And Warren got in trouble because he imported four orangutans from Indonesia and did not have the blessing of the Wild Animal Propagation Committee when he did it. And so they called him to go before the board and this was shortly after I’d gone to Brownsville. And so this… Read More
So what was your relationship with Warren?… Read More
So we’d have to hurry up and get together a temporary facility until our regular facility was ready. And that bothered me a lot because I was at that time, the veterinarian that had to make sure that these animals were properly cared for. And in many instances, I know… Read More
Well, what’s an example of what he taught you about management that helped you in your career?… Read More
Well, first thing he taught me was know your subject, research it well to be sure that if you were gonna propose something, that it had a proper Foundation behind it. And then to go ahead with it. I think where I learned from his actions was yes, once you… Read More
Warren Thomas was one of the most interesting men I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. He had a photographic memory. He could read a chapter in a book and a week later someone would ask him something about it and he could quote what that book said about… Read More
And he didn’t care if there were proper procedures that maybe he should have gone through. If he saw a way to get the job done quicker, he did it. And sometime this got him into trouble with the various entities that he was employed by. So he taught me… Read More
Could you tell us a little bit about his working style and how well did you mesh with him?… Read More
We had a union there, but it was not a strong union. So it was a typical municipal zoo. We had to write purchase orders out to buy light bulbs and toilet paper for the restrooms and things like this. It was a lot of mundane paperwork involved with it. Read More
You mentioned that Dr. Warren Thomas was director of the zoo when you first arrived there. Read More
What were they both like, what you left and what you came to?… Read More
Columbus Zoo when I was there was totally different than it is today. It’s probably one of the models that we should use about municipal politically run zoo versus a zoological society operated private sector zoo. And then of course the Columbus Zoo has had a boon with Jack Hannah… Read More
So I guess that gives you what to answers your question about how did my wife like it there?… Read More
My children did well there in school. I still have one daughter that lives in the Rio Grande valley. My other daughter lives in Atlanta because she married a man from Atlanta after she was transferred there. She worked for Macy’s and they transferred her to Atlanta. She married a… Read More
Brownsville, Texas was to me an easy transition because I liked the Texas attitude and that’s pretty much, leave me alone, I’ll do my thing. You do your thing. And there wasn’t a lot of interference on things. At that time, I was married to my first wife for 18… Read More
So to me, moving from Ohio to Brownsville, Texas was not a problem at all. My wife after, we were divorced in 1979, immediately moved back to Ohio. Read More
How’d your wife feel?… Read More
I had a Foundation that was willing to provide financially for the major needs of the zoo. I had a very supportive board of directors and it was run by a zoological society, not by a city. So I didn’t have to put up with the city bureaucracy. And as… Read More
Was it difficult to move from the Midwest to Brownsville, Texas, which is certainly different from Midwest?… Read More
Well now, without mentioning names, does any memorable story come up to you?… Read More