CLYDE BEATTY-COLE BROS CIRCUS 196O's

FROM BOBBY COX
Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACK IN THE DAY

~~~BACK IN THE DAY~~~
from:  retronaut


1920s:
Cleaning the elephants at Luna Park Zoo

Elephant kneeling on a child at Selig Zoo

early 20th Century:
Pig Cafeteria

1920s:
Los Angeles Alligator Farm

DUELING COUNTY FAIR

Dueling county fairs: It was Winons vs. St. Charles for
host site

The cattle parade at the 1910 Winona County Fair in St. Charles, Minn. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society.)
from:  winonadailynews.com
By Jerome Christenson
July 7, 2013
Get more than three settlers in a county and the arguments would start:
Who raised the fattest hog?
Who grew the tallest corn?
Who bakes the tastiest pies?
There was only one way to find out.
Hold a fair.
Winona County was scarcely four years on the map, a sparsely settled tract of hardwood forest and ridge-top prairie when the first county-wide agricultural exhibition was organized for Oct. 28-29, 1858. Held in Winona, the only sizable settlement in the county, the two-day fair was scheduled after the last of the harvest and before the Mississippi freeze-up closed down commerce with the rest of the country.
Though the weather was less than cooperative, the settlers and townspeople who trekked to the fairgrounds on the western reach of Wabasha’s Prairie — the future locale of the fairways and putting greens of the Westfield Golf Course — were treated to a good look at the county’s stoutest oxen, the fattest, finest barnyard fowl, and news of the latest innovations in frontier agriculture. They enjoyed the chance to mingle and socialize before the onset of another Minnesota winter.

The Grandstand was packed but there was plenty of free parking at the 1910 Winona County Fair in St. Charles, Minn. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society.)
For the next 50 years, the city of Winona would lay claim to the county fair as its right, as the county’s namesake city and dominant center of trade, industry and commerce. But the perceived pretensions of the big town on the river grated on the up and coming communities to the west.
The fair not only brought people and business to town for the run of the annual exhibition, but as the fair was considered by the state to be an occasion to promote agricultural innovations and education, the state provided a subsidy to each county fair association — a subsidy that many in the western farm country began to believe was doing more to benefit the merchants in the city than the farmers in the countryside.
The fair not only brought people and business to town for the run of the annual exhibition, but as the fair was considered by the state to be an occasion to promote agricultural innovations and education, the state provided a subsidy to each county fair association — a subsidy that many in the western farm country began to believe was doing more to benefit the merchants in the city than the farmers in the countryside.

 

Jams, jellies, and other examples of the domestic art on display at the 1910 Winona County Fair in St. Charles, Minn. (Photo courtesy of the Winona County Historical Society.)
The local St. Charles newspaper, the St. Charles Union, charged that the state aid provided the Winona fair “has been drawn for purely local and mercenary affairs in Winona” and agitated for a rival fair to be established.
The issue came to a head in 1910 when on April 2, 25 St. Charles men headed by John J. Speeter, John Frisch and A.R. Huebsch incorporated the Winona County Fair Association dedicated to “promoting agricultural and industrial progress and furnishing a pleasant means of getting together for a good time and the exchange of ideas once each year.”
read more:
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/article_7d41d45c-e690-11e2-8a2a-001a4bcf887a.html
 

FAIR CHANGING NAME

New name for fair is serious business

 

Natalie Reetz and David Abicht place the new Washington State Fair logo on the fairgrounds’ Sky Ride.
PHOTO BY LUI KIT WONG/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
from:  bellinghamherald.com
by C R Roberts, staff writter
July 7, 2013
Newly rebranded Washington State Fair means better recognition, sponsorship outside of regional level
First of all, you’ll need to get that clinging jingle out of your head. It’s the one that begins: “You can do it at a trot, you can do it at a gallop ...”
 As time goes by, no longer will you Do the Puyallup.
 Come September, you’ll be doing the Washington State Fair.
The venerable Valley Fair, as it was named 113 years ago, or the Western Washington Fair, as it became known 100 years ago, or the Puyallup Fair, as it has been known for decades – has been rebranded.
It wasn’t easy.
Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/07/07/3083354/new-name-for-fair-is-serious-business.html#storylink=cpy

from Brooke Evans--Poles and Pulleys for Menagerie Tent

~~~CIRCUS MODEL BUILDING TIPS~~~
FROM BROOKE EVANS

 

tent stakes are cut off apple sticks 



center poles for menagerie guyed out and ready for canvas

pulleys came from blue jacket ship model company they work very nicely

 

 

 

 

UK

Ringmaster Gerald Barclay-Balding: I went to the US an artist and ended up training elephants

 

Gerald Barclay-Balding believes in the joy of the circus (Picture: supplied)
from: metro.co.uk
By Amy Dawson
8 Jul 2013
I’m afraid my involvement with the circus came about entirely via nepotism. Clare Balding is my cousin and our family have been horse dealers and trainers for generations. Our mutual great-great-grandfather sold horses to all the circuses in Britain. Then my father’s cousin co-founded Circus Flora in South Carolina. So the family really does have circus history.
 My bedroom caught fire at 5am one morning in 1985. I kept all the stock for my clothing business in there – and it burned to the ground. I was at a total loss and my family suggested I go to the circus in Charleston for six months, which turned into ten years. There’s nothing better than sitting on a big top on a starry night, drinking a beer after a hard day’s work putting it up.
Circus is a thing of magic. I realised that for two hours you could take people away from their lives and give them something totally joyful, without any angst or depression. There are darker circuses now but, in principle, it’s a thing of wonder.
 I went to the US primarily as an artist, to design props and sets but I ended up training elephants for four years. I spent the summer travelling with Circus Flora then, in winter, worked in Miami zoo. I looked after Flora, the African elephant after which the circus was named, and she’s now a real favourite at an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. I haven’t been to the US in a few years but if I did visit her, she’d know me.
 I started Giffords Circus in 2000 with Nell Gifford and her husband Totti. I was there for seven years but unfortunately I got arthritis. When you’re on top of someone’s caravan trying to fix the electrics in a strong wind, with your fingers like sausages, you take a break. But now, thanks to the National Health Service, I have marvellous new drugs and can go back to the circus.
The thing about the circus is that you wear many, many hats. For example, when I was the ringmaster at Giffords I was also the stage manager, prop designer, puppeteer, electrician, lighting designer and the rigger. But I make a good ringmaster because, basically, I like people and I like communicating with them. The circus has always been the people’s entertainment.
 I’m now married with two children and they will be with us at the Standon Calling People’s Circus this summer. We’ll be looking for everyone’s talents, such as juggling, slackrope walking and setting up some sort of human pyramid thing. If this works nicely, it would be something to take to other festivals.
read more:
http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/08/ringmaster-gerald-barclay-balding-i-went-to-the-us-as-an-artist-and-ended-up-training-elephants-3870295/

las vegas

LAS VEGAS: Fun & Free – Circus Circus Midway

 

Circus Circus Midway features some of the best circus acts in the world for free.
from: blog.pe.com
by Stephanie Holland
July 7, 2013
Las Vegas is a city where there is literally always a show happening. While some of them can run up to $200 a ticket, there is also plenty of free entertainment.
 This week’s entry in the “Fun & Free” series is a throwback to old school Las Vegas. It’s the Circus Circus Midway.
 Yes it’s true, Circus Circus is not as cool or sexy as some of the hotels at the south end of the Strip. However, it does have a lot of appeal if you’re looking for family entertainment.
 The midway is very much like an old school carnival midway with all the games you would expect like the balloon race, darts, ring toss and my personal favorite leap frog.
 Though the games do cost money to play, there is no fee to enter the midway.
 The real free highlight is the circus stage, which features fun circus acts performing daily.
 Some of the world’s best trapeze artists, rollerblading daredevils, silk performers, jugglers, clowns and acrobats can all be seen daily beginning at 11 a.m.
 Even with all my trips to Vegas, I still talk about the one when I was seven years old and won a trunk full of stuffed animals at the Circus Circus Midway. It’s the one I will never forget.

DELAWARE STATE FAIR--

FROM THE DELAWARE STATE NEWS---SUNDAY EDITION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PETA

PETA Finds Itself on Receiving End of Others’ Anger
   

Daphna Nachminovitch, a vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, visited a home with ill-kept pit bulls.

from: nytimes.com

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Published: July 6, 2013

NORFOLK, Va. — Even some supporters do not know what to make of it.

PETA, considered by many to be the highest-profile animal rights group in the country, kills an average of about 2,000 dogs and cats each year at its animal shelter here.

Other animal rescue groups have adopted the no-kill shelter approach, aiming to improve medical treatment at shelters and increase adoption rates to 90 percent.

And the shelter does few adoptions — 19 cats and dogs in 2012 and 24 in 2011, according to state records.

At a time when the major animal protection groups have moved to a “no kill” shelter model, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals remains a holdout, confounding some and incensing others who know the organization as a very vocal advocacy group that does not believe animals should be killed for food, fur coats or leather goods.

This is an organization that on Thanksgiving urges Americans not to eat turkey.

read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/us/peta-finds-itself-on-receiving-end-of-others-anger.html?_r=0

KING CHARLES TROUPE

LOUIS BREWSTER: This circus troupe always hits for the cycle
  The King Charles Basketball Troupe will be spending about a month in Southern California, including Citizens Business Bank Arena. (Courtesy Photo) from: dailybulletin.com

By Louis Brewster Staff Writer
07/06/2013
Kim Anthony Jones - Kip to family, friends and fans of The Greatest Show on Earth - has an unusual description of his life's work with the King Charles Basketball Troupe:
"It has taken a lot of us around the world on one wheel."
Not too shabby for a kid from the Bronx who now spends 48 of 52 weeks on the road atop a unicycle playing basketball. There's shooting, dribbling, passing and even some dunks, all without charging calls or flops perfected by NBA players.
Thanks to their skills, the third generation of the troupe will spend about a month in Southern California playing in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey "Built to Amaze" shows.  

(Courtesy Photo)
They'll be at the Staples Center for seven days (performing 14 shows) beginning July 10 and another five days (10 shows) at Citizen Business Arena in Ontario starting July 19. There should be a receptive crowd at Staples, where some fans are left to wonder who the next big man will be for the purple and gold. One thing is certain: there aren't many who practice more than Jones and his team.
In fact, the troupe will show youngsters at the Pomona Valley Boys and Girls Club at 9:30 a.m. on July 19 how they practice before opening in Ontario. Perhaps there might be someone who will follow in Kip's tire tracks, since it similar as to how he started in Dr. Jerry King's troupe.
read more:
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_23613226/louis-brewster-this-circus-troupe-always-hits-cycle

HARTFORD FIRE

Circus Fire Scrapbook Memorial Project

Survivors share stories to be presented on the 70th anniversary

By NICOLE PEREZ, nmperez@courant.com

The Hartford Courant

July 6, 2013

HARTFORD ——

David Fitzgerald doesn't remember much of the Hartford circus fire that killed his 3-year-old brother.

He remembers the 95-degree temperatures on July 6, 1944. He remembers jumping on a crowded bus with his brother, mother and next-door neighbors to go to the circus. He remembers sitting high on the wooden bleachers, and seeing orange flames to his left. But that's where his memory stops.

"Next thing I knew was I was standing on a pile of sidewalks at a construction company next door, crying for my mother," said Fitzgerald, who was 6 at the time.

He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital to be treated for first-degree burns on his arms, and his father eventually found him there. His mother was in the hospital for three months with third-degree burns, but survived. His brother, James, died; he had shared a hospital bed with another child because there weren't enough beds.

On Saturday, 69 years after the fire, which killed an estimated 168 people and injured another 700, Fitzgerald, armed with photos and books about the fire, attended the Hartford Public Library kickoff for a year-long scrapbook project librarians are starting. Memories from survivors like Fitzgerald will be collected and presented in one large scrapbook next year at the 70th anniversary of the fire.

But for Fitzgerald, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder related to the event, the memories aren't easy.
"Our family didn't talk about it," Fitzgerald said. "I think about it every day, and at first I didn't realize it, but now I do."

Brenda Miller, executive director of the Hartford History Center who spearheaded the project, said she hopes it can help commemorate the experiences of people like Fitzgerald.

read more:

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-circus-fire-scrapbook-20130706,0,6828396.story

BIG APPLE CIRCUS

Big Apple Circus dazzles Charlestown
24 performances in ‘Legendarium: A Journey into the Circus Past’ took the audience back to the days of bygone big tops at Ninigret Park June 22 – July 7.  
Big Apple Circus Ringmaster


Astounding acrobats. The dizzying delights of daredevils. A captivating contortionist.

The Big Apple Circus mesmerized the audience with its 35th season performance ‘Legendarium’ at Ninigret Park in Charlestown June 22 – July 7, 2013.
Providing an intimate, first-hand view of the 24 spectacular acts with no seat more than 50 feet from the magnificent performers, the Circus delivered timeless performances including magnificent animals, soaring aerialists and spirited clowns from another era.

Credit: Gloria So
WPRI-12 

read and see more at:
http://interactives.wpri.com/photomojo/gallery/8114/1/big-apple-circus-dazzles-charlestown/big-apple-circus-ringmaster/

FLOW CIRCUS

Flow Circus, brings magic for Summer Reading 2013
   

Contributed/Flow Circus

Paul Miller has a B.A. in Accounting from Bentley College. After graduating in 1994 he took a job waiting tables and began honing his skills in comedy and the juggling arts. A self-taught juggler and performance artist, his influences include masters of silent film Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplain and physical stand-up comics such as Steve Martin and Robin Williams.
from: scnow.com
Florence County Public Library Release
July 6, 2013
FLORENCE, S.C. -- The Florence County Library System will welcome Flow Circus, a juggler/magician for Summer Reading 2013. This year’s theme “Dig into Reading!” seeks to discover the world and other cultures through reading.
Summer Reading 2013 is funded by Courtyard Marriot, FBi Construction, The Friends of Florence County Library System, Golden K. Kiwanis, Koppers Inc, Nan Ya Plastics, Dr. D. Moss, Nationwide: Hodge, Ethridge Insurance and Finance LLC, South Carolina State Library & Institute of Museum of Library Service, State Farm: Jim Stewart, Target, and Wilcox, Buyck & Williams, P.A.
Through their generous efforts, special programming designed to educate, entertain and inspire children will be held system-wide in keeping with the library system’s mission to promote literacy in Florence County.
The Flow Circus program is a unique blend of juggling and magic that will engage young children and inspire them to READ! He uses a variety of magic, juggling and balloon sculpting techniques throughout his family show.
Children will want to read more about being a magician once they see how much fun they have at a Flow Circus performance.

MOSCOW CIRCUS

Circus fears Inverness road work could end city visits

 

SHOW MUST GO ON: The Moscow State Circus is back in town with concerns over their future siting. Sandy McCook

from: pressandjournal.co.uk
By Jane Candlish
06/07/2013
A world famous circus joined the row over the Inverness west link road yesterday as they raised fears that the controversial transport link could put an end to their visits to the city.
The show will go on for the Moscow State Circus this year but future performances are now uncertain.
Part of their usual site at the rugby pitches at Bught Park is due to be built over as part of the west link proposals.
A world famous circus joined the row over the Inverness west link road yesterday as they raised fears that the controversial transport link could put an end to their visits to the city.
The show will go on for the Moscow State Circus this year but future performances are now uncertain.
Part of their usual site at the rugby pitches at Bught Park is due to be built over as part of the west link proposals.