John and Jack Pedersen
Jack Pedersen
John Pedersen
Shirley Schneider &
Lillian Pedersen
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Ginger
Pedersen at the Africa USA Lagoon
Hello!
Welcome to the virtual Africa U.S.A.! I created
this site as a tribute to the ingenuity, hard
work and dreams of my father and grandparents.
Africa U.S.A. was truly a special place,
something that can never exist again in our world
of too much safety and lawsuits. Even though I
never saw Africa U.S.A. firsthand (I was born
after it closed) my father and grandparents
stories were always entertaining and exciting. I
wish they could see the web site and read the
memories that people share in the guest book. My
cousins John and Jerry Schneider experienced
Africa U.S.A. as children and have fond memories
of growing up with chimps and cheetahs in the
house.
Boca Raton has certainly grown up since Africa U.S.A.
was created. South Florida of the 1950's only had
two north-south routes - US-1 and 441 - no I-95
or Turnpike. Many of the newspaper articles I
have describe Africa U.S.A. as being in "western"
Boca Raton. It's hard to imagine that today. The
"old" Florida roadside attractions are
all but a thing of the past as the concrete
jungle has taken the place of the African jungle
at Africa U.S.A. Most living here today cannot
know the Florida of the past, and with continued
growth and expansion more and more of old Florida
is lost.
My father Jack Pedersen truly loved Africa U.S.A.
and endured many hardships in Africa while on
safari to gather the animals. He died in 1998
after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. His
favorite animals at Africa U.S.A. were Mojah and
Mbili, the cheetahs. He loved to have them in the
front seat of the convertible, top down, just to
get the stares of disbelief from passers-by.
Africa U.S.A is an important part of the history
of Boca Raton and Palm Beach County. I hope the
website has brought back some fond memories.
Visit the sight often as new features will be
added.
Thanks for visiting - please add an entry
to the guest book and email any snapshots you
have of your visits to Africa U.S.A.
Boca
Raton Train Station in the early 1950's |
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