He wanted to have it a place to help build up sustainable herds. And he saw diminishing numbers of certain species and that obviously made sense for more room and space. I mean, you saw it with, you know… In his case it was things like Bactrian Camels and Père… Read More
I mean, it is night and day what has transpired there over what it’s being used for. I mean, they bring in people from all over the world to learn everything from radio telemetry to some very sophisticated wildlife conservation things. Wemmer did a great job getting things started out… Read More
What was his vision for Front Royal?… Read More
He knew he was gonna have to be open to the public at some point in time. Read More
But what did he want it to be?… Read More
And as it was, it was just him and one officer and they flew in and basically did everything that Nixon had done a month earlier, except he did get some time at the veterinary college there and everything, but it was quite the experience for him. He looked forward… Read More
Can you tell us anything about if you know his philosophy or you know why he wanted to do it?… Read More
It’s the thing that he actually ultimately felt most proud of. He felt early on and had looked for many years. He actually hired people to help look for it. Perry was brought on with the single focus of trying to find some place. Conway even commented when the front… Read More
He always knew it was gonna have to be open to the public to a certain degree at some place in time. That was probably one of the most exciting things for him and actually was part of the cause of his early retirement because of the deer thing out… Read More
You know, he never had any problems because he got the tigers or any thing. I mean, he had some disagreements with (indistinct) in Michigan dealing with white tigers in later years. But they were still friends. I used that as it progressed and evolved and standards changed and so… Read More
Do you think your father was anxious to have those or did he accept that they’re gonna come to the National Zoo, nothing I can do?… Read More
No, he was very anxious. I mean, there were a lot of people that came out that wanted him real bad in addition, but my dad knew all along that the tradition of all national presentations to the children and the president of the United States had always gone to… Read More
His rep?… Read More
Actually, no. I never felt that. Realistic, he had his strengths and weaknesses, I had mine. I knew we were gonna be different type of zoo directors at different zoos. I did have the funny story. I was asked to apply for the job at National Zoo after the Lucy… Read More
I said, “I can’t wait to tell him I got asked.” And I said, “I have absolutely no interest.” Now, your dad was involved, we talked about white alligators. Your dad was involved at the National Zoo and the white tigers for $10,000 were acquired in 1960. Read More
Did he have problems with other zoos because of the tigers?… Read More
Well, how would you like to be remembered, your legacy?… Read More
I used to look at the whole thing, you know, the Sedgwick County Zoo. I’m hoping that people look back and say, you really did some neat things for the community and they feel proud about their zoo, that I helped make it that way with their help. But you… Read More
And the first one is, and this is for you, early in your career, did you ever feel– In your career as a zoo person, did you ever feel overshadowed by your father’s position?… Read More
What do you know about the profession that you have devoted so many years of your life to?… Read More