Interview 24153 – Caption Index: 342
Well, anybody could talk to you at any time?… Read More
Well, anybody could talk to you at any time?… Read More
Well, what was your relationship with the staff and the curators when you came in?… Read More
My relationship, I think, was good, but I may have been kidding myself. Several of the staff were, let’s say, were creating problems. Read More
Did you bring in new people or were the people there doing a job at that level?… Read More
Not really. I should have been, but I wasn’t. I think just some phone calls that were a little scary was all that- Yes. I don’t think it was ever any danger of bodily harm, but people were trying to scare us. (chuckling) Really. (chuckling) We, of course, didn’t know… Read More
No, I don’t think so. I don’t know because I’m not aware of the, I’m not aware of the transactions that go into that sort of, that sort of a build or that sort of a structure. I think people felt, well, people that worked in the zoo that were… Read More
Were you able to, with the help of the police, were you able to solve that particular problem?… Read More
Did you get the police involved?… Read More
Were you ever fearful for yourself or your family?… Read More
Yes, on several occasions. Read More
How did you discover those problems?… Read More
Well, the problems in general were drug. Not being a drug person, I did not welcome that part. Read More
In general, the animals were in fairly good condition. Read More
Was it a good collection in your estimation or representative collection?… Read More
I really can’t remember enough now, enough about the collection to say that. I can’t say it was good, and I certainly can’t say it was bad. But there were problems at the zoo. Yes, there were problems. Read More
And what was some of the first things you thought about doing as zoo director after you saw the condition of the zoo?… Read More
Well, when I went there, there was a long and roundabout train track running, and I don’t think that it should have been that long. I shortened it somewhat, and I think it, it ran better. Read More
What were some of the condition, how was the condition of the animal?… Read More
Darn if I know. (laughing) That’s a great answer. No, I really don’t remember. I remember the Jacksonville Zoo, of course. I really took the zoo under the assumption that I would be keeping my history of zoo running clean and healthy, and that wasn’t to be. Read More
What kind of zoo did you find when you became director?… Read More