We have what we call the blue laws. All businesses in Cincinnati when I started, were closed on Sunday by law. So, you know, you had everybody, the only place to go was the zoo. Then King’s Island came in with a brand new lion park, and I said to… Read More
The board finally resolved its own problems. It had limited terms and it started to appoint good people to the board and movers and shakers in the community, and together, we really began to rebuild the zoo. We started major fundraising and capital drives. We developed a master plan and… Read More
-Came into the zoo. You were the director. Read More
Sometimes we did things that you might not want to do if you were in a private zoo. We had all kinds of, literally programs that were non-zoo related just to get bodies through the gate. But I realized how important they were. And eventually, we were clever enough and… Read More
We could do that. Being a private zoo, we could select who could come in the zoo or not. So as general curator, you had been starting to make some changes at the zoo. Now you are the zoo director. Read More
What was the condition of the zoo when you took it over?… Read More
Yes. Read More
To a private zoo?… Read More
Yes, I came from a zoo that was operated by the city, Lincoln Park Public Zoo, and went into a private org- It was a totally different life experience. Tell me about those differences. Well, the differences of a working in a public zoo, we had departments, we had maintenance… Read More
I think to make me an effective zoo director, I had a passion for my charges and the animal collection was paramount and always has been, and always will be. I had an eye for detail and I knew what I wanted. I had management skill, I knew how to… Read More
The zoo was publicly or privately run at the time?… Read More
The Cincinnati Zoo, when I took it over, we received very little capital money from the city. We received free water and sometimes slight cap- When they were plush and had some capital monies, they would give us a small amount of capital money, but it was a privately run… Read More
There were a number of people- Fred Z. Hanalar. The person that ran the zoo before Bill Hoff was a gentleman by the name of Jack Huser and Fred Z. Hanalar had a lot to do with Jack Huser. And Jack apparently was driven by- The board was, it was… Read More
And I don’t think there was anybody other than- Oh, I’m going back and getting back on myself. Other than Fred Z. Hanalar. Fred Z. Hanalar said the zoo, when Jack Huser ran it, the zoo is run by 22 idiots telling one idiot what to do. So apparently he… Read More
Well, what qualities did you have that you felt would make you an effective zoo director?… Read More
When I was offered the position, I didn’t think twice, I accepted it. It was something that had been driving me ever since I was a child. Somehow I knew someday this is what I was going to do. It was just destiny as far as I was concerned and… Read More
Did Bill Hoff give you any advice?… Read More
No Bill Hoff wasn’t in favor of me getting the job. He thought they should seek somebody from the outside. They never even had a search committee put together. I was the interim and the choice. Read More
Did you seek any advice from anybody else or did they volunteer any advice for you on this new endeavor?… Read More
Well, we had a- I had a distinct advantage in obtaining the directorship in Cincinnati, because the number of board members knew and had observed my operating of the zoo in the curatorial sense for a long time. We had a couple of board members that used to frequent the… Read More