Zoological Society of Milwaukee County (Wis.).

ABSTRACT: Records of the nonprofit organization established in 1910 to support the Washington Park Zoo and, after its establishment in 1953, its successor, the Milwaukee County Zoo. The records document the zoological society, not the zoo itself,  which is an agency of Milwaukee County government. The collection includes complete minutes of the board of directors as well as less complete files of constitutions and by-laws, committee minutes, general correspondence of society officers and directors, financial records, subject files, reports, publications, and newsclippings.

Coverage of the administrative correspondence is spotty and best on the tenure of George Spaulding as zoo director. Additional correspondence and blueprints document building projects and exhibits constructed during the 1970s and fundraising efforts for the new Milwaukee County Zoo during the 1950s. In general, the records focus on policy, membership, fundraising, public outreach, and development of the animal collection. 

Photographs (PH Milwaukee Mss 204) housed in this collection include images of zoo activities, views of both the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Washington Park Zoo, personnel, and animals and their zoo habitats. Several photographs of the television personality Marlin Perkins are also included in the collection.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Use of the photographs in this collection taken by the Milwaukee Journal or Milwaukee Sentinel photographers is restricted. General research use is unrestricted but use in publications requires that credit be given to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin Historical Society. Fees for publication are divided between the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin Historical Society. 

There are no access restrictions on the rest of the collection, and it is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

SCOPE AND CONTENT: The Zoological Society of Milwaukee County collection was established with two donations of records to the Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society. An initial accession in 1989 established the Society as the Zoological Society’s archive. The majority of the records received at that time dated from the 1970s, although some items dated from the Zoological Society’s beginning. These records are a disparate assortment apparently related only by the fact that they have been retired to storage. The donation included material as varied as form letters from 1911 and monthly bank statements from the 1970s and 1980s. Annual reports were missing or incomplete, and summaries of financial records are sparse prior to 1975. Also, due to inconsistent filing practices, similar material was often located in several places in the collection. The second donation consisted of additional minutes and records from the files of publicist Patty Harrington. These public relations files date from the 1990s, a period not covered by any material in the first donation.  While earlier records tend to be less complete, the collection provides good documentation of the Society’s operations and fundraising in the 1960s and 1970s. Researchers should keep in mind that the collection represents the records of the Zoological Society, a private organization, not the zoo itself, which is an agency of Milwaukee County government.

The records consist of Constitutions and By-laws, Correspondence, Facilities and Exhibits, Financial Records, Governance and Policy Records, Historical Materials, Photographs (PH Milwaukee Mss 204), Publications and Publicity, and  Subject Files.

The Constitutions and By-Laws series contains materials such as the original constitution and the articles of incorporation dating from 1910, when the Washington Park Zoological Society was organized, through various revisions to 1984. Also included in this series is a 1987 organizational chart and lists of officers, members of the board, and committee chairs.

The original donation of zoo records included incomplete files of  Correspondence created by various officers of the Society’s board.  The largest identifiable section pertains to Walter Kroening’s tenure as board member, president, and executive director. Because of its disorder, all the correspondence has been combined into one chronological file regardless of provenance. The early correspondence, approximately 1911 to 1918, derives from the responsibilities of Paul L. Biersach, treasurer, and Frank P. Schumacher, secretary, with isolated items from President Otto L. Kuehn. There is virtually no documentation from the zoo director during this period. The early correspondence discusses themes that will be repeated throughout the Society’s history: fundraising, membership, and acquisition of animals. Correspondence concerning the animals, for example, offers insights into the manner in which the animals were acquired and some of the attendant issues.

Correspondence of the 1920s is fragmentary. Secretary-treasurer Albert Biersach of the Milwaukee Wildlife Protective Society largely created the files of the 1930s. The file includes telegrams and correspondence concerning the acquisition of Alaskan game animals from Director Edmund Heller. The 1940 correspondence includes details on the care and feeding of a pair of giraffes during their transport to Milwaukee from Kenya. The immediate post-war correspondence documents George Speidel's many exchanges concerning animals, relations with other zoological societies, and management issues such as the cost of animal insurance, Speidel’s representation becomes less consistent during the 1950s, while Otto Kuehn and his successors as president of the board of directors become more prominent. Kuehn was an active officer and honorary board member, who used business travel as collection opportunities for the zoo. Documentation of Speidel’s strong leadership includes several letters written from his 1962 African safari. The correspondence of the 1970s is limited also, and most derives from the responsibilities exercised by Walter Kroening.

The Facilities and Exhibits series consists of blueprints and plans, correspondence, contracts, and fundraising files. The focus is on remodeling and improvements made during the 1970s, in particular the cheetah propagation unit, the Children’s Zoo, the Humboldt Penguin Exhibit, and the winter quarters building. There are also detailed records on the construction of the Educational Center. Many of these files reveal additional responsibilities of Walter Kroening as he drew several of the plans. Files and photographs of the Humboldt exhibit and the Monkey Jungle illustrate design techniques used in the fabrication of a few of the naturalistic habitats for which the Milwaukee Zoo is renowned. Files included under the heading “New Zoo planning” represent planning for the fundraising campaign for the new zoo rather than planning for the design and construction of the new facility. Of special interest are the fundraising appeals aimed at individual corporate leaders that were drafted by the consultant, Claire Richardson and Associates.

The Financial Records of the Zoological Society contain only a few document types such as journals, ledgers, and financial and operating statements. Those that are included date primarily from the 1970s. Files of paid bills and checks, which would have been discarded had summary records existed, have been retained and weeded. For the 1920s and 1930s, the checks and paid bills are not solely of financial value because they contain details about the zoo’s animal acquisitions, cost, and information about transport and shipping. Information about animals can also be found in the animal fund records dating from the mid-1950s through the 1970s.

Governance and Policy Records document the formation of administrative policy by the board of directors, by various committees of the society, and by the zoo committee of the Park Commission. The board minutes began with a handwritten volume from 1910 but the remaining minutes were typed. Although the agenda varied over time, each monthly meeting generally included treasurer’s reports of receipts and expenditures, reports of the animals acquired and the purchase costs, information on animal deaths, and lists of new members. From 1931 to 1935, 1944 to 1947, and 1973 to 1977, the animal reports can be found in the Subject Files rather than in the minutes. Additionally, some treasurer’s reports are filed in the Financial Records while others are part of the board minutes. Occasional committee minutes may be found with the board minutes, although most committee minutes are part of the committee records. The Zoological Society began publishing an annual report early in its history; of these early reports the collection includes only those from 1919 to 1928. Annual reports contain director’s reports, financial statements, inventories of the animal collection, lists of members, and photographs. Publication of the annual report ended with the 1928 volume. Thereafter, the annual report was a typed document filed with the minutes of the annual meeting in October. In 1964, board member Walter Kroening re-instituted a published annual report. These reports contained much of the same information as the earlier reports, although in subsequent years the report was sometimes biennial and occasionally even triennial. The 1974 to 1977 report was entitled “Operating Review and Report.”

The Historical Materials series consists of photocopied newsclippings, handwritten notes gathered for a history project that appears not to have been published, and several short histories by society officers Walter Kroening and Otto Kuehn. The notes combine information extracted from meeting minutes of the Zoological Society’s board, dating from 1910 through the 1970s. Interfiled with the notes are photocopies of news stories. No references to correspondence or other zoo records appear in the note files. The history project also searched reports of the Milwaukee Park Commission, the Milwaukee Common Council, and the Milwaukee County Board for information about the zoo. 

The Photographs (PH Milwaukee Mss 204) series contains images of both the Washington Park Zoo and its successor, the Milwaukee County Zoo. The collection includes photographs of zoo personnel, activities and functions, exhibits, and, especially, zoo animals and the habitats in which they were housed. Noteworthy are a few photographs of visits by Marlin Perkins of television's Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.

The Publications and Publicity series documents the society’s longtime concern with publicity and outreach. The alphabetically arranged file of zoo publications may have been a collection gathered by Kroening because of his position as newsletter annual report editor. His newsletter, Animal Talk, is complete from its beginning in 1963 through 1980. Other newsletters, which are less complete, include early titles such as Our Friends at the Zoo, Washington Park Zoo Newsletter, and the Zoo News, also known as Milwaukee Zoo News, as well as the more recent title, Alive. Also included is a collection of guides and brochures, souvenir postcards, maps, and fundraising and membership materials. Of the more scholarly Bulletin of the Washington Park Zoological Society, which was edited by director Edmund Heller, there are only three issues, dating from 1931 to 1933. Further evidence of the society’s focus on outreach is documented by a large number of photocopied clipping scrapbooks and loose clippings that date from the mid-1950s through the mid-1980s. Over the years, the zoo received extensive coverage from the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel, and many of the images in the clippings are also represented elsewhere in the collection by photographic prints. The more recent public relations efforts are documented by two different sets of press releases together with evidence of the resulting news coverage. It is thought that the first set, entitled “summaries,” was prepared by the zoo’s advertising agency and the second version is an in-house compilation.

The Subject Files series includes animal reports, attendance and revenue reports, breeding loans to other zoos, catalogs for wild animal dealers, computer contracts, correspondence, maps, memberships and speeches.   

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: In 1940, Ernest Untermann retired after a controversial tenure as director and was succeeded by George L. Waetjen, who launched a membership-fundraising drive. This program’s success staved off the necessity of charging admission. In 1946, the Society presented a ten-year plan to the County Board of Supervisors that called for relocation to a larger site and development of a modern, naturalistic exhibit facility. George Speidel, son-in-law of Edward Bean and the head of the Racine Zoo, was appointed director in 1947. His career brought additional acclaim to the zoo for its creative and intelligent exhibits. The Society then began plans to replace aging animal collection and buildings.

In 1953, Washington Park Society handed over all its assets to the Zoological Society of Milwaukee County and went out of existence. By the next year the county purchased 165 acres near the fairgrounds for the development of a new larger zoo. By 1956, the society began a private fundraising campaign to improve animal collection while Milwaukee County underwrote the cost of the buildings. In three months over $500,000 was raised, allowing construction to begin on the Monkey House in 1958. The Milwaukee Journal Company underwrote the cost of the zoo train.

In 1963, all animals were moved from Washington Park site, ending a process that had lasted three years. In 1968, the Bisbing Report examined the zoo’s impact on Milwaukee tourism and names the zoo as Wisconsin’s number one tourist attraction. In 1971, the society began fundraising for Children’s Zoo and by 1973 an education department was established. In 1974, the society, in cooperation with the Milwaukee Public Schools, launched the Ed-Zoo-Cation Mobile Laboratory. By 1975, Zoo Pride was established.

In 1978, George Speidel retired and Walter Kroening was named executive director to manage the affairs of the board of directors. In 1979 Gilbert K. Boese was named director. In 1981, Otto L. Kuehn Company became the first corporate member of the zoological society. In 1981, Samson the gorilla, the zoo’s most popular attraction, died at age 33. His sibling, Sambo, died in 1959. In 1984, the zoo purchased Chandar, the White Tiger. In 1987, the zoo opened the dairy complex to educate visitors about the dairy industry.

COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:

Zoological Society of Milwaukee County (Wis.). Records, 1910-2000. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204 and PH Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 204. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.

RELATED COLLECTIONS:

Bender, Walter Henry, 1879-1966. Papers. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection EA)

Millmann, Eugene. d. 1994. Motion pictures. (UWM Manuscript Collection 87)

Milwaukee Humanities Program. Records. (UWM Archival Collection 67)

Milwaukee Journal Stations. Collection. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 203)

Untermann, Ernest. Papers [microform]. (Milwaukee Micro Collection 23)

ACQUISITION: Presented by the Zoological Society of Milwaukee County, via Susan Slater of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1989, and via the Milwaukee Area Research Center in 2002 (accession numbers M89-188, and M03-008).

PROCESSING: Processed by Carolyn Mattern in February 3, 2003.

MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:

• Fund raising--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens (Wis.).
• Washington Park Zoo (Milwaukee, Wis.).
• Washington Park Zoological Society (Milwaukee, Wis.).
• Wild animal collecting.
• Zoos--Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
• Zoos--Wisconsin--Milwaukee--Societies, etc.

PH MILWAUKEE MANUSCRIPT COLLECTION 204	BOX	FOLDER
Activities, 1956, 1979, 1983, undated	2	11
Aerial Views, 1931, 1952-1956, 1960-1964, undated	2	12
Aerial Views, 1956, undated [OVERSIZE: housed in box 32, folder 5 of Milwaukee Mss 204]
Aquatic Animals, undated	1	1
Bears, 1940-1941, 1988-1989, undated	1	2
Birds, 1930-1938, 1953, 1959, 1964-1966, 1973, undated	1	3-4
Bison, 1935, 1958	1	5
Buildings and Grounds, 1930, 1959-1960, 1963-1968, 1986, undated	2	13
Cheetahs, 1951, 1966, 1971, undated	1	6
Deer, undated	1	7
Educational Activities, 1974, 1983, undated	2	14
Elephants, 1941, 1951-1956, 1962-1966, 1978-1979, undated	1	8
Elephants, 1953 [OVERSIZE]	3	1
Exhibits, 1979, undated	2	15
Exhibits, undated [OVERSIZE: housed in box 32, folder 4 of Milwaukee Mss 204]
Gibbons, 1950, 1962-1963, undated	1	9
Giraffes, undated	1	10
Giraffes, undated [OVERSIZE]	3	2
Gorillas, 1960, 1980-1983, undated	1	12
Gorillas, "Samson" and "Sambo", 1950-1953, 1958-1962, 1968, 1980-1981, undated	1	11
Hippopotami, 1952, 1961, undated	1	13
Humboldt Penguin Exhibit, 1977, undated	2	16
Kangaroos, 1960, 1966, undated	1	14
Leopards, 1956, undated	1	15
Lions, 1950, 1957-1959, 1962, 1965, 1972-1973, 1988-1989, undated	1	16
Miscellaneous, 1979, undated [NEGATIVES]	4	4
Miscellaneous, 1983-1984, undated [TRANSPARENCIES]	4	3
Miscellaneous Animal Groups, undated	1	18
Miscellaneous Animals, 1952-1953, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1985, undated	1	17
Miscellaneous Animals, undated [OVERSIZE]	3	3
Miscellaneous People, 1950-1955, 1969, undated [OVERSIZE]	3	4
Miscellaneous People, 1953-1956, 1975-1979, 1983, undated	2	17-18
Monkeys, 1950-1952, 1961-1962, 1967, undated	2	1
Moose, 1954-1955, 1962, 1966, 1969, undated	2	2
Mountain Goats, undated	2	3
"Neptune" (Polar Bear), undated [OVERSIZE: housed in box 32, folder 3 of Milwaukee Mss 204]
Orangutans, 1959, 1966, 1968, 1974, undated	2	4
Perkins, Marlin, 1984, undated	2	19
Polar Bears, 1932, 1945, 1953-1957, 1984-1985, undated	2	5
Rhinoceros, 1954-1958, 1962-1964, 1975, 1985, undated	2	6
Seals, undated	2	7
Snakes, 1948, 1968, undated	2	8
Tapirs, 1964, undated	2	9
Tigers, 1955-1956, undated	2	10
Washington Park, General, 1930-1932, 1941, 1950, 1959-1963, undated	4	2
Washington Park, General, undated [OVERSIZE]	3	6
Washington Park, Monkey Island, 1926, 1951-1961, 1966, undated	4	1
Washington Park, Monkey Island, 1951, 1955, undated [OVERSIZE]	3	5
Zoo Train, 1957-1959, 1966, 1977, 1982, undated	2	20

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URL: http://www.uwm.edu/Libraries/arch/findaids/mss204.htm
Last edited on Monday, January 24,  2005.
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