In 1954, I made my first real visit to the Bronx Zoo, I’d come actually at 1944 with my father to see it. He was coming into New York and I use it as an excuse as a teenager to get up here and look at the zoo. But in 1954, I took a driving trip from St. Louis and visited as many zoos in the east as I could. And when I came to the Bronx Zoo, I was delighted to meet a number of people, including the very famous president Fairfield Osborn, who wrote “Our Plundered Planet” which was one of the first really mind turning books about wildlife conservation, about nature conservation or about overpopulation. A very important book, indeed. And when I visited Dr. Osborn ushered in by Lee Crandall to meet him, he was very kind and Laurance Rockefeller, who was chairman of the board at the time was meeting with Osborn. And I was driven downtown to my hotel by Lawrence Rockefeller. So I felt this was a very good introduction indeed and consequently, I had that background behind me before I came to New York.
