Tortoise track, seals, penguins, different eagle experience, different things like that in the historic zoo. And then we did a big major campaign in 2016 to expand the zoo. And that was a big strategic plan. Read More
And we opened that in 1991. I got there in, in 86 and we, we opened that plaza and everything in 1991. ’cause I said, ’cause my, my, my plan was, okay, here’s this plan for this. We have to get this done before we can raise private dollars to… Read More
So whatever you can raise, it’s gotta be your top priority. So that’s what my research is telling me. ’cause I did some real serious research. So we redeveloped the south end, put in a veterinary facility. Okay. ’cause I needed a, we needed a veterinary. We had only one… Read More
Did you have a master plan?… Read More
’cause you put those lights up last year, you know how to do it. So I volunteered putting up place at the zoo even after I retired. What would you say? You said you had changed the zoo and built a lot of stuff. Read More
Not early on, because so much of it, I needed to get a master plan, but that wasn’t cost money. So it took a while to get, get a, a, a master plan and all early on I could raise funds to redevelop different areas, but I could never redevelop… Read More
I draw 70,000 people in, in a month. Read More
And the team called up and said, would you help?… Read More
How involved were you in the day-to-day activities hands-on when you became director?… Read More
Oh, very much so. You know, my first week there I was serving snow cones in the concession stand. ’cause the zoo opened up shortly after I got there. And I used to run the concession stand back at the other zoo. So I knew how to make snow cones. Read More
I got there in April of 86 and we got married in March of 88. But before we had children, Tracy and I would give all the zookeepers, all the staff Christmas off and we would take care of the animals. She was the head zookeeper and she told me… Read More
We had keepers who took, what do you call it?… Read More
I always try to encourage and encourage and encourage it. Try to provide funds to go off to conferences, try to grow, try to grow, try it is very, very important. Very important to me. I always try to get people off the conferences and, and to, and to develop. Read More
A correspondence course and zookeeping and things like that. But I really was, I was fortunate. I always had to pay for my own stuff when I was a keeper, assistant director and director. I had to pay for my own stuff. And so I knew how expensive that was… Read More
But the Lincoln Children’s Zoo is situated on very rich Antelope Creek silt. So very rich soil and a bit recessed from the cold, harsh desiccating, sublimating winter winds. And so we had a very, the plant collection at the zoo is more diverse and more valuable than the animal… Read More
How, how important is, was professional growth for your staff?… Read More
Okay. ’cause nobody wanted this big maladjusted male Kodiak bear because nobody needed it for logical reasons. But when he passed away, I said, we’re taking that down. And we made it into a beautiful little seal harbor seal exhibit. And then eventually we made it into a penguin exhibit… Read More
And was there any one exhibit that you really championed that we gotta get it going?… Read More
One, the biggest thing that I championed was we had this horrible exhibit of a Kodiak bear and basically a bear pit. It was built originally as a sea lion pool. When they put the sea lions in, in seventies. They bailed up very shortly after being there. My predecessor… Read More
But I could see, I could see the commissary right outside of my office. I could see the zookeepers working right outside my office. They could see me up in my office. Okay. Facilities maintenance was just beyond that, along with horticulture. So we were always, I wanted to keep… Read More