“It’s pretty neat when you look at the pictures. It was a zoo back then; it’s a zoo now,” said Bridget Campbell, of Glencoe, a 10-year Women’s Board member of Lincoln Park Zoo. 

Founded in 1868, this year Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating its sesquicentennial, having survived and thrived as a beloved Chicago landmark for 150 years. 

Initially, the zoo was just another department of the Chicago Park District. Then in 1959, 300 zoo aficionados joined together to formalize support for the animals and to raise funds for greater conservation efforts. Together they created the Lincoln Park Zoological Society as a means to achieve those goals. 

To aid in their vision, in 1973 a 16-member women’s committee was formed as a precursor to the current Women’s Board, the zoo’s fundraising arm. 

Now Associate Judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Campbell babysat for former Mayor Daley and his late wife, Maggie while growing up. 

“I remember ... walking around the zoo with the children when Maggie first started on the Women’s Board,” Campbell said.

Learning by example, Campbell said it was important for her to also join the Women’s Board. 

“You have to continue to involve your children in the city and all that it has to offer (and) I love the culture and bringing my husband and son here,” she said, pointing out that the zoo’s Women’s Board is replete with North Shore women.  

“I think we’re a really dedicated group considering we’re commuting all the time,” Campbell said.

Another such dedicated member is Charlotte Monhart, of Wilmette. 

On the Women’s Board since 2002, a full three generations of Monhart’s family have served the zoo. In fact, when she met her husband in 1985, Jim Monhart was serving on the auxiliary board while his mother was on the Women’s Board. 

Subsequently, every time she had a day off, Monhart brought her children to the zoo.  

“I loved the fact that it was free because it meant that you could bring the stroller in with the kids and, if they were not having a good day, you could just walk right out and try again another day,” Monhart said.

The zoo is one of only two free zoos in the entire United States. 

“You don’t have to buy a ticket; you don’t have to make any reservations. Just get in a car and drive down here,” Campbell said. 

To Monhart, the zoo’s longevity, “Just means sustainability. It shows that the support behind the zoo is long-lasting and people really believe in this cause.” 

Her family’s commitment to philanthropy and continued connection to the zoo has now prompted Monhart’s daughter to join the Auxiliary Board. As former vice president of development, 2013 Zoo Ball gala chairman, six-year executive committee member and current vice president of membership, Monhart draws her tireless enthusiasm from the zoo’s core.

“I’ve always loved animals. They bring me this serene calmness and they make me laugh,” Monhart said. “I believe that we have to support nature and be kind to it and respectful, and I think (the zoo) is a very good way to learn about nature.” 

Campbell concurs. 

“You’re always going to have an incredible, wonderful animal experience. You are going to see things that you don’t see anywhere in Glencoe, and it’s not very far.” 

Formally established in 1976, the Women’s Board of Lincoln Park Zoo is comprised of about 80 active members from Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Each year, the Board hosts the zoo’s largest fundraiser, Zoo Ball, which has raised millions of dollars since its inception for a wide range of capital projects at the zoo and has annually drawn more than 1,000 civic and social leaders from Chicago and the surrounding suburbs.