Ray’s the man who started the McDonald’s restaurant chain and his wife, Joan, and at the end of that luncheon, Ray wrote me a check for $1 million. That was the only time in my life that I truly felt like I could walk on water or leap into the air, and it was a feeling that was beyond belief for me. But Ray listened to me and realized that the zoo needed help. He was in Chicagoan, the sheer coincidence is, and I’m of Bohemian descent, and so was Ray Kroc. And so as a couple of good Bohemians, we hit it off. And he and his wife, Joan remained supporters while they were in Chicago. But that kind of started our campaign, the Park District said that if we, the civilian arm, the Friends of the Zoo could go out and raise money, they would come up with some matching public funds. And so that really is what kicked off the major effort to rebuild the Old Zoo.
