William Woodcock Sr. #3

This defiant pose pretty well tells the story. As a child he could remember with exact detail all the traveling shows that came to Hot Springs. This picture was taken when he worked as a stage hand at the Opera House. His favorite stage productions were the "Ben Hur" troups that would often bring in horses that actually raced on a treadmill. The inevitable finally happened, he took of with the Rhoda Royal Circus in 1920 at the age of 16 but was promptly returned and sent to a Military Academy in Bellbuckle, Tennessee however the die was cast and before long he was back on the road taking care of two camels with Ringling Bros-Barnum $ Bailey Circus.