Tri Cities On A Dime: January 2020

Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a French fashion designer, Nazi spy, and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with liberating women from the constraints of the "corseted silhouette" and popularizing a sporty, casual chic as the feminine standard of style.

Born in 1883, in France, Coco Chanel’s start was different from what many of the people who wore her fashions could imagine. Rather than grow up in a lavish estate or in the heart of Paris’ fashion world, Chanel was raised in an orphanage where she was sent at the age of 12, when her mother died at age 32. She was abandoned by her father who either couldn’t or didn’t want to take care of her.

Chanel was taught to sew by the nuns who raised her, something that would come in handy for the rest of her life. Before she turned to fashion, Chanel briefly worked as a night club singer in Vichy and Moulins were she was referred to as “Coco.” She opened her first shop on Paris’s Rue Cambon in 1910 where she sold hats. By the 1920s she was in international superstar.

As unlikely as these pals may seem, they’ve been through thick and thin together in their long and strange lives. Rescued from a drug baron in Atlanta, Georgia, Baloo the bear, Leo the lion, and Shere Khan the tiger were extremely malnourished when they were discovered by the authorities, so much so that their chances for survival were slim.

After these three animal buddies were brought to the Noah's Ark Sanctuary in Locust Grove, Georgia, they were able to live somewhat normal lives and play together in harmony. In 2016 Leo passed away, and in 2018 Shere Khan joined him in the great beyond. Baloo is the final member of the trio, but he’s surrounded by plenty of friends at Noah’s Ark Sanctuary.

[Story from the History Daily website]