Oh yeah. We started… Obviously the ones that we went out in the community. You know, we had a skunk and a rabbit and snakes. Some owls. There were some injured animals that the zoo would take in, so we would use those as props. Eventually we did some keeper… Read More
Well some of my priorities were given to me from those above. And how you had to fit into the system. I think that was my hardest part was learning how to work within a system. But I really wanted to expand the educational part of it. I knew as… Read More
What did the education department consist of when you started as a director?… Read More
Oh, as director. I think when I was director there was an education curator. They had hired an education curator. And we had some volunteers. So we did expand and tried to get some more volunteers. Some that helped in the animal department, but some that also then helped in… Read More
I just wanted to keep expanding it. And. Read More
Did you have any priorities that you want to try and start with now that you’re the boss?… Read More
Zoo Manager. At that time politically wise there was only one director in the park district system ’cause we were ruled or budgeted under a park district system. So there was one director and this was a Zoo Manager. And at the time you took over. Were you forming a… Read More
Did you have any kind of philosophy about zoo management that now that you’re the boss you wanted to move forward?… Read More
I think more than anything I wanted to continue the flow of what it was and make the zoo a little bit more prominent. Within the Park district system. I just didn’t want it to be. A little side piece. I was more invested in and had a passion for. Read More
Well I was encouraged to apply. Chuck said I should apply. But I wanted to keep growing in the business. ‘Cause I was getting, by that time I was getting involved in some of the… With the record keeping and looking forward to what else AZA was doing, and other… Read More
So it just seemed like the natural next step. Read More
And was the position called Zoo Director or something else?… Read More
How did you decide that I want to now run this place?… Read More
And. You decide. Read More
And how did that come about?… Read More
So you had to take care of everything?… Read More
I had basically half the zoo. I was, the way it was set up, the zoo actually looked like a big candy cane. The way it was shaped. And the front half had the birds in this big area up front. Some small mammals. So I had all of that… Read More
Maybe – oh, margays. And then the outside area. The curator also had to assume keeper duties too. Otherwise we’d have never gotten done. Because you’d come in at 8 o’clock and you had to be ready and open by 10 o’clock. So it was a push. So ultimately you’re… Read More
What else?… Read More
Few hoof stock, you know, but. And eagles. We had eagles. But that was about it. It was very tiny. Read More