By: Sue Kramer
NEW HOPE – Very often, Mayor Larry Keller puts in a 16-hour day, and it isn’t all spent in borough meetings or at his business, Hobensack & Keller Inc. on Bridge Street.
Long days and exciting adventures are nothing new for Mr. Keller, who began living his high-energy life while he was still in high school.
Attending Neshaminy High School, Mayor Keller not only played soccer, but captained the baseball and basketball teams as well. He also played soccer at Lehigh University.
He was so athletic, in fact, that he earned a spot on the Olympic soccer team in the late ’70s.
"I trained with the Olympic team back in 1978, 1980," he recalled. "I was out in Squaw Valley in California for soccer. I was a goal keeper."
Even after his Olympic and college playing days were over, Mr. Keller didn’t turn his back on sports. He combined his love of the game with his deep sense of volunteerism and became a volunteer soccer coach for the next 20 years at his alma mater.
While sports injuries prevent him from playing racquetball anymore, he still runs, plays basketball and occasionally kicks the soccer ball around.
Mr. Keller also carries this same energy over to his business, which at times sees him putting in grueling days.
"During the Philadelphia Flower Show, which I’ve been in for 13 years," he said, "I absolutely, for three weeks straight, put in over 100 hours. I have three booths there. It takes four and a half days to set up a booth."
He not only features his garden ornaments, but also works with the show’s designer and other exhibitors.
"I have been involved with different exhibitions for the last 12 years, and last year, they asked to use our items for the front entrance. So, it’s a big event for Hobensack & Keller," he said.
And so, what does someone who routinely puts in 16-hour days do to relax?
While he enjoys the shore and the tranquillity of the ocean, he said, "I do like to travel. That’s probably my biggest enjoyment. I enjoy seeing different places, and I really enjoy people -seeing the different cultures and how they interact. I’m always on the lookout for new and different things. Generally, I go to Europe twice a year, at least. Last fall, I went to St. Tropez and Provence. It’s the western part of France’s Gold Coast, and that last trip was just fantastic. I could go back there in a second."
Of the major cities he’s visited, London and Paris hold an allure above all others.
"I could be very happy in Paris or London," Mr. Keller said. "I like the architecture in Paris – the rivers and banks, Notre Dame, the hotels, the restaurants – everything is just fantastic.
"In London, I like the theater, and I like the fact that everything is basically lower. You don’t have the huge skyscrapers, which makes it unique compared to the other cities in the world."
And communication is easier because everyone speaks the same language, he said.
When it came time for a real challenge, though, Mr. Keller turned to Africa. Rather than tour the major cities and seek out the cultural and historical aspects of the country, he chose, instead, to experience the wild side of Southern Africa, spending two weeks living in primitive, remote camps, enduring daytime temperatures that reached 105 degrees, nighttime temperatures of 50 and the inherent danger that comes with living among lions, elephants and other native wildlife.
"About four years ago," he said, "I went on a safari. It started out in Victoria Falls, and, from there, we went to Botswana and from there into four different camps. We had no electricity, no heat, no radio, no television, no communication with the outside world for about 14 days. That was probably the most unique thing I ever did."
The safari did not involve killing animals. It was instead, he said, for people who love nature and want to experience it first-hand. His trip, which was at the end of the dry season, afforded him ample opportunities to observe animals in their natural habitat as they traveled long distances to get water.
"These animals are traveling 10 to 15 miles to come back to the watering hole because a lot of watering places are drying out," he explained. "They start out near the watering holes. And the next month, they’ve eaten all the vegetation around that watering hole. Now they have to go a half mile out, and it keeps going further and further because it’s dry and sandy so your vegetation is sparse. They just have to keep working back further and further and traveling back further every day to get water.
"And that is where the action is, at the watering hole," he said. "You have hippos in the water, and they are just very big boys. And so the elephants come in herds, and when they come in, you want to be out of the way, and when they leave, you’d better be out of the way. If you can vision 75 to 125 elephants coming in, in this herd, you’re talking about a lot of tonnage."
During the safari, Mr. Keller slept in a tent in a field where "you could hear lions roaring out there, elephants, and you had animals rubbing against your tent. It was just a very, very different experience."
He said, "The first night, you just don’t sleep, when you have all these animals and water buffaloes. There was a battle with an elephant – I guess protecting one of their kids – and they were just screaming at a lion. And the lion was roaring, and it seemed like it was right next to us. I thought the elephant would just run over the tent, and, just sitting there, I felt helpless."
Mr. Keller found out that sleeping in a tent with elephants and lions battling and roaring around him posed one more problem.
"The first camp had an outhouse that was about 50 yards from the tent, and I guarantee you, no matter how badly you had to go to the bathroom, there was not a chance that you would consider using that outhouse!" he exclaimed. "It was basically just four sticks with canvas around it and a hole in the ground. Once you got there, it would be one thing, but getting back would be a real experience!"
He added, "That entire trip was just out of this world. It was actually in a true jungle-like setting, going out every day and not knowing what you were going to see, be it a hyena, or a wart hog or lions or giraffes. It was just spectacular. I had a lion that was 6 feet away from me."
