And that was one of my first jobs as a summer helper too, was to help bring the zoologist, the animals, so he could talk about them. And the first guy who I did that for was Saul Kitchener. And we had this, we had exotic animals. It wasn’t like… Read More
So how do you move animals that you have to?… Read More
Dairy cows and steers and things like that. Well, if it’s outside of the purview of the zoo, but on Park District land, you have a much freer methodology of moving and replacing animals. So when they had the livestock exposition at the amphitheater, I’m going back years, they would… Read More
Like a milking demonstration, I mean, who thought, you know, who knew, right?… Read More
What about the farm in the zoo?… Read More
What was the purpose of that?… Read More
Well, I think that the purpose at one level was that city kids had no idea where milk came, where eggs come from, and they had no idea about the rural type of farm environment that would as part of their lives, you know, “Where does milk come from?” “The… Read More
Well, I think what Lester Fisher’s vision was, which he started was to try within this small space, wasn’t getting bigger, to try and make better living conditions for the zoo. Read More
And what does that mean?… Read More
Well, it means to expand the spaces of the animals. So there was a lot of building going on, redoing the seal pool, sea lion pool, redoing the center of the zoo, making exhibits for the cats on the north side of the Lion House, which had never had outside… Read More
So they were more a development arm of the zoo?… Read More
At the time, they were. As later years went by and ultimately, the zoo privatized, they, at the time, the Zoo Society was paying half of the operating costs of the zoo. So it wasn’t just friends of the zoo, they were partners. And ultimately, they took over the governance… Read More
So we had talked about this early on at your career, but a few years later, what was the zoo and the exhibits like at that time?… Read More
Is there any significant changes?… Read More
(interviewer laughs) What was the governance of the zoo at the time?… Read More
Well, the zoo was a Park District, division of the Park District, was part of the Park District. So Lester Fisher as director of the zoo answered to the director of special services. So the zoo was under the harbors, the golf courses, the zoo. So Lester Fisher didn’t have… Read More
The Zoo Society started under Marlin Perkins and they were friends of the zoo. They weren’t gigantic and powerful, but they were friends at the zoo. So they were there to help the zoo build, you know, they needed money for the, a new so-and-so exhibit and they were there… Read More
What’s his management style like?… Read More
Les Fisher was a wonderful manager. He was very much hands off. I think he expected you to do a job. He told you to do it and go do it. And he rarely, although he did, micromanage occasionally, but he rarely did. He essentially, which was a wonderful thing. Read More
They were just saying, which is why I got into videotaping and other things because no one told me, “That’s part of your job.” It was, “I wanted to take that on.” And they said, “Fine, go run with it. That’s fine with us.” So they allowed you to expand… Read More