Well, yeah, but before I had an assistant director, I started with a zoologist, we got run Blakely and was a zoologist when he graduated from Michigan state and I was able to get a title in the budget, and I thought we’d better start with somebody and train them… Read More
That was Richie Allan, Rich was a good head keeper, type fellow, and he made the guys to the mark. And when he told him something, he reinforced it with a four finger, and now you remember, he had a pretty strong German accent and he was a good guy,… Read More
So you really started to acquire professional people, when you were here at Lincoln Park Zoo, am I correct that the first assistant director was under you?… Read More
Was that gentleman Richie Allan?… Read More
I found an old time city zoo that had grown up just like Topsy, and if you look at the old records of the Lincoln Park Zoo, you will see that somebody gave a bear to the zoo, or to the park. Actually, the first animals in the zoo, according… Read More
Oh, I had many words of wisdom from Floyd, he gave me a lot of background on the zoo itself, and how the Chicago Park District operates and all the various departments, such as the electrical department is separate, and they were, at that time, I suppose they may still… Read More
What kind of zoo did you find when you came to Lincoln Park?… Read More
Did he give you any words of wisdom when he handed things over or?… Read More
Well, when you started at Lincoln Park Zoo, you took over from what former director?… Read More
Oh, well it was Floyd Young who was the director who was retiring, and George Donahue came to Buffalo, he was the General Superintendent of the Chicago Park District, and he came to Buffalo and interviewed me and asked me then to come to Chicago for further conference here, about… Read More
I started here in 1944, and I had just come from the Buffalo Zoo, Buffalo New York, where I was the curator, but in Buffalo the curator is really the director, or he was in those days, the old English term, and before that I was a curator of reptiles… Read More
When did they start Marlin, when did you start at Lincoln Park?… Read More
Marlin Perkins, Director Emeritus at Lincoln Park Zoo, and also the St. Louis Zoo. We’re gonna be talking today to Marlin about his days at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Read More
But these should be natural parts of the operations of these institutions in my view, but my own personal time is a bit divided at the moment between the global effort for the amphibians, the local efforts, and a think tank thinking about humanity’s relationships with the rest of the… Read More
What do you know about it?… Read More
(George chuckling) In terms what do I know about the zoological part field as a profession at this juncture, I don’t feel I’m as closely attuned to the thinking of various leaders as they should be. I’m devoting more efforts to the external reach to conservation efforts at all levels… Read More
Ultimately, what do you know about it?… Read More
George, how would you like to be remembered?… Read More
(George chuckles) Fondly, I would like to be remembered but I indicated earlier that one of the functions I tried to perform was true mentoring and facilitating as my career developed. I remember very much my mentor at the Charleston Museum and my stimulation early in the Lumberton High School. Read More
Well, my successor at Brookfield has posited an additional rung on the latter of the “Evolution of Zoos.” And that’s really more in terms of inspiring conservation leadership in the generations to come. And I think that’s an extension of the Conservation Center concept, but it’s being placed as an… Read More