Circus takes center stage in Baraboo
JOSH NOEL
Riding the wheel of destiny at the Circus World museum. (Josh Noel/Chicago Tribune/MCT) In Baraboo, the circus is always in town, both at Circus World museum and the International Clown Hall of Fame. This performer rides the wheel of destiny for spectators at Circus World.
From: leadertelegram.com
By Josh Noel Chicago Tribune
June 1, 2014
BARABOO - Let's begin with the obvious, and most pressing, question: How in the name of Jumbo the Elephant (he's real - look it up) did a south-central Wisconsin town of 12,000 become the circus capital of the world?
It all goes back to five brothers - Al, Alf, Charles, John and Otto - who were raised in Baraboo during the mid-to-late 1800s. They had a knack for juggling, telling jokes, performing skits and engaging in general hilarity.
By 1884, they had sketched out a routine and pitched a tent to create a show that they named for themselves: The Ringling Brothers' Classic and Comic Concert Company.
It wasn't long before the brothers bought covered wagons to take their show on the road, touring southern Wisconsin and much of Illinois with a shorter, punchier name - The Ringling Brothers Circus. Each winter they returned home to Baraboo with their horde of tigers, elephants, wagons and the rest.
Little did the brothers know that their lark would turn their hometown into a place that continues to live and breathe circus 130 years later - and proudly.
"It's not uncommon to see an elephant walking down the street in Baraboo," said Mary Hultman, a Baraboo resident for 15 years, who owns Raven House antiques store. "Which is kind of cool."
"It's not uncommon to see an elephant walking down the street in Baraboo," said Mary Hultman, a Baraboo resident for 15 years, who owns Raven House antiques store. "Which is kind of cool."
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