The last building was, three major buildings, last building was built in 1929. So the buildings were not in great shape. The county couldn’t afford to upgrade them and had to decide what to do with the zoo and they couldn’t expand in Washington Park, because so many other activities… Read More
His father-in-law was Ed Bean. (chuckles) And Ed had left Milwaukee after 20 years and became director here at Brookfield, at the Brookfield Zoo and helped build the Brookfield Zoo, which is why many of the exhibits look very much like those in the Milwaukee Zoo. So George and so… Read More
Then left the position and then a new director came in?… Read More
Basically, before then, they had just taken donations when they did the, and mostly birds and small things. And they, Washington Park, boy, Washington Park was annexed to the City of Milwaukee. Boy, it’s complicated, but it was just an old farm, so, they were just taking care of the… Read More
Yes, well, I mean, I knew going into Milwaukee that it was going to be a difficult, they had a very strange organizational structure. The Milwaukee County Zoo started in 1910. Well, no, started in the late 1800s. And when the zoo started, it was part of the City of… Read More
And when you were acting general curator and then general curator, were you able to make changes?… Read More
Did you see, now I can implement some things that I think should be happening, ’cause I’ve been at the place a little while, or from my experience at National Zoo, or was it difficult?… Read More
I don’t, well, I was still responsible for all the scheduling of everybody. Bruce was in charge of all the construction, so they were getting ready to redo the, build the Great Ape House and redo the primate house at the time. I was still just getting my feet wet. Read More
When you got there, how long after you got there were you acting general curator?… Read More
Yeah, I was just in charge of large mammal, of large mammals at the time. I think, I don’t know, but, they hired a curator of primates and small mammals. And I don’t remember where that was before. That must’ve been before I became curator of large mammals, ’cause that… Read More
Within a year. Read More
(Elizabeth sighs) Was it after?… Read More
(Elizabeth chuckles) So as the curator of large mammals, you were in a different position regarding your job?… Read More
May have been after Boese left as director. They reorganized and I became, they abolished the title of general curator and I became the curator of large mammals, which was great, because as general curator, I was, you know, I was, they could fire me, gimme 30 days notice and… Read More
So you had the title as general curator?… Read More
I was general curator. Read More
And, let’s see, when did the change happen?… Read More
Did you apply for the job?… Read More
This was a year after I had started, so. Read More
Well, I had to apply for the job. So, yeah, I did apply for the job, but I started interviewing around in case, you know, I didn’t get the job. So I interviewed at Central Park Zoo, Jim Murtaugh, who I had worked with at the, who was a keeper… Read More