And I just noticed that we’re running outta money, but the previous administration didn’t. And I mean, I certainly could understand. John was leaving the zoo, and he gave notice and looking for the job and maybe he wasn’t 100% into it. I mean, and maybe that was an annual… Read More
It was noted that, you know, how come I’m the kid here for a month?… Read More
I was, I think totally overwhelmed. I realized, and I remember the dates because it was at the end of the year, shortly after, almost immediately after I took the position, I was reviewing the budget and saw what the spending levels were, that we were gonna run out of… Read More
Were you feeling more confident as you were going along or were you totally overwhelmed?… Read More
Because?… Read More
I lacked the experience. I didn’t think, if you add up all my, excuse me, all my experience at that time, three months, I didn’t have maybe for three or four years total experience in working at a zoo. But yet you were in the position now as director, whether… Read More
Six or less. Okay. And then you find yourself in the position that you are in charge of the zoo. Yes. And you decided right away that this was not what you were interested in. Directorship, absolutely. Read More
Okay, let me back up, just so I understand the timeline, from the time you became general curator to the time the director left is a period of how many months?… Read More
We created additional, we changed the title 10 from zoologist to curators. I mean, we wound up having a curator of mammals, a curator of birds, a curator of education. I mean, we just did wonders in how the zoo grew. We also wound up expanding the zoo, which was… Read More
He had been the director at the Providence Rhode Island Zoo before he came to Evansville, became my new boss, became very friendly with him, close with his family. I remember his wife used to refer to me as her adopted son. I mean, and I would commonly go over… Read More
I’m sure what they said behind my back and what they said to my face were 180 degrees different. I mean, and some of them, I got very close with and very tight with, some of them, I wasn’t their fan. I became more removed from the keeper staff, shortly… Read More
I mean, his cup was half empty all the time. Read More
How did the staff, the general keeper staff react to you becoming the new general curator?… Read More
No, I don’t think so. It was hard to tell with Frank. Yeah, he was, I mean a great guy and new birds like nobody’s business, old school type thing. I mean handling stuff. I mean he could go and grab anything with feathers and make it look easy. But… Read More
Was Frank jealous?… Read More
I probably became general curator when I was 22. And later that year, I’m acting director at 22 years of age. I mean I’m sure there’s other zoo directors have started that way, not that I became a director, but I was still a kid. Read More
Yes, I think we talked about it earlier. It’s one thing knowing somebody and socializing with someone and then working for them, you may get a different opinion. I think he mellowed more when he promoted me ’cause I don’t remember too often. I’d be invited over on a Friday… Read More
Months, I mean, it’s probably within six months, I don’t remember exact timing. I mean very quickly that all of a sudden, actually now that I think about it, I was probably at the zoo about a year because he left, I came there in the fall of 71 and… Read More
When he made your general curator, at the time, did your relationship change?… Read More
Are we talking about months, weeks?… Read More