldozer that all you could see were the whites of his eyes and his teeth as he smiled.
When he was working on the family farm, Lisa said she would take him lunch and drive out on the farm and stop to listen for the sound of the dozer so she knew where he was working and where to take his lunch. Even though he didn’t ask her to bring lunch, he never turned her away, she said.
Now, the Wilmoth family farm is better known as the Wild Wilderness Drive-through Safari, and it is home to more than 1,200 exotic animals, with more than 100 different species from continents and countries around the globe. To name just a few, visitors can see tigers from Asia, lions and zebras from Africa, kangaroos from Australia, monkeys from South America and bears and cougars from North America. The park is also home to a wide variety of deer and antelope and has large numbers of ostrich and emu. Some of the animals preserved on the Safari are extinct or nearly extinct in the wild and can only be seen at zoos and animal parks like the Safari.
The 4-mile drive through the 300-acre safari features ponds, streams, woodlands and different animals at every turn. The park also has a 10-acre walk-through petting zoo with a wide variety of animals and animal babies that visitors can see up close and often touch and handle. The animal park also has a concession area with a snack bar, gift shop and restrooms. Picnic tables and shade trees provide an excellent setting for family picnics.
When Ross died in March of 2005, Freda, her children and grandchildren continued to care for the park and expand it. Freda can often be found at the ticket booth or in her golf cart at another part of the park.
And the Safari has done much to keep the Wilmoth Family close, with children and now grandchildren working together. The love for family and animals continues.
“All the kids and grandkids have their assigned tasks,” Freda said, and there’s plenty to do for everyone, she explained.
And the Safari continues to grow. A new white rhino was recently purchased to replace one which lived on the Safari for more than 30 years. Each year the petting zoo features new arrivals, from baby lions and tigers to wolf pups and monkeys. Improvements continue to be made.
And the people keep coming. The Safari not only draws visitors from the surrounding communities, it attracts visitors from around the country and the world.
The Safari not only has been a blessing to the Ross and Freda Wilmoth Family but to the area. It’s the one thing about Gentry everyone remembers. And, with its constant flow of visitors who also stop at other local businesses and restaurants, word continues to spread about the Safari and about the Gentry community.
An exhibit upstairs in the Gentry Public Library now features the Safari and artifacts from the Safari, including stuffed animals, peacock feathers and more. Some of the items can be seen in the windows of the second floor along Main Street.
For more information on the Safari, visit www.wildwildernessdrivethroughsafari.com.