John Cuneo's(Hawthorn Mellody Zoo) African Koa, who later went to the Toledo Zoo with Eloise Berthold
John Cuneos(Hawthorn Mellody Zoo) zebra, Candy
Friday, February 20, 2009
Milwaukee Zoological Society banquet-- Pfiser Hotel, 1956
Posted by
Wade G. Burck
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7 comments:
The gentleman petting the polar bear might be the late Ron Blakely.
Ron worked with Mr. Perkins at LPZ, maybe in 1956. He went on to be the Director at Brookfield and completed his zoo career developing the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, KS.
Jim,
Thank you. The caption did say Ron Blakely. I didn't put the name to Ron Blakely of the Sedwick County Zoo. Sedwick is a "hidden gem" in the zoo world. I didn't realize Mr. Blakely had died. When was that? Missouri/Kansas/Illinois sure had a wealth of home spun zoo knowledge.
Wade
Ron died about 10 years ago. He had retired from the Zoo and administration and was enjoying working with animals again. He had a small farm in Cheney, KS with rare domestic breeds of livestock, a special interest of his.
Did you know that he once appeared as Capt. Ronald Blake, America's youngest animal trainer on the Strates carnival working the "untrainable lion". I met him when I was a volunteer at Lincoln Park and he was curator. He went on to Brookfield at a strange time in that Zoo's history after Robert Bean. As you say his development of Sedgwick Co. Zoo is a gem. One consistent theme is to slow the visitor down as they enter a building so they might learn more about the animals and their environment (Animal Kingdom uses the same idea).
He could impress you with some deep, creative thought -- and then tell some silly, slightly "blue" joke ending with his giggle. Another good zoo friend, gone too soon, that I remember fondly.
Jim,
I personally feel that the Zoo Directors/Keepers of that past were very much more dedicated and had a love/passion for their field not found today. They didn't have a stack of degree's in which to try to prove a point. Many of the great, great Directors as you know went the "work the way up the ladder route," which again just, showed their "true" love and dedication. A true rare breed. When you read their books it is like a learning conversation with a good friend, instead of a baffling mystery from Stephen Hawking.
Wade
I don't want to paint with too big a brush but I'm also partial to zoo people of the past. I once heard of a highly educated zoo staffer as the "world's greatest theoretical keeper". I knew all the terms but just couldn't see how the animals were doing or clean the enclosure well.
Correction: It should read "He knew". That's what happens when you write in the morning.
Jim,
I just looked at the second picture, and that is a young John Cuneo walking behind the elephant, Koa.
Wade
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