I think it goes back to the idea of training people to do a better job, giving them the information to do a better job. And this Smithsonian through the National Zoo had a program of zoo management. They would go out and they would teach a month long zoo… Read More
There was a lot of things going on. And because, I guess, I didn’t screw up too much in doing it, the next year, they asked me to lead a team to Mexico, to Guadalajara to do the same thing. So again, we did that. And then the next year,… Read More
These are forgive the pun, big deals. When we received the koalas that was again, took a long time to get in a lot of people to make happen. Some of those, when we put together unique things with the African Journey building, that was a high point. It was… Read More
So this way, in order to build that base to do what needed to get done so they could do a better job. Those were high points. I think low points at the zoo were when you couldn’t reach certain staff members to do the best job they could. You… Read More
And here I’m thinking, “Gee, I told them they shouldn’t get the horse and now, I gotta do this.” And it was very difficult kind of thing, the circumstances for doing it. So that was kind of a low point for me from the animal management standpoint. But for the… Read More
How’d that come about? And what was your role?… Read More
And as I say, somebody had to say, “I think this is needed.” Someone else had to say, “I think it’s a great idea and I think we can make it happen.” Yeah. So this is an interesting thing. You’ve held now five different positions at Lincoln Park Zoo. Read More
Just curious, did you ever think of leaving Lincoln Park Zoo and going somewhere else?… Read More
I think, at times, kind of yes. But the pleasant’s problem as we would say is that the zoo was always doing some very dramatic, dynamic things. The building was constantly ongoing with Lester Fisher started, and I was always involved because a lot of it was the mammals, not… Read More
So I think that was some of the things that stopped me in a way, in a good way, I think, from going somewhere else, but lending my expertise to that kind of job responsibility and continuing to wanna do it at Lincoln Park. Yeah. I have spent my whole… Read More
Is there ever gonna be enough money to get them to the right conference?… Read More
To learn, or we talk to visit the other zoos to get that exposure to these professional things. And we talked about it and I think she felt that it was a good idea. And she put money aside to the Lincoln Park Zoo for the Mark Rosenthal Keeper Fund,… Read More
All of those things we were able to incorporate within that building, not everything of course, but a lot of these different ideas that have been seen that were positive because of the Regenstein African Journey being built, we were able to put those into effect. So that was a… Read More
Yeah. Yeah. Well said. So moving on, your final position before you retired, you become the Abra Prentice Wilkin Curator of Large Mammals as an endowed chair. Read More
Is this a newer position or a continuation of your previous job?… Read More
Well, I think what had happened was that there was, looking at the position maybe a bit differently and trying to use some development ideas for assisting the zoo. They went to Abra Prentice Wilkin who was a life member of the board and a big supporter of Lincoln Park… Read More
She asked me what I felt was something that was needed if I could do something for the zoo. And I always felt that the professional development, the professional growth of the animal keepers was so very important because they’re the backbone of the animal management of the zoo. Read More
This changing a little bit, but this certainly affects you in this newer position. During the late 1960s, early 70s, the face of Americans zoos are changing. So between things like federal legislation and burgeoning interest in animals and endangered species, zoos had to adapt to survive. Read More
How did Lincoln Park Zoo change and continue to respond to such pressure?… Read More
Well, I think that Lincoln Park, and I’d like to say a number of zoos, we weren’t so unique, but I think Lincoln Park and the staff at the zoo understood what was going on and the need to get with the times, and to make sure that all the… Read More