When I first came there for many years, I was not in the chain of command. My position there was advisory. I mean, I think they called it advisory to the head keeper or assistant keep and senior keepers. I had no direct reports and I would be keeping the… Read More
How did your management style change at all, from Mesker Park?… Read More
He would openly listen to keeper, he would listen to people, for their input in terms of changes and things that’s going on. and he was able to implement or change, initially when he first got there, in terms of acquiring animals or reacquisitioning them, no animal could be moved… Read More
Saul, as I’ve said, I thought, he was my best mentor. He knew animals and he knew management And contacts and he knew the zoo business. And Saul originally said when he came to the zoo, the zoo at San Francisco always had a reputation that there would be an… Read More
What was Saul’s management style?… Read More
At the zoo, I mean, how they would wind up, you seen these wheel barrels of food, stuff coming off the truck, that was Safeway, instead of throwing up, we were picking up. There were a few standards at the zoo, cleaning standards. It though when Saul first got there,… Read More
What was the depressing part initially?… Read More
Well, the family at the time was just she and two old English sheep dogs. And she was from Evansville, but she was willing, very willing and able to move to San Francisco. That wasn’t an issue at the time. The biggest issue was finding housing in San Francisco because… Read More
So how did your family take to the news, we’re going to San Francisco?… Read More
And this keeper got so mad at me because you know, he was talking about, this is a treat. That’s something special for them. We don’t want you upstart young kids coming here and disrupting the place. I mean, he was just so down on me and it certainly spread… Read More
Is that really necessary?… Read More
And I remember I said something to him, I go, do we really have to feed the Oreos?… Read More
So they’d give us apples, but they’d also give us baked goods and meat and all kinds of stuff. And I remember I moments in history that stand out in one’s mind. I was walking with this long term keeper and he had his wheelbarrow full of produce, mixed produce… Read More
And they probably had almost 20 species of primate all in the exact same cage in the exact facility. And what boggled my mind at that time was how they would feed the animals. They would wind up, the keeper would wind up, going to the commissary, get a wheelbarrow. Read More
I mean, once again, the keepers, there was primarily male, white male, probably 80%. There were a few women keepers at those days and some minorities, but it was most of them, most of the men were long term forties to fifties, maybe some, even 60 year old keepers that… Read More
They certainly, it existed in the culture, the politic, the whole nature of San Francisco. And I remember having a conversation with Saul, I mean, talking about the what’s like working at the zoo and working for the city and all the what’s about, and he was explicit in talking… Read More
Because A I had to leave Evansville, I was never happy with Evansville itself. I was raised in Chicago, I liked a bigger city environment. The idea of coming to San Francisco, certainly peaked my interest. And the thought of working for Saul, I thought would be absolutely great. I… Read More
Yet again, being in the right place at the right time, when I knew I was losing my job, that it was being eliminated, I initially started talking to people and looking to see what’s available. And Saul, who I worked with at Lincoln Park had become the director of… Read More
You were told that your job was being eliminated from the Mesker Park Zoo, and you’re looking for a job or how did your next job come about?… Read More
So your experience, seeing other things that zoos help develop this?… Read More