The Monday After: Stark couple's circus love story
This lift was in the large repertoire of William and Eva Loos when they performed together in a circus act.
By Gary Brown
CantonRep.com staff writer
Feb 13, 2012
The late William and Eva Loos of Alliance found love to be like a circus act. Actually, it was a circus act — performed in tents throughout North America, Central America, South America and the British West Indies.
A yellowed clipping from a 1922 Buenos Aires newspaper explains their “iron jaw” and “slack wire” act in these words:
“Mr. Loos and his lady partner perform all kinds of different stunts upon a slack wire which is held all the time in the teeth of Mr. Loos and, when his lady presents the finish of her act in which her body revolves at the rate of 160 revolutions a minute, there is a strain upon the teeth of Mr. Loos which represents the weight of several full-grown persons.”
That, indeed, is love.
And as Valentine’s Day approaches, it is appropriate, perhaps, to recall the interesting start to the relationship of these two circus performers.
LOVING A PARADE
The Canton-born William Loos and Eva Dannenburg of Schenectady, N.Y., met in a circus parade in Birmingham, Texas.
“We paid no attention to each other when we first met,” said Eva Loos in a story published in The Repository in December 1961, recognizing their 50th anniversary. “But we soon realized that if we were together, everything was fine, and we’ve felt that way ever since.”
The two became engaged when the circus reached Paw Paw, Mich. Then, on Dec. 22, 1911, when the circus was in Mayo, Fla., they were married, with the ceremony and reception attended by “100 carnival and city officials,” the 1961 article noted.
“Our romance was not smooth. The Sanger Circus, with whom we were traveling, was a pretty famous outfit in those days,” Eva Loos recalled for the Repository reporter who wrote the article. “They had a strict rule against their performers fraternizing, and every time my husband was caught talking to me, he was fined $5.”
They talked much. The tally of fines mounted. Mrs. Loos left the Sanger operation and joined a Florida carnival. Her husband was reunited with her when his contract with the circus ended.
GETTING A START
Eva Loos had begun performing with a circus when she was 17, the article noted.
“She answered a Schenectady newspaper advertisement in 1904 and was hired to lecture on a circus personality,” the article reported. “As the show traveled across the country, fellow performers took an interest in her and taught her a dance routine. She soon had an act of her own.
A yellowed clipping from a 1922 Buenos Aires newspaper explains their “iron jaw” and “slack wire” act in these words:
“Mr. Loos and his lady partner perform all kinds of different stunts upon a slack wire which is held all the time in the teeth of Mr. Loos and, when his lady presents the finish of her act in which her body revolves at the rate of 160 revolutions a minute, there is a strain upon the teeth of Mr. Loos which represents the weight of several full-grown persons.”
That, indeed, is love.
And as Valentine’s Day approaches, it is appropriate, perhaps, to recall the interesting start to the relationship of these two circus performers.
LOVING A PARADE
The Canton-born William Loos and Eva Dannenburg of Schenectady, N.Y., met in a circus parade in Birmingham, Texas.
“We paid no attention to each other when we first met,” said Eva Loos in a story published in The Repository in December 1961, recognizing their 50th anniversary. “But we soon realized that if we were together, everything was fine, and we’ve felt that way ever since.”
The two became engaged when the circus reached Paw Paw, Mich. Then, on Dec. 22, 1911, when the circus was in Mayo, Fla., they were married, with the ceremony and reception attended by “100 carnival and city officials,” the 1961 article noted.
“Our romance was not smooth. The Sanger Circus, with whom we were traveling, was a pretty famous outfit in those days,” Eva Loos recalled for the Repository reporter who wrote the article. “They had a strict rule against their performers fraternizing, and every time my husband was caught talking to me, he was fined $5.”
They talked much. The tally of fines mounted. Mrs. Loos left the Sanger operation and joined a Florida carnival. Her husband was reunited with her when his contract with the circus ended.
GETTING A START
Eva Loos had begun performing with a circus when she was 17, the article noted.
“She answered a Schenectady newspaper advertisement in 1904 and was hired to lecture on a circus personality,” the article reported. “As the show traveled across the country, fellow performers took an interest in her and taught her a dance routine. She soon had an act of her own.
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