Animal acquisition, particularly animals that I was interested in, it with adequate justification either as Jean Harts or to Saul, or to Les, if I had thought it out, if I had sought it out and I had justification for acquisition, they would pretty, I don’t ever remember anybody saying,… Read More
Were you thrown into the arena of dealing with animal rights groups, or was that even a consideration when you were assistant director of the zoo?… Read More
Oh, animal rights were very much the zoo’s agenda and on the association’s agenda. We very definitely were thrown into the animal rights arena. There were several significant animal rights demonstrations across the country at zoos. I remember at World Breeding 3 Conference in San Diego, there was a significant… Read More
And why are the oranges with their cut end down on the floor?” And he said, “Oh, because that’s the way they like them.” I said, “Well, what do you mean that’s the way they like them?” He says, “That’s the way they eat them. So I always put them… Read More
As assistant director, was there any time that you said to yourself, why did I take this position?… Read More
Was there some big headache, toughest problem that you just stood back and said, “Why am I doing this?” If there ever was a time when I questioned what I was doing and why I was still doing it at Lincoln Park, it had to do with personnel difficulties. But… Read More
Did it ever, did you ever feel that yes, I can now get the animals that I couldn’t get before in this particular group or others now that I’m in a position to make those decisions?… Read More
I remember going through one time and I said to him, “Eddie, why are the oranges cut in half?… Read More
And that was my introduction to shoe bill storks, an animal that I had never even seen in a moving picture, motion picture, let alone in life, that was Joe. Read More
Would you just speak briefly about your encounter with one other keeper, Eddie Yanco, and how that was part of the whole keeper staff that you had to deal with?… Read More
Eddie Yanko was, was, probably still is, is Eddie still, I don’t know whether he’s still alive or not, but Eddie was a very smart, he was intuitive. Eddie took care of the small antelopes. He took care of the small antelopes. He took care of speaks and grants and… Read More
And I’m speaking specifically, there certainly could be others of Saul Kitchener, who was an assistant director who moved out, Pat Sass with the great apes or Ed Yanco or Joe McHale, or anybody that made an impression maybe you learned from, or they gave you a hard time, or… Read More
Pat Sass, first woman keeper, need one say anything more. She broke the barrier. She broke the barrier in many different ways, but she allowed other women who followed her to assume a keeper position, a position of importance. Joel McHale, the senior keeper in a birdhouse was a full-time… Read More
And Gail ran out to get film for the cameras so that we could take pictures of it. And when she came back, the cheetah was in the playpen that was in the living room for our youngest, which she was absolutely horrified by, but we, he just did that. Read More
And then one other Joe McHale story. My last Joel McHale story, he called one time and he says, “I’m gonna give you a life experience.” I said, “Joe, you always do.” He said, “No, you’ve gotta go to the airport with me.” And I said, “Okay.” Then he said,… Read More
They all could read and write now, I mean, what changed when you were assuming those responsibilities as assistant director. Over time, the keeper staff evolved just like the zoo evolved. The keepers that came to us were, they might still be political animals, but they were better informed, better… Read More
And the old timers didn’t do that. The old timers were more subtle. The old timers would just sort of take care of things unsaid, but with the new group more and more, it was, there were more people that were better educated, better informed, who had stronger opinions, good,… Read More
Can you give us just maybe some basic, kind of quick recollections that come to your mind of memorable characters within the zoo that you dealt with?… Read More
And I was one of the few times that he essentially looked me in the face and said, “I don’t care what kind of rhinos they are, but there will be rhinos in the exhibit when we dedicate that building, or there will be whatever to pay.” So I understood… Read More
And at this time now as assistant director, had you achieved some of those goals were, was the keeper staff being upgraded in the hiring?… Read More