Tell me, I don’t even run the zoo, by the way. But I want to know what’s happening. Then I go to my office because the gist is in that human resource office of the people work here. A lot of people preach it, they don’t practice it in this,… Read More
I can’t, I still can’t get over it, okay?… Read More
A parking lot, the parking lot out there, that’s the largest one in Ohio, I think. Someone says it is. Well, second for sure. That cost me, cost the zoo, $9 million to build it. I said, “You’re crazy! “I don’t wanna build a dumb parking lot. “Park on the… Read More
I fixed up the bathrooms. Read More
And then the help started. ‘Cause I let them, everything we built back then, was done in house, everything. Read More
Now, today, you kidding me?… Read More
I dunno, I like architects. Don’t get me wrong, architects, you didn’t run the zoo. I’m just saying that a million dollars to design something. Read More
And finally they saw that I was just gonna, by God, help them. I got them new uniforms and said Columbus zoo, not Sewers and Drains. That’s how I started. They called me Traprot Brown, because I took all these buildings that were falling down and painted them. I said,… Read More
It’s the people and the visitor that suffer. The staff that suffer. The animals, yes, they may have mud, they may be lousy accommodations, but most of them look pretty healthy. I’ve never been to many zoos in this country where the animals just sit there, except roadside things, where… Read More
“Remember that, Jack, it could be old and clean. “So do something about the zoo, paint it.” He came up here once, he said, “This place is a wreck. “Can’t you just paint these buildings?” They called me Traprot Brown. I took every building this place and painted it brown. Read More
Oh, here’s another, here’s this young guy. Let’s see what he does, had a union here, and I’m not really a union person, but the point is that they should’ve had a union, the way they were treated, you know. They weren’t hurting them or nothing, It’s just no one… Read More
Got that, had my breakfast with my family, my brother and sister lived there, had our Christmas opening, had our lunch, got back in the car and got back here by five o’clock Christmas day. That was the first, maybe it was longer than six years, I know it was… Read More
We had more fun up here than a barrel of monkeys. Now I look back on it. We had a board, yes, and, but the zoo was 15 miles out of town. No one really cared what went on. You could see that when I got here, but you know… Read More
I think he had three directors, three directors in two years, right?… Read More
They kind of let you do what you wanted to do or?… Read More
That’s a good question. Yeah, because they just wanted a zoo downtown. Been there since 1920-something, so just take care of it. Read More
That’s a great, you know what it was here, at the zoo when I first got here?… Read More
I, know what I did then?… Read More
No more money, we’re done til this thing gets settled. Everyone said “Oh my God, you can’t do that.” The gorillas ain’t gonna die! I’m not gonna keep giving him money when the rebels come in there and rip it apart. So if, so, I guess what I’m saying is,… Read More
You know, they’re crazy going with me going on safari because I have no idea. I couldn’t tell you what a, I’m serious, I’m pretty bright now, but after filming for 40, 20, 30 years animals. But I go there and just talk to them about animal world in a… Read More