Hey! I was on the Detroit Zoo tag and saw that your sister is the penguin keeper. I was wondering if you could tell me what degree(s) she had to get that job? :) — huronchai
My sister is the best, isn’t she? I am continually amazed that she gets to take care of penguins everyday. That said, it is apparently a really tough job. Those big penguins can be really mean, and she is all bruised up from where they hit her with their flippers. She once told me that they bite her, hold on, and then beat her with their dumb little flipper arms.
Apparently you just need a bachelors degree in Zoology or Biology, plus animal care experience. Lindsay personally has a B.S. in Zoology with specialization in Zoo and Aquarium Science from Michigan State University. She also has a Masters in Zoo and Aquarium Management with a Business Skills certification. It’s called a Pro M.S. degree because she took extra business classes.
If you haven’t read about my sister’s amazing vintage Detroit Zoo collection, you can here.
-Erin
Fave Find: Detroit Zoo Memorabilia
You’ve seen a lot of Sarah’s and my “fave finds”, but recently I visited my sister’s house and realized she had a whole treasure trove of amazing collectibles. Lindsay has been mentioned on this blog before, and if you don’t remember, she is the penguin keeper at the Detroit Zoo. Her vintage and antique collection is centered mainly on old Detroit Zoo memorabilia, and also general zoo related items. I hadn’t been to her house in awhile, and was super impressed by the way she displayed all of her finds.
This old library cabinet is the perfect way to display all of her zoology books and collectibles. Sarah and I see these cabinets all the time at sales and they are usually around $300-$400. Lindsay lucked out and got this for free when she found it thrown out in the trash. She painted it the white color I believe.
This shadow box has an old Detroit Zoo charm bracelet and vintage pins. It also has old “zoo keys.”
“Zoo keys,” I believe, are from the 1960s or 70s and were given to children to use around the zoo in “talking storybooks.” These “storybooks” were basically signs that played audio when a key was inserted. Very cool and very cute!
Old programs are fun to collect but often hard to display. They usually end up in stacks on a bookshelf or in a drawer. Timmy displays old baseball programs in a table with a glass top so you can see all of the program covers. Lindsay, as you can see, framed her programs.
So what is Lindsay’s ultimate fave find?
This old scrapbook was put out by the Detroit Free Press. It came empty, and each week children were encouraged to cut out different zoo photos from the Sunday paper to fill it. Lindsay was lucky to find a copy of this in which some diligent child filled the entire thing!
I love this scrapbook because it is so indicative of a bygone era. I imagine a little kid waiting for the paperboy to swing by so they could collect their next zoo photo. Adorable.
Again, if you have a “fave find,” we want to hear about it! Visit us on our Facebook page and post a photo!
-Erin
Fave Find: Folk Art Carvings
The same day that Zach and I scored those Briggs treasures, we swung by another sale and bought two items that are now “fave finds” of mine.
When we arrived at the sale, I instantly noticed all of these wood carvings. They were ADORABLE. The woman running the sale informed me that the deceased owner of the estate had been quite the woodworker. He made all of these figures and sold them throughout his life.
I was immediately happy that I was going to be able to buy some of these, but also MEGA SAD that the family of this man didn’t want to keep these. I started to stress out that all of these figures would be thrown in the trash when the sale ended.
Unfortunately I couldn’t buy all of these guys because they were kind of pricey! Originally they were $15-20 each! Since it was Sunday, and the last day of the sale, they were all around $5-10.
The first guy I found was this skiing rabbit:
If there are two things I love, they are skiing and rabbits.
Next I found this country singer lady:
Look at that little cowboy hat she is holding! This is truly the greatest thing of all time.
Here is another view:
These carvings make me so happy. They are funny and cute…important characteristics of any fave find.
What’s funny is I was writing this post and dropping it in our queue about the same time that our friend over at Monkeybox Blog was writing this great post about her own folk art collection. I’m glad to see some fellow admiration for the effort that goes into woodcarving. Very cool.
Ok, so last thing. This is too hilarious not to mention. When Zach and I left this sale, we noticed this yard:
And then this crazy guy ACROSS THE STREET AND IN A DITCH:
Penguin on the run!
Ok and for good measure, here is an old photo of me with a real penguin:
-Erin