Monday, August 15, 2005

Polack Bros. Circus 1965/ Jimmy Douglas and "Stella"


This was just about the extent of Stella's activities her first season in Show Biz. So long as she was exposed to crowds, traffic, noise, ect. as my dad used to say " important that they find out what the world contains beside themselves".
Elephants in the background are "Millie" (Millie Ward), "Kathy" (Kathy Goebel), "Opal" (Opal Page) and "Kae" (Kae Johnson). The Polack people that Mac MacDonald had named them after.

Posted by Buckles at 8/15/2005 06:29:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Baby Stella was named after Bessie Polack’s sister, Stella Howell, who was the bookkeeper for the concessions. Stella’s husband, Ev (A.E.) Howell was the purchasing agent. They traveled with the circus from the late 40s until the mid-60s. Mrs. Howell always carried treats in her purse for Baby Stella--something Baby Stella knew. The two always exchanged warm greetings.

23 November, 2005 12:17
Unknown said...

Interesting story - sorry my reply is so far removed in time from your original posting. A.E. and Stella Howell were my dad's aunt and uncle on his Mom's side. I remember them from the early 1950s driving up to meet us in their large Olds 98. Didn't know this detail about the baby elephant'Stella' and that she was Bessie Polack's sister. Any more information in this area woul be greatly appreciated!! David C. Stamm Springfield, VA (703) 405-0831 dstamm@bcfsolutions.net

20 June, 2012 15:56
LJ said...

I was so happy to find your photos with Opal the elephant. When I was a child and went to the circus in Kansas City, Missouri, my grandmother told me that Opal was named after her cousin Opal Killoren Paige, who worked for the circus owners. That was all I knew, until I found your site and some old issues of the Billboard online. Thank you for these photos!

15 March, 2016 15:31

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