At that time, we didn’t have a full-time veterinarian in Cincinnati. We had to do a lot of the veterinary work ourselves. So I went in with another individual and we gave the animal an enema, and Clarence is on the outside and he’s watching me do this. And the… Read More
What made you say I want to go there?… Read More
Well, my first, when I went in for an interview, my first impression of the zoo was not a very good one. They used to have an annual event called the home and food show, and they would have barkers, they would have canoe salesmen. The first night, it was… Read More
But I came back the following morning and walked around the zoo and I saw a lot of potential. It was a nice hilly atmosphere. It was great for building new exhibits. It was well landscaped. It had some fairly interesting animals, animals I had not had an opportunity in… Read More
I had not had an opportunity, giraffe at that time we did not keep in Lincoln Park. So it was a great place. It had a lot of new animals and the grounds, I saw potential. It was bad at that time, so I decided I’m gonna take the job. Read More
Well, my predecessor Bill Hoff was the assistant director in Lincoln Park. He was under Marlin. I worked very closely with Bill over the years, far closer to build an I did Marlin. Marlin was obviously the larger figure. Bill had an opportunity to obtain the directorship. He applied for… Read More
The animals were mistreated. The collection was, it was somewhat, they had some interesting animals, but it was an amalgamation of ducks and goats and sheep, and a lot of domestic animals and under very poor conditions. The zoo literally run down. I mean, we had to replace windows literally… Read More
And I remember it was, he sent me a job that, it was gonna be a challenge for $7,200 a year was a magnificent salary increase I remember at that time. Read More
I started Lincoln Park Zoo, I believe it was in 1955, and I probably spent at least six years in that position. Well, I’ll tell you exactly because I went to- I left for Cincinnati in 1961. Okay, now let’s talk about that. Read More
How did you come to leave Lincoln Park Zoo?… Read More
Why did you leave?… Read More
Where did you go?… Read More
So when you were at Lincoln Park, what were the challenges you faced as a keeper and as the head of this children’s zoo?… Read More
Well, the challenges again were, the minute you opened the doors of a children’s- The early design of the children’s zoo was one large building with a few small outside areas. Eventually they developed a larger outdoor area, but the challenge is the minute you open those doors and let… Read More
What were the years that you were at Lincoln Park Zoo?… Read More
What did you start thinking about on that level of keeping them healthy and diet?… Read More
Well, when I started Lincoln Park, I was very fortunate, actually to get into the Veldt area because I also, part of my job was the commissary and we had to prepare foods for animals. So I knew where all the foods were going when animals were eating. I enjoyed,… Read More
I mean, things like potholes and galagos really had no business in the children’s zoo the way I thought about it, but they were specifically animals that he was interested in, animals that were difficult in many ways to keep and breed, so I learned a lot about a variety… Read More
And you’ve mentioned some of his strengths. Read More
Weaknesses?… Read More