In 2021, Shrewsbury writer Diane Key-Biggs and Kirkwood illustrator Shelley Dietrichs published “A Friend to All – Charlie Hoessle.”
By Don Corrigan
Anyone baking a cake for Charlie Hoessle needs to be ready with 95 candles. They also need to know that the St. Louis Zoo legend will be more interested in talking about snakes, than cakes, on his March 20 birthday.
“Snakes really launched my career,” said Hoessle. “When I was a kid, I read every snake book I could put my hands on. My mother said if I spent as much time reading my school textbooks, as my snake books, I might amount to something.”
Hoessle did amount to something. Marlin Perkins, former Saint Louis Zoo director, recognized something special in Hoessle, and hired him as zoo reptile keeper in 1963. Hoessle rose through the ranks to become director himself from 1982 to 2000.
“Actually, it was Perkins’ wife who brought me to the attention of Marlin,” explained Hoessle.“I had a pet shop in Affton where I sold snakes. She came to my talk on reptiles at the old science center at Oak Knoll.
“I had a lot of fun and I told the ladies they could pet my boa constrictor at the door at the end of my talk,” recalled Hoessle. “But one lady in the front row was making me nervous taking lots of notes. She turned out to be Perkins’ wife and she told him to hire me.”
That’s how Hoessle got started at the Zoo, but it wasn’t easy to let go of his popular pet shop. He did well with birds and tropical fish, but things really took off when he started selling garter snakes and boa constrictors.
“Baby boa constrictors are actually pretty gentle and interesting,” said Hoessle. “I even had some strippers from the East Side who came to the pet store and wanted them for their acts. I had to order them special because the ladies wanted them to be six to eight feet.”
Hoessle has more reptile stories than you could shake a snake at. When he was in the Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, he collected the five species of rattlesnakes in the area, and kept them in an outdoor shed.
“We lived on post, in a small trailer. A cold front came through and I snuck the snakes into the trailer and hid them under the bed,” he explained. “After midnight, the wind shook the trailer and the snakes got concerned.
“This woke my wife, who made me take them out, so I hid them in the community bathhouse,” recalled Hoessle. “The next day, I had to get a pass from my commanding officer to take the snakes to the nearest zoo.”
There’s a big upside to this story. The zoo traded the rattlers for a large snake that became Hoessle’s first pet boa constrictor. The rattler incident got him a lecture gig for troops on the post about snake bite prevention.
Wildlife Education
Hoessle has always enjoyed lecturing about wildlife. This passion fired up his interest in starting the Zoo’s education department, which continues to serve thousands of students each year.
An education interest also inspired his following in the footsteps of Perkins with his “Wild Kingdom” television fame. Hoessle put together and hosted the “St. Louis Zoo Show,” a weekly television program that ran from 1968 to 1978.
With endangered species, loss of habitat, and environmental concerns, Hoessle said Americans need more education and awareness about wildlife and conservation – more than ever before.
“To really get the most out of life, I really feel you have to develop a relationship with nature and creatures,” said Hoessle. “Young people especially need to learn how to treat and live in harmony with animals.”
Awards for his work are numerous and include three honorary doctorate degrees for his contributions to wildlife conservation and education. He is past president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
In 2015, he was named 2015 Sunset Hills Historian of the Year. He remains active with local historical society. He said his interest in Sunset Hills is driven by his interest in the Meramec River which borders the city.
“The Meramec has served human needs for centuries going back to the Osage tribe,” said Hoessle. “That river also has been a great place for fish and fowl. Eagles make nests along its shores to this day.”
Hoessle used to take walks along the Meramec with his wife, Marilyn, at Minnie Ha Ha Park in Sunset Hills. His hiking companion passed away this summer, but Hoessle hopes to dedicate a plaque to his wife at a river lookout at the park, where he still hikes.
Webster Groves Connection
Hoessle has a strong connection to Webster Groves. He participates in two weekly coffee klatch groups, one at Straub’s Market in Old Webster and another at the Starbucks in Old Orchard.
“I started swimming at the Webster Y in the early 1970s, before going to the zoo,” said Hoessle. “I stopped for coffee on the way with a group of retired ‘old guys.’
“The old guys died off, so we made a co-ed group. I’ve visited every Webster coffee shop,” Hoessle added. “My coffee groups have grown and it’s mostly women now, which is fine with me.”
Hoessle has had two birthday parties, including one at Friendship Village, where he now lives in an apartment with distinctive decorations involving wildlife representations and travel collectables.
“My sons, Brad from Colorado and Kirk from Alaska, were in for a birthday party earlier this month,” said Hoessle. “My daughters, Maureen and Tracy, both retired teachers, will have a birthday party for me on March 20.”
According to Hoessle, you can never have too many birthday parties, too many coffee klatches, or too many nature sites to visit. He still drives to his favorite nature sites regularly.
“I really like Claire Gempp Davidson Memorial Conservation Area, which is close to me here in Sunset Hills,” said Hoessle. “I like visiting all the turtles there. And, after all, they’re reptiles, too, like my snakes.”
Environmental Echo 