I’m trying to recall how our interaction was during that time with Marlin. I’m sure that he helped me know a little bit about how the Park District operated and how the zoo fitted into the operation, but Marlin was not there much. Marlin was almost a person non-grata or… Read More
But there was no question that there was no strong friendly rapport from that moment on between him and the park commissioners. And I think part of his going to St. Louis was that they in a sense were aware of this history and bought the package, he was going… Read More
During that time that you were with Marlin in this transition, did he give you any other advice?… Read More
And the practice, sat down with the people at the practice and told them that I’d like to kind of take a leave of absence if you will, to try this zoo job. And hopefully if it didn’t work out that I could come back to the practice. So that’s… Read More
“And you’ve got a good practice, “and why would you wanna change?” And I said, “Marlin, same reason you’re in it. “I just think the concept of being full-time with a zoo, “and the zoo collection would be something “that I think I’d like to try to do.” So I… Read More
Mr. McFetridge was a very well-known and well-regarded labor leader in Chicago. He is good friend of mayor Daley’s, and he was not a man that you’d keep waiting if he wanted to see you. So I didn’t know for sure why he wanted to see me, and got down… Read More
I said, “You know, I think I’m gonna apply for that job “that Marlin Perkins had, and just see what happens.” And so I went down and talked to people at the Park District, and said, “I think I’d like to apply for Marlin’s position.” And when I told him… Read More
One day when I was doing my visit to the zoo, Marlin proceeded to tell me goodbye, and told me he’s going back to St. Louis. Marlin had started his career there, went from St. Louis to Buffalo, Buffalo, Chicago, and now back to St. Louis. And he was going… Read More
Back man meaning surgery, I love surgery and enjoyed it. And it made more sense that I was interacting with clients out in front and the animal, the patients. And so some of those zest of, or the challenge, I guess, of practice diminished. And I got to thinking, “You… Read More
Dan of course, must have painted some wondrous stories about that night. And the, so the keepers thought, well, maybe I’m not such a bad guy after all as a doctor. And I think it helped my rapport with the future interactions in dealing with medical issues during that period… Read More
And somehow I told him that I was on my way to the zoo on an emergency. And he thought that was a good story and started to give me a hard time, and I convinced him it was for real. So he followed me from that point on, on… Read More
And Dan proceeded to give me the story that she was trying to have her baby and couldn’t. And I proceeded to assess the situation, and finally Dan and I were able to rope her, and he was able to confine her to one part of the stall. And I… Read More
And momentarily I was in trouble, I was able to brace my foot against the front of the cage. And as I recall it, I think I yelled and one of the keepers was within shouting distance, and he came and somehow helped distract the animal and it let go,… Read More
Did you have any dangerous situations that you would Marlin, as a part-time vet had to deal with in that kind of respect?… Read More
I don’t think I ever had a dangerous situation that I can recall in the years that Marlin was there, and I worked around the collection. We had dangerous animals to work with, but I was never in a position, in the Old Cat House and the Lion Hose, when… Read More
So I guess I would have to say that Bushman was a animal that was an important part of my early life. I can look back on night calls to the Old Monkey House two, three in the morning that I’d have to go there to look at some sick… Read More
I think Bushman was certainly, early on in my zoo career, the number one patient that I got involved with because of his fame and his stature, he was physically an exciting animal. If he wanted to come and move in his cage from the back toward the front, and… Read More
And therefore, if they had some animals and the swans are animals, they might’ve been considered a zoo before we were, I don’t know what the collection was at Central Park at that moment, and maybe it was just the birds. But that’s at least when we say our collection… Read More
You mentioned Bushman, was he your most important patient, your biggest challenge?… Read More
And then we try to give some medicine and food or threw some liquid and hope that he would come to the front of the cage and take the food and the medicine. I think that at the north end of the zoo, we had an old barn that was… Read More