THE BALLOON MAN

Opening circus to calliope music


 

Myron Duffield, known as the “Calliope King of the World”, will open tonight for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Columbus. Here the former Middleport resident entertains at the Sternwheel Festival in Pomeroy.
by Charlene Hoeflich
choeflich@mydailysentinel.som
May 17, 2012
MIDDLEPORT — It took almost 40 years, but Middleport native and longtime resident Myron Duffield has finally made it to the top — the “big top” that is.

The “Calliope King of the World” will play the calliope he built so many years ago for 20 minutes in a warm-up session prior to the main performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus tonight when it opens in Columbus for a four-day run.

For about 40 years, Duffield has traveled around the country pulling a flatbed trailer on which was mounted his beautiful red and gold circus wagon housing the calliope. He built it many years ago from old calliope parts he picked up here and there.

Over the years, the jovial performer has driven thousands of miles, played at hundreds of fairs and festivals and participated in as many or more parades, including one down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D. C. Duffield was always accompanied by his wife, June, who drove the vehicle in parades as her husband played the calliope. They never seemed to tire of all the traveling.

Growing up in Middleport, Duffield remembers running down to the bank of the Ohio River when he heard calliope music coming from one of the big boats traveling through the Bend area. The music he heard so long ago made such an impression on him as a young lad that it inspired a lifetime hobby of not only playing and entertaining others with calliope music, but of restoring and building unique musical instruments including the calliope.

Duffield’s fascination with the river and the boats traveling up and down led the couple back to Middleport after he retired a number of years ago. Then a couple of years ago because of some health problems, the couple moved to Gahanna to be closer to family members.

Tonight as the melodic strains of calliope music float across the arena to open the show, Duffield, long known as the “Calliope King of the World,” will surely feel that he has reached a pinnacle of places to play — the circus