And then after that I sold all these animals. And talk about having your fingers crossed. I hope to hell the animals were there in Holland, and they were. He put ’em on the boat, and they came in. Harry Overbaugh met the shipment in time, and they met me… Read More
Finally they got him settled down enough where he was gonna fly home with Frans. They got to the airport and Frans was, was a as normal as could be expected. And his brother went to go check their… We were sitting in the motel, sitting in the restaurant at… Read More
He went totally off the rocker. He went totally nuts. I called his brother in. I think it was Han, but I don’t… Oh, hell. In San Diego. His brother was also an importer and ran a totally different importing business in Europe. Totally different, but still in animals. Read More
He was kind of talkative in wild, wild terms. I was used to him. I thought he spent the night at a motel downtown. I got a phone call the next morning, wanted to know, “Do you know a Frans van den Brink?” And I said, “Sure, he’s my partner… Read More
Yes, temporarily. When he came back, when he came back from the deal, the city I made my deal with him was Oklahoma City, I think. And he left Oklahoma City after I did. I got home, and I got word that Frans was coming. And he showed up. She… Read More
That was the first shipment I sold. That dealer, that deal put me in business. I didn’t have to sell anything else for months. I did, but I didn’t have to. Read More
I have forgotten. Truthfully, I do not remember how many elephants there were, something like 10 or 12, but a lot of other things. Harry unloaded them all and left all six trucks across the country. And I knew they were safe. Absolutely sure. And they got there. My God. Read More
And did you continue your relationship with van den Brink?… Read More
New York?… Read More
All right, they came in, the shipment came in to New York from Holland. I don’t know why, but I was in Jackson, Mississippi. God only knows why at that point. But I got a phone call in Jackson saying the boat is landing in Providence, Rhode Island or. Read More
I drove all night. My wife and I got back in Bradenton. I got a flight to New York, slept on the plane going up, the boat was in, and I got there. Got the elephants partially unloaded. I was waiting for Harry Overbaugh. Harry is a special character, special… Read More
What were some of the things you had to think about?… Read More
How are we going to get ’em there? (laughing) How did you get ’em there?… Read More
Were there a lot of logistics involved in bringing that kind of shipment?… Read More
Sure, sure. Read More
After I left the zoo in Evansville and came down here, I didn’t sell anything for six or eight months, six months, I would say. I made a trip to California and had an appointment with a guy who was involved in building the next Lion Country Safari out there. Read More
I quoted a price and he said, “Let’s see. Let’s see now. What else do we want?” And he went down the list. I walked out of his office with a signed order for an incredible amount of money. It was 15 something. And I don’t remember precisely how much,… Read More
So you were dealing with elephants that were coming from van den Brink. Yes. Yes, to Canada, to the West Coast. That’s a totally different, different matter. Read More
You were gonna tell me the wallaby story. I’ve forgotten what I was gonna show you. But we’ll get back. We’ll get back. Read More
Some names that I remember are the Fred Zeehandelaar, Charles Chase, International Animal Exchange. I mean- International Animal Exchange was a serious competitor. Did far more more business than I did. Bill Chase was a competitor, certainly, but a fairly good, honest competitor. The people in Michigan, animal dealers, were… Read More