Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Fairyland Circus 1962


I sure like this picture. I think that's Obert riding next to the teamster.
I had always thought that Obert wanted to return one final time, to his happiest days when his show was small.

Posted by Buckles at 3/01/2006 06:05:00 AM

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Buckles are you sure of the Date on this picture. I was on Fairyland in 62. We had no sideshow or hitches. Obert and Mary had an Airstream Trailer pulled by Marys Caddy. Obert said it was the best season he ever had. Not one break down. Margret was the elephant. There was a very large family of Husband, wife and 11 kids and Gene Garner and Myself. Ted Bowmmen was the office manager.

01 March, 2006 07:53
Anonymous said...

Maybe it was 63. I know it was Oberts last show and he loved it. I forgot a young man who was on his break from college for the Summer who was our electrician. Another couple ran the consession truck. Obert worked his ponys and I worked his poodles. Gene and I were to work our baby lions Sarah and Babe but they got too big and powerful to work with out an arena.

01 March, 2006 08:17
Buckles said...

I never saw the show and have to depend on second hand information but I have listed in 1962 Dale Madden with his elephant "Topsy" (former Ringling elephant).
Then in 1963 "Margaret" and "Gypsy" (no idea where Gypsy came from) I am led to believe at the close of the "63 season both elephants sold to Mexico.

01 March, 2006 08:28
Buckles said...

Weren't all the Rawls' folks with Fairyland?

01 March, 2006 08:32
Anonymous said...

Rawls was the family. I remember a baby elephant. Gene and I with Margret were the elephant act. "Remember the big POOP act. Have never heard of a Dale Madden. You and Barbara showed up after I blew the show to take the lions back to Hugo. I have a newspaper that shows a Fairyland Circus with all kinds of acts that never appeared. On this paper are pictures of Pat Jamison, Eloise, Herta and myself. All are supposed to be Empress Leota. ME I worked all the animal acts shown but not on Fairyland. Oberts show was only out that one year. Very confussing[?] Are the Rawls still around? He was the anouncer and also performed with his kids. Gene and Margret went to Mexico after the Ocean Spring thing. Alone with our animals.

01 March, 2006 08:52
Buckles said...

One of the Rawls kids owns the show you saw Roy and Cindi Wells on last summer.

01 March, 2006 09:06
Anonymous said...

Now does this make me old or what? He would know the date and all. I would never have guessed this was the little boy who did the Trampoline act with his brothers. His sister and I did the WEB. The other girls did LADDER. His MOM had just had the youngest boy and did not work at the opening show under the tent. She later did WEB. I wish I had know he was the Owner of Kelly Miller now. His Mom and Dad had planned on 12 kids but the last one was the Straw that broke the Camels back is what his mom told me. I am so glad you told me this.

01 March, 2006 09:22
Anonymous said...

Rebecca, how small was the show as you remember it? i've heard lots of references to Fairyland, but I think this is the first time I'm seen photos. Was it a single ring? It looks so "cute."

01 March, 2006 09:34
Anonymous said...

It was the perfect little one ring circus. A real family affair. I do have some pictures of Margret and me, but can not find them in this pile of circus memos. I will make a serious search for them today. I also forgot to mention we did not have a cook house. We played very small towns in the midwestand was were close enough to town to eat off lot.

01 March, 2006 09:47
Anonymous said...

Just one more funny thing. Then I have to let the dogs out. Mr Rawls [the dad] was watching a couple of his kids playing with a mister potato head. He had a weird look on his face. He told me the kids did not know how hard they had to work for that potato. It struck me funny at the time. Now I understand what he ment.

01 March, 2006 09:51
Anonymous said...

I remember D.R. telling me that he always wanted the show to get bigger, but Obert wanted a smaller show. He said that Obert wanted to frame a show with 6 trucks, 6 horses, etc., so he put Fairyland on the road.

01 March, 2006 20:35
Anonymous said...

These Fairyland photos bring back memories. Caught the show over a couple of days in Iowa in '63. Was one ring, maybe two. Front end included a side show (managed by Harry Rawls). I believe the show was out at least three seasons (1962-64).

There's no doubt that Obert had fun with this (he was in his late 70s at the time?) The story goes that D.R. quietly subsidized the operation which kept the nut artificially low. Anyway, thanks for this little nugget of circus history.

01 March, 2006 22:11
Buckles said...

Possibly, but I remember a conversation between D.R., Ben Davenport and my dad in the Hugo winter quarters office. When asked what his best season was, Ben said 1948 and added there was leakage here and there but there was in excess of $100,000 left in the office wagon at the end of the season.
After Ben left D.R. said that was a disappointing figure since all during the War years and well after the Kelly-Miller Show netted nearly twice that much but added it had to be cut three ways.
My point is that Obert was not an extravagant man and bank rolling the little Fairyland Show shouldn't have been a problem.

02 March, 2006 07:22
Anonymous said...

Could Fairyland have gone out without Obert? As I remember it he only did the one year with the Rawls, Gene and Rebecca Garner. That is the only year I can comment on as thats the year I was on Fairyland. Ted went on to run Carson and Barnes Office, Gene, I think spent a couple of years there according to a route book before Mexico. I have never seen a route book for Fairyland Circus.

02 March, 2006 08:07
Anonymous said...

Obert always looked like a little man in a suit several sizes too big for him. He carried two suitcases with him at all times on Fairyland. I don't think he needed any subsidizing as these suitcases were full of hard cold cash. He did not trust banks or I should say a certain person who would have access to his bank account. Nuf Ced

02 March, 2006 18:26
Anonymous said...

I just read a Bandwagon artical about Fairyland Circus. I did not know Obert Miller took it out twice. 62 and 63 I also read where William Woodcock Sr trained Prince Obert for Fairyland Circus. The Rawls were on both shows and one did have a side show. I get my dates mixed up. There was a completely different lineup from the year I was on.

04 March, 2006 20:51

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)