THE BALLOON MAN

Quaker Square sends circus to Michigan

Creator's grand-nephew comes to Akron to reclaim a piece of family, and Northeast Ohio, history

This big top was one of 1400 items that was big business at the Quaker Square auction Courtesy of University of Akron
Monday, May 02, 2011
by WKSU's KABIR BHATIA
James & Miriam Tucker traveled to Quaker Square this weekend to try to re-join the circus. WKSU's Kabir Bhatia has more on the Michigan couple's unusual trek... Quaker Square in Akron was once home to "The Greatest Little Show on Earth," a mini-circus hand-carved by Akron rubber worker Robert Harned. James Tucker is Harned's grand-nephew.
He came to Akron on Saturday to reclaim a miniature replica of family history.
The circus was auctioned by Ron Hickman and Paul Wingard, along with hundreds of the model train pieces that once buzzed throughout Quaker Square when the grain silos were converted into a hotel.
When the University of Akron bought the building in 2007, most of the attractions had been mothballed for years. Tucker didn't even know his great uncle's circus still existed until 2009, when he read an article about the University's refurbishing some of the pieces for display in the former Quaker Oats General Store.
He’s kept tabs on the tag sales since then, but his chance to bring home a piece of family history didn't come till Saturday.
After 7 hours of pieces ranging from custom-built O gauge engines to a wooden Thomas the Tank set, the Harned circus went on the block.
And despite the large crowd, only one other bidder emerged to challenge Tucker.The other bidder disappeared soon after James Tucker spent 12-hundred dollars to bring home two large tents, circus rides, figurines, mini train cars and a table full of spare parts. Once refurbished, Tucker says he plans to donate the working circus to the Henry Ford Museum.