Interview 14794 – Caption Index: 169
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
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
I still, I guess, my thinking at the time that Frank would’ve gotten the job, ’cause he had oodles more experience than me. But when it came literally overnight, he tells me, Mike you’re the general curator. I mean, and he said that he had concerns about Frank, that his… Read More
I was so lucky to being at the right place at the right time at that point in my career, I applied for neither one, for neither the zoologist job or the general curator’s job. I mean, literally they were handed to me. I mean, I wanna say that John… Read More
There was no evolution that I guess you can call it evolution or enlightening?… Read More
How do you see it?… Read More
We’re gonna talk a little about your evolution to general curator, but how do you see your evolution from the zoologist to general curator?… Read More
How did that kind of evolve?… Read More
But, you know, I mean, I’m sure it’s happened to many zoo people. You just react to a situation hopefully it works out well and there’s no problem. Read More