Interview 12083 – Caption Index: 40
And I’m wondering what was like the, what were the cages, the conditions the animals lived in? What was it like?… Read More
And I’m wondering what was like the, what were the cages, the conditions the animals lived in? What was it like?… Read More
Well, it was, as I say, very traditional, the monkey house had bars for all the primates, for the gorillas, bigger bars and some of the other animals, the birdhouse was a lot of cages. For example, the monkey house had 31 exhibits inside. The bear line had a very… Read More
So a little while ago, you mentioned about you’re starting as a summer laborer at Children’s Zoo. Read More
What was the zoo like at that time?… Read More
Well, the zoo was a very traditional zoo, Lincoln Park. It was, had a reptile house. It had a monkey house. It had, which was all the primates, the gorillas, the great apes, everything. It had a bird house. It had a Children’s Zoo. It had a place where the… Read More
Like, “You don’t wanna be a teacher?… Read More
You don’t want to go into research?” I said, “No, I wanna work in the zoo.” And they had no experience and they couldn’t tell me. Read More
I said, “What do I have to do?… Read More
What classes should I take in?” They had no idea. They had no idea because they were strictly academics. And later on in years when I started work at the zoo and I kept in touch with my professors, when they would have students, undergrad students who said, “I wanna… Read More
Well, I knew, I think intuitively that I had to have of education as well as experience here. I was working in the Children’s Zoo in the summer, but I was, I had gone to Southern Illinois University and I gotten my bachelor’s degree, and then I pursued a master’s… Read More
Do you think the university understood about somebody wanting to work in a zoo?… Read More
No. It was interesting because when I was at Southern Illinois University and I would tell my professors that I wanted to work in a zoo, they were aghast. Read More
So what animals were you drawn to?… Read More
Well, I always liked the mammals and I subsequently, although I was always interested in snakes. My first book that I ever got was a 1954 reptile book. I think it was a Zim book from my aunt, my Aunt Jeanette who got me this, I still have it today,… Read More
So what type of schooling did you have?… Read More
Magic is a hobby. Interestingly enough, I always try to sell magic as part because when you do magic, people, you have their attention. And that’s the idea sometimes. You have their attention, you can deliver a story whatever it is. So we worked up when I was at the… Read More
Unfortunately, it never, I couldn’t get it to the right people. Some of the people that thought it was a good idea in education and subsequently left. So it just didn’t have the legs, but still a good idea. But it just, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to use the hobby… Read More
So going back to early age, you talked about you had a first meeting with Marlin Perkins. When I was a kid, I would watch a show called “Zoo Parade” and “Zoo Parade” was filmed live at Lincoln Park Zoo with Marlin Perkins, then the director of Lincoln Park Zoo,… Read More
He said, “If you wanna have fun and enjoy your life, work in a zoo with the animals.” Wise man. He says, “If you wanna wanna make money, don’t work in a zoo.” (interviewer and Mark laughing) Now, Marlin had, I think he’s caking either two, because he was doing… Read More
You see so and so, it’s taken care of.” So I go down there and there’s all the hubbub of kids, and people getting ready for the summer. And I said, “My name is Mark.” I don’t even get my name out. Read More