it was by continental desert. So, we started with North America because that was number one easiest, cheapest, and didn’t scare anybody. And then the next desert we moved to once the cat was out of the bag, literally, was we moved to the African desert because I figured first,… Read More
It’s still sitting there. So it’s those three major- Yeah. We decided not to try to do like cold deserts, like Siberia or things like that were just too hot and too hard on the creatures, and I mean in theory, not fog deserts like Patagonia and things like that… Read More
We, in order to meet ACA standards, we didn’t fence the whole two square miles of land because the cost, so the trail system is you enter the main park through the zoo park, and then you walk to the edge of the zoo park at one side and you… Read More
Sure, I mean, Bill Woodin at Arizona Sonora from day one said, “Go do it, try it.” Chuck Bieler had just wound up as director at San Diego and was feeling his way through. And Bill of course, would always be willing to pontificate to anybody at the time. And,… Read More
Well, speaking of exhibits, and you had this master plan in your secret master plan, we’ll call it, how did you want the Living Desert to be laid out?… Read More
So, why do you create an organization that says I’m different?” I said, I remember saying this directly to her, I said, “Is there an organization in zoos for blonde people?… Read More
I’m a blonde in the zoo business. I’m a green-eyed person and this is the organization for green-eyed people in the zoo business.” I said, “Isn’t it that nonsense?” “Well, yeah.” I said, “Well, to me it’s as much nonsense to have a woman in the zoo business organization.” Just… Read More
I just did my job and I tried to be a really good director, I tried to be fun, just like them, go out and have a good time. And I was quickly accepted to the point where sometimes they’d forget I was even in the room as a woman,… Read More
Did you get others zoo directors, or who were some of your, did you have mentors and other zoo directors that you as a young director would go to and they would mentor you?… Read More
You’ve gotta mentor women.” I said, “No, no, no. I’ll mentor any zoo professional. If they think I have something to offer ’em, I’ll tell ’em. Read More
I said, “But why do you want to have, why do you want it?… Read More
You wanna be equal. You wanna just be part of the team. Read More
It doesn’t make any difference that I’m a woman. You just have to be good at what you do. Just do it.” And then they, Betsy Dresser decided to start a woman in zoo biology. Read More
Remember those days?… Read More
And the first person she came to is me. Read More
She said, “We want you to be our founder,” and I went, “I refuse to join.” And she said, “Why?… Read More
How were you received by your male counterparts?… Read More
Well, it’s hard to know from their real perspective. From my perspective, I consciously made a decision that seemed to be perfectly rational to me at the time which is if I really wanted to be, I really wanted to build Living Desert and I really wanted to make it… Read More
And so when we decided, when they voted in 1971 to separate from the National Parks and Rec’s, they needed somebody to do their newsletter and I was perfectly capable of doing that from a variety of reasons of vast historical things I had done in my professional career and… Read More
Living Desert and- And at some point you approached your board, you wanted the zoo to become a associate. Associated with ACA. Yep. And they received that- Fine. I mean, I never just dropped something on ’em. I mean, I tried to educate ’em and they knew I was going… Read More