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
Change another guard. Yeah. Yeah. Read More
They had little plaques and you put them up and stuff. So I made, I had to kill time. It was just a boring job. So I made, I named a lot of the animals after my friends and family and stuff like that. Well done. Well done. So I’d… Read More
Oh absolutely. Absolutely. Read More
And Les Fisher was the director still at this time?… Read More
He was. Read More
I was just heartbroken. Read More
And I just, I remember going to Lester Fisher and I said, “Is there something I can do?… Read More
Or how can I make myself better if there’s a next time?” And so forth, ’cause I really wanted the job. And then serendipitously, as I say, everybody gets to the same place, different road, another zoologist left. Now, there was another zoologist position. And so I applied for that… Read More
And which was a wonderful thing. He taught me a ton of things, talk about it, but I was, and, but then you got the drudge work too. So they had a machine that was make signs. They called it engravograph and they, you had to make the signs. So… Read More
Yeah. Well, I enjoyed being a keeper. And as I look back on it, the more you rise in any position, the less you are in touch with what brought you into it. And so if you are the, a lawyer and you like trial law, and now, you’re running… Read More
How do you get it?… Read More