Mary Elitch Long: First Lady of Fun (Now You Know)

Mary Elitch Long (1856-1936), was a successful business women and founder of Denver's famed Elitch Gardens. At the time, she was the only woman in the world running an amusement park, and was a role model in a time when women had fewer options. Mary and husband John Elitch Jr. purchased an apple orchard five miles north of Denver intending to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for their restaurant business. With Mary's love for children, flowers, animals, and the theater an ambitious dream was born. The apple orchard was transformed into Elitch's Zoological Gardens (Denver's first zoo), a wonderland of exotic animals, orchards, and gardens. Debra Faulkner brings the Mary Elitch Long story to the Now You Know Bio series from Filter Press.

Debra Faulkner grew up in Loveland, Colorado. She earned her BS in education from the University of Colorado and her Master in History from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is author of an award-winning biography of educator Emiliy Griffith and is co-author of a history of Colorado with Professor Thomas J. Noel.