Interview 9511 – Caption Index: 339
Why did I become interested in conservation so early?… Read More
Why did I become interested in conservation so early?… Read More
Every time I could get, when I was at the zoo, every time I could get time, I was out looking at wildlife. It was no mystery to me that wildlife was disappearing at the areas where I started looking at wildlife, had been developed. One of my favorite snake… Read More
The St. Louis Zoo was an interesting place, it was one of the very few circus zoos in existence. It didn’t call itself a circus zoo but it actually had animal acts. It had elephant shows, lion shows and chimpanzee shows. They were all done quite professionally, but almost all… Read More
You said you were starting to think about conservation, even then, what things were prompting you to think about conservation at your early age, what were you seeing that was germinating and starting to germinate for you about conservation?… Read More
Did he have strengths and weaknesses that– He had very interesting political strengths and made me aware of their necessity. And he loved animals. He was not a sociologist, not a naturalist, and the zoo world was different, the whole world was different. When George Vierheller started at the St. Read More
Based on what you know now, as you look back, what was St. Louis Zoo like at that time that you were working there?… Read More
George Vierheller was the director of the St. Louis Zoo when I was there. And he was there for many, many years, quite a famous zoo director. His own career started in an interesting way. He was a telegraph operator. In the old days, when you had to know Morse… Read More
Did you learn from him?… Read More
How old were you when you were curator at the St. Louis Zoo. Well, early 20s and I came to New York when I was 26 or 27, 27, I think. Read More
And when you were at St. Louis, the director was who?… Read More
And did that graduate to a keeper job?… Read More
Eventually the curator of ornithology, the bird curator left for another position in another zoo, and I was offered the bird curators job and I jumped at it. And that was really when my work as a curator began. And I was at the zoo for a good many years… Read More
Did they actually paid you and how did you get that first paying position?… Read More
I suppose my first position at the St. Louis Zoo was, a paid position, was as a summer keeper. And then I also had a position at the zoo running a refreshment stand, learning the business end of the zoo. Read More
My zoo career started because of my constant visitation and discussions with keepers and eventually the curator and they all encouraged me, and I think that encouragement came about to some extent, because I was willing to work. And so I became a volunteer keeper. And this was before the… Read More
What was your first position?… Read More
You have this great interest, how did the zoo career actually start that?… Read More
As a child, I had a great many very patient pets. They ranged from a baby alligator that somebody gave me to box turtles my mother would pick up on the highway when she was in the process of keeping them from being killed and became a collection in my… Read More
It was an absolutely marvelous place to grow up, there was so much wildlife. Read More
Did you bring snakes home?… Read More