I wish you could have seen that crowd move as that snake reared itself and advanced toward Bill as it poured itself onto the concrete floor. Cloud. The 35' cobra ended up on the roof (south side) of South Miami Senior High-my old high school-where it served proudly for many years. Linkedin. Haast's mental trauma over the boy's death eventually led to the closure of the Serpentarium on South Dixie Highway. He loved his animals and was deeply committed to bringing them to the world in an educated, and respectful manner. The crime occurred Wednesday afternoon inside a mobile home park in Miami-Dade Countys West Little River area, just north of Miamis Little River neighborhood. Every week, Haast still injects his arm with a cocktail of venom from five snakes -- cobras, mambas, kraits, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. I also remember hearing a story about him saving the lives of GI`s in Vietnam who had jumped from a helicopter into some poisonous snakes. A 6-year-old boy fell into a crocodile pit and was killed. Inside, the snake shows were pure drama with no frills, no fanfare, no drum roll, no silence please, no ladies and gentleman. He made special trips, bringing back such perilous species as cobras and saw-scaled vipers. When we said goodby, I knew this was a moment I would remember for the rest of my life. ''I know a lot of people in Miami still remember the Serpentarium and wonder what became of me, that's why I'm talking to you,'' said Haast, who would only be interviewed by telephone. .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, In those days there were no laws prohibiting it, but the crew members didn't appreciate it.[6]. Bill Haast (December 30, 1910 June 15, 2011[1]) was the owner and operator, from 1947 until 1984, of the Miami Serpentarium, a tourist attraction south of Miami, Florida, where he extracted venom from snakes in front of paying customers. I have returned to see his show at thye Serpentarium and have watched him with his wife on the Merv Griffith show & others ( I think also the Jonny Carson Show) many years later. The attackers included cobras, a krait, green mambas, a pygmy rattlesnake, a European asp and a palm viper. Finding this site reminds me what saints my parents were! The honor, bestowed by Miami's mayor, was delivered to Haast at his home east of Punta Gorda by members of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Unit. I told my mother how I'd really like to get an Indigo and she kind of shrugged it off. Noticing that it had come from Florida, he knew then, he said, that Florida was his destiny. Oh my gosh..I worked on Bill and Nancy's house in P.G 15-20 years agomold issueshumidity problems..put an air exchanger in their snake area to control odorbut had strict guidelines to maintain high humidity. If you are the site owner (or you manage this site), please whitelist your IP or if you think this block is an error please open a support ticket and make sure to include the block details (displayed in the box below), so we can assist you in troubleshooting the issue. I could see their fears fade as they got the nerve to touch a real snake and realize that is wasn't slimy. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He introduced himself as Col. Spencer, I introduced myself as "I'm Mark and could my brother Dick come too?" Like for so many others, the Serpentarium was a place of wonder for me in my youth. Mr. Haast was bitten at least 173 times by poisonous snakes, about 20 times almost fatally. His original Miami Serpentarium, south of Miami on South Dixie Highway, attracted 50,000 tourists a year for four decades. Haast retained custody of their son, Bill Jr. and continued to work as a mechanic for Pan Am while he built the Serpentarium. Like I said, we were always grabbing any snakes we came across, and one day finally got a Moccasin. This time it came out! Haast saw that a boy had fallen into the crocodile pit. Haast calls it one of the lowest points in his life. Haast eventually returned home, where his mother had leased a concession stand at a lakeside resort. The latest local, regional and national news events of the morning are presented by the Local 10 News Team along with updated sports, weather and traffic. I got excited thinking it was a new toy. We got a motel room across the road from the Serpentarium. 76. Copyright 2023 Local10.com is published by WPLG INC., a Berkshire Hathaway company. ", Twitter accolades came in from across the globe. I followed his instructions and he was right. "It was his adopted city. His wife Nancy and I had been pleasantly talking an she was so fearful that she held my arm and squeezed hard, all the while telling me that a bite from that king cobra would likely kill Bill , because up to that point he had been bitten some 23 times , but never by a king cobra one drop of which can kill 5 men. My Dad would take me there often, we lived in South Miami (as I do againlong story). In 1982 when I was twelve I moved from England to Hollywood, Fl with my family. Now if I can find out more about The Colonel? There, sitting at a desk was Bill Haast. He briefly lived in Utah and returned to Florida to live in Charlotte County 18 years ago. I would see him periodically. What a rush. Good memories of a time long ago. There he met and eloped with his first wife, Ann. I visited the Serpentarium two time back in 1958 and 1967, it was a very interesting place to tour. His unique contribution to medicine earned him widespread recognition. Needless to say I was quite nervous also, thinking of what might happen if that snake went through the crowd. Bowker had hooked. Unfortunately, in 1977 a six-year-old boy fell into the crocodile pit at Miami Serpentarium and was killed by "Cookie", a 12-ft-long crocodile. That gave him a chance to use his toolbox to smuggle snakes, including his first cobra. I believe that it was one of the great thrills of my life. While there, a gentleman drove in with a huge python he caught on his property and had in a wire basket. MIAMI - The name of the 15-year-old who was shot and killed in northwest Miami-Dade on Wednesday has been released. I sure do remember Mr. Haast as I bought the 1969 GT500 Shelby that he once owned. The boy's family never sued, accepting only the maximum insurance payment, Haast said. (Different venoms require different antidotes.). I was 11 in 1972 when my folks agreed to stop at the Serpentarium when our family of seven drove down from Massachusetts to Key West for February school vacation. I visited many times in the 60's - 70's. The event left Haast shaken and the next day, he shot the 1800-pound crocodile nine times. I hope someone out there, please find out who did this to my son.. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Thank you Diana, and all the other folks who have posted, for posting your personal memories of Bill Haast and your insights that the general public would never know about if you hadn't written in. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. The person who shot and killed a 15-year-old boy is on the run. Bill Haast and a cobra at the Miami Serpentarium SW 128th Street and South Dixie Highway, Dade County, Florida Thank you to Alvin Lederer for contributing this old image. In 1980 we took my late husband who had ALS (Lou Gerhig's Disease) to the Miama Clinic where. My first visit to the Serpentarium was in the summer of '56 when I visited family friends who lived on Key Biscayne. A pair of 911 calls brought both Miami police and Miami-Dade police to 8050 NW Miami Ct. around 4:35 p.m. I am a big guy and I thought we could easily hold him still. the luckiest leprechaun activities; what is the boiling point of lemon juice; cecil county district court commissioners office. Eventually Bill charmed that snake and on one of its downstrikes quicker than the snake could react Bill had it behind the head and then as a finale milked a big load of venom. From The Miami Herald, August 3, 2006 FLASHBACK | THE MIAMI SERPENTARIUM 'Miami snakeman' is 95 and still injects himself with venom BY LUISA YANEZ lyanez@MiamiHerald.com IN PUNTA GORDA: Bill Hasst sold his Miami Serpentarium site in Pinecrest in 1984, and settled in southwest Florida. "Any time I saw an unusual snake I brought it back," Haast said, sitting on cushioned patio furniture. Thanks for jogging my memory. I visited The Serpentarium in '78. A significant historical year for this entry is 1946. He owned and operated the Miami Serpentarium, a Florida tourist attraction where he extracted venom from snakes in front of paying guests, from 1947 until 1984. Furthermore, you shouldn't speak about how a parent should have kept a better eye on their dead son. By 1984, interest in such roadside attractions like the Serpentarium had waned. My parents stayed at the motel pool, while I was the first one thru the door at the Serpentarium that day. Also wonder if that huge Cobra statue is still on the property..and still scary as hell!!!!!!!!! When I was a small boy of 8-9 years old in the mid sixties, a distinguished gentleman would walk by our house in the early morning like clockwork. As he announced at the time, Bill killed the croc because he did not want her to become the inevitable freak show instead of a crocodile.Neither revenge nor stress induced fuzzy thinking was involved. He inspired a life long love of reptiles for me and now my two children.. it stirred interest faster than the key lime pie and local jelly signs. His grey pleated linen trowsers were pressed and as spotless as his egyptian cotton White shirt, topped with a most stunning Pith Helment. ``Funny, the very place I wanted to get away from, I now miss. When my family came to Miami in1961, they left me in Lakeland, Florida with my aunt and uncle, who happened to be an avid hunter/fisherman. We will have to go and visit the place that a man built who was inspired by Mr. Haast. The show was great. After the United States entered World War II, Haast served as a flight engineer on Pan Am airliners flying under contract to the United States Army Air Corps. The last snake I had was a 12' burmese python that I owned a few years ago. This tornado also picked up a dredge crane, working on one of the drainage canals, and placed it across the canal without any significant damage. As a kid, it was a thrill to see the man himself up close. The incident left Bill Haast badly shaken. There's a picture of me and an indigo snake, probably nearly as long as I was tall. On that trip, I held the very long Indigo snake, and my friend, Ann, took a picture of me. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Report: 350+ Books Banned in Florida School Districts Since Last July, Uber, Lyft Drivers Strike at Florida Airports to Demand Livable Wages, All 200+ Books Banned in Florida and What Miami Booksellers Have to Say About It, Miami Dolphins Fan Guide to the 2023 NFL Draft, Shareholders Reeling in Wake of Miami SPAC-Merger Deals, Carollo Abuse-of-Power Trial Moves Forward in Wake of Jury-Tampering Claim. I grew up in Hialeah,snake hunting was one of the cool things we did back in the day.We'd ride our stingrays out to milam elementary w 16 ave and catch decays ,ring necks ,yellow rats ,red rats,garter snakes,blue racers.We'd ride are bikes accross the palmetto expressway and go into the woods behind the church caught an indigo there once ,it was laying accross a tree stump that was lucky back 1971.I was 12.It was 6ft long I feed it eggs ,raw chicken breast,a big toad once .It had bright red under the chin.Mr haast told me how to get the lice off it at his snake show.I called the serpentarium every so often to ask various questions on snakes.The guy on the phone was cool and calm he'd answer your questions politely it had to be Bill to us kids he was like superman.Saw his show 5 times.Man !that indigo Mrs haast had was really pretty ,my mom was talking about that snake at big family get together in wis. last new years.We sure are lucky we grew up their! I was about 9 yrs old, and always remembered the story vividly. All this may be imaginative conjecture of a teenage boy.. .Once thing sure, though, Him and his wife sure looked scary, to we boys, in those white Drs. As a result of the damage, Haast gave up handling venomous snakes, and no longer kept any at his facility. I will admired and respect this wonderful human being for the rest of my life. Bill Haast figured he had handled more than three million poisonous snakes over the years, and he had the hands to prove it. I still have his autograph and some great snapshots of that meet & greet. In 1965, Cobras in his Garden, a book about Haast's exploits, was published. ABOUT 1975 OR SO, I TOOK MY FAMILY ON VACATION TO SEE ALL THE SIGHTS MIAMI HAD TO OFFER INSTEAD OF LEAVING TOWN AS WE ALWAYS DID. and help keep the future of New Times, Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our, who would go on to become the face of Zoo Miami, Associated Press dispatch quoted a wildlife officer, Haast pumped nine shots from a Luger pistol, finally closing the tourist attraction in 1984. "Well my dear lad, if you should like I will write to my old friend from the war, Bill Hasst. I'm sure they still carry around enough guilt, even after all this time, without you adding to it. His first king cobra bite was in 1962. I introduced myself and got my wife and kids to meet him too. After the fight ended, the victim walked away, at which time Cox pulled out a gun and shot at the victim, striking him in the head, authorities said. People were lining up for a show. Haast could not make the ceremony, so part of the ceremony came to him. He had done research for a polio vaccine and sought a cure for multiple sclerosis. joe pylandgrew up at sunniland park two blocks from the serpentarium.Remember it well..Billy..the grandson ran over my arm in 1962 with his bike..breaking it and I missed the 1st 6 weeks of Khoury League.Remember Haast tamping alsoThis man was incredidle and brave. I've outlived all my friends down there.'' I was Bill's neighbor on the Serpentariums north side from about 1970 until the Village of Pinecrest purchased my land & building in 2000 ( The Carpet Mart ). At the time of the TV airing Mr. Haast was 87 years old and quite handsome he looked no older that early 50s. Mr Haast came out at my parents request after thrilling us with a great show. There was something unique and special about living old Miami, Its individuals like Bill and The Serpentarium that paved Miami's history in a way like no other place in the world. Mr. Haasts story was good enough in its day to land him in Walter Winchells syndicated column, on The Tonight Show and, hardly surprising, in Ripleys Believe It or Not attractions. But the FDA shut it down and banned the drug, saying PROven had not been properly tested for humans. Admission is $8.75 for adults, $6.75 for students and $5.75 for children ages 3-5. BILL PUT ON HIS MILKING SHOW WHEN A SNAKE IN BILL'S HAND WIGGLED AROUND AND SPRAYED A WHITE LIQUID FROM THE REAR OF THE SNAKE INTO THE CROWD AND ACROSS THIS WOMEN'S LEGS IN FRONT OF US. My "fondest" memory: sitting on the side of the crock pit with my butt hanging over the edge, the wall wasn't but a couple feet tall, right? She would take some of her snakes to Bill Haast. The Serpentarium was a magical place and Mr. Haast was a very interesting fellow. Hearing Bill got bit again, was not uncommon local news.The community always hoping on Bills incredible resilience to even the deadliest of snake bites. The concrete & stucco cobra was the second icon of the Serpentarium. Another interesting attraction there were the large Galopagas turtles he had. Police are searching for the shooter and the murder weapon used. In his trademark white lab coat, he would approach a venomous reptile, lure it with one hand and grab its head with the other. THAT WAS THE MOST MEMORIBLE PART OF THAT VACATION. Haast extracted venom 70 to 100 times a day from some 60 species of venomous snakes, usually in front of an audience of paying customers. Miami is a hotbed for venomous snake bites because it is the entry point for almost any exotic snake, whether it is bound for a collector or a zoo in another state. i grew -up in south fla. in the sixties through the eighties,reading about bill haast brought back so many great memories.it was a huge treat when my mom and dad would pile all five of us kids in our station wagon a few times a year and spend the day at the miami serpentarium. Apparently the damaged tail had to be amputated afterwards. He was able to identify the type of snake that bit me by the bite marks. C.C. [3] Haast extracted venom from venomous snakes from the time he was a boy. We watched Mr. Haast with fascination as he milked the snakes. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. There were others I recall, Monkey Jungle, Parrot Jungle, but none had the that eye catching element of suspense like The Serpentarium. He said at that time if he lived to be 100 it would possibly prove that snake venom is anti aging. I wish I could have taken my girls there! By then Cookie, the 12-foot, 2,000-pound crocodile, had the boy in its mouth. boy killed by crocodile at miami serpentarium. When I was a little girl, we lived in Kendall. The Miami Serpentarium, established in1946 as the first-of-its kind premier and pioneering venom production laboratory in the world, was originated by the Founding Director, W. E. . On September 3, 1977, a 6-year-old boy sitting atop the wall surrounding the Serpentarium's alligator and crocodile pit fell into the pit, and a 12-foot crocodile lunged ten feet and grabbed the boy. One of the girls fainted right in my dad's arms! I am now 42 years with a very youthful appearance and in excellent health! His wife Ann did not approve, and they eventually divorced. If you need help with the Public File, call (954) 364-2526. It's a shame good things must always come to an end, isn't it? Is bitten by dozens of water moccasins and dies. Luckily though, I see from visiting one of the links that there is an attraction to view snake milking in St. He was shot in the upper torso, said Miami-Dade police Detective Angel Rodriguez. I. Woww! ''At 95, he doesn't like to do anything that takes time away from his lab work,'' added his wife. Sincerely, an understanding and appreciative person! Thank you, Dr. Haast, for all your good works and trailblazing in this still to be fully recognized work.and for the fascinating memories. Well I then came to his web site to find out how old Mr. Haast is today or if he is still alive. Haast jumped down into the pit. The Roberson Funeral Home of Port Charlotte said Friday that arrangements were incomplete. Lee Martines - Growing up in Miami in the 40s and 50s I would visit the Serpentarium every couple of years and always marveled at the variety of snakes and the process of extracting the venom from the poisonous ones. ``I can't complain. My oldest brother had met a girl who, I believe, had worked at the Miami Serpentarium. While the legendary name of W.E. A cottonmouth bit a finger, which instantly turned black, prompting his wife to snip off the fingertip with garden clippers. He had a clinic called St. Jude Clinic on SW 8 Street. including an 8-year-old boy. The seller's address: Eureka, Fla. Haast knew he had to head south, to a warmer climate favored by snakes. While there, he ended up rooming with a moonshiner on the edge of the Everglades, and became proficient at capturing all kinds of snakes. Operating from 1946 to 1984, the Serpentarium drew as many as 50,000 annual visitors. Bill Jr. eventually left, having lost interest in snakes, but not before he had been bitten four times by venomous snakes. Haast maintained a similar bank in Miami when he ran the Serpentarium theme park, which closed in 1984. Among them a zoo director from Des Moines, a local construction worker and a Venezuelan father. In the summer of 1972 I was bitten by a pygmy rattle snake in the middle of a subdivision in south Miami. Many times Haast donated his blood to be used in treating snake-bite victims when a suitable anti-venom was not available. I was the only customer there that early. And modern medical researchers are proving him right snake venom fractions are becoming recognized as potent medicines. 555 waverly avenue, brooklyn. RIP kind soul. MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. - The person who shot and killed a 15-year-old boy is on the run. But he still wakes up each morning to turn snake venom from across the globe into freeze-dried powder for medical laboratories. Not to mention, people do not operate properly during tragic events. When he was 19 he joined a man who had a roadside snake exhibit, and went with him to Florida. That might have occurred, since some recent field guides I have examined do not include haasti. Police could be seen going through the neighborhood, talking to witnesses and looking for any helpful surveillance video. Children shrieked in horrified glee. You could have a snake for 30 years and the second you leave his cage door cracked, hes gone, he told Outside magazine in 1997. He gathered 400 cobras and took his findings to a University of Miami researcher. "Miami was in Bill's heart to the end," his widow said. I read the part of this article where Mr. Haas had to shoot an allegator because a boy fell into the pit and the alligator ate him (is'nt that what allegators do eat anything including yu?) Quite a memory! As people gathered close Bill unlatched the door on the end of the cage. Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope would say. Everyone sold them to the Serpentarium for $1.25/Ft, good money in those days. The latest local, regional and national news events of the morning are presented by the Local 10 News Team along with updated sports, weather and traffic. Soon, his quest for exotic snakes stretched around the world. The emergency services unit celebrated its 10th year recently at the Metro Zoo in Miami. 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza was firing a rifle in his yard late at night when his neighbors asked him to stop, San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said. The legacy left him immunized, enabling him to donate life-saving blood to 21 victims across the years, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald. "And in the end the research could take care of itself.". The snake had disappeared, but I estimate that the snake, which had at least a one foot girth, was 14 feet or more. For some in Miami, though, the whole debate has stirred up painful memories of another tragic incident. I'm glad I got to experience that part of S. Florida/s history, visiting The Serpentarium, now part of mine. It's a shame that everything is gone now. Did you know that Charlie Baxter aka MT GRAVES IS STILL ALIVE & is one hell of a nice guy. He suspected the inoculations might have explained his extraordinarily good health, but he was reluctant to make that claim, he said, until he reached 100. He respected him very much. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Search underway for Texas gunman who killed 5 01:46. . Outside was a 35-foot-high concrete statue of a giant cobra, forked tongue flicking menacingly. In the early 1970s, I was carrying out a survey to document the status of certain native reptiles and amphibians of a seven-county area iof siytgh Florida. ''I could become a poster boy for the benefits of venom,'' Haast jokes. Hanley "Doc" Harding, Aurora Protection Specialists. I was a good friend with Bill Haast's grandson Willie, He and I would catch snakes and bring them to the Surpentarium, I also would go camping in the everglades with Willie and his sister pinkie and their mom and dad, we would swim in the water around gaters and catch snakes. Not sure she had quite the same fascination that I did but it's still very memorable. I regretfully declined. Barry Ellis III, a 15-year-old eight-grader at Horace Mann Middle School, was shot and killed at the trailer park at 8050 NW Miami Ct. on Wednesday. It became bigger than I expected,'' he said. The substance is an essential ingredient in making a serum to treat snakebite victims. I, and many other people, really enjoy reading the comments that are left under the photos. I'll never forget this experience. They all screamed, then everyone had a good laughed together! Through his pioneering efforts and unswerving dedication to the idea that venoms could be used to help relieve human suffering, he has singularly done more to advance the use of venoms in science and medicine than any other person in history by pioneering the concept of bringing snakes from around the world, housing them under strict laboratory conditions, and making their venoms available to the scientific community in a standardized and reliable form for over 60 years.

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