Marineland was the big success story for Slovenian immigrant John Holer, who died on Saturday, June 23rd, at the age of 83.
“On behalf of Marineland, I can confirm that Mr. Holer passed away Saturday morning at his home, peacefully, comforted by his wife and son,” Andrew Burns, Holer’s lawyer confirmed.
For more than 50 years it has been the number two attraction at Niagara Falls, Ontario, but questions and controversy were always part of the scene.
Opened in 1963, generations of Canadians and tourists to the falls, walked through the park, enjoyed the amusements and rides, and took in the shows poolside that featured dancing dolphins, jumping Orca whales, and well-trained seals and sea lions.
But from the very beginning, when a plucky sea lion escaped in 1963, and made its way to the Upper Niagara River, went over the falls and was eventually found 15 kilometres away on a beach in Niagara-on-the-Lake, some people were very uneasy with the captivity.
Holer was very proud of his work and his past. He was born in 1935, Ivan Holerjem in Maribor. Slovenia, part of Yugoslavia at the time.
Originally he was set to follow in his father’s footsteps, taking over the family vinyard.
But in the wake of the Second World War, Communists took control of the winery and Holer escaped to Austria.
In Graz he worked with the Circus Krona and learned to train bears and sea lions.
He had read about Canada and emmigrated here in the 1957. His plans for work with Brights Wines in the Niagara region, did not work out due to his lack of English.
But he quickly noticed that tourists to the falls had little else to do.
John Holer came to Canada at 22 without a penny. He is pictured here during an expansion phase of Marineland and Game Farm. (Boris Spremo/Getty Images)
Holer began with two large steel tanks welded together and one sea lion on an acre near the falls. Over the years he bought up the land around him, and traded in whales.
Keiko, the star of the 1993 hit movie, Free Willy, began his public performances at Marineland in the early 1980s.
Then in 1985, Holer sold him to a Mexican aquarium. The whale late died on a Norwegian beach following its release into the wild
Holer was loved and detested in equal measure. Niagara Falls Mayor, Jim Diodati was quoted in a Toronto Star article, praising Holer as a “visionary”, a “leader in the tourism industry”.
He described him as a loss to the community having provided thousands of jobs over the years, helping young people pay for university, and filling the hotel rooms in the iconic border town.
Conservative Senator Don Plett was fond of him too. He told CBC News, “You could not meet a kinder person than John Holer,” describing him as an “outstanding Canadian and a close friend.”
Holer told the Canadian Press in 2000 that anonymous on-line activists threatened to burn down his house following the death a whale.
“The more they bark, the more business we get. If I didn’t take care of my animals, I’d be out of business.” he told CP at the time.
In 2004, however, John Holer made more enemies of some of the locals and the residents of a neighbouring trailer park he bought.
In 2009 he issued eviction notices to the tenants, one of whom committed suicide, saying she had nowhere to go.
Animals escaped over the years, with a bear getting lose on one occasion, and a bison found wandering a nearby highway on another.
On one horrific occasion four bears mauled a fifth to death, in front of park visitors.
But John Holer fiercely denied accusations of animal abuse.
And in the later years the accusations grew louder and stronger when some former employees went public with what they witnessed and regarded as mistreatment.
Animal activists have been regularly protesting the site for the past few years, but no charges have been upheld in court.
John Holer’s death may herald the end of an era. His widow Marie, and his son Peter, have not made any public statements.
Over the years there have been countless offers from major theme park operators which Holer always refused.
But these days, 1000 acres in the mist of Niagara Falls would be worth a small fortune.
“It has been a great season so far, and Marineland will continue to operate as Mr. Holer would have wanted it to.” Andrew Burns told reporters.
(With files from the CBC, CP, and the Toronto Star)
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