Friday, June 09, 2006

Sandy and Bert Pettus 1962


These are the Widaman Elephants now owned by Larry Higgins and called the Downie Bros. Elephants since Higgins claimed to own the Downie title.
"Zetta", "Peggy" and "Dorothy", they were later sold to Hubert Castle.

Posted by Buckles at 6/09/2006 06:51:00 AM

6 comments:

Bob Cline said...

Buckles,
I have an 8 x 10 of the Downie Bros elephants. How long was this title used before being sold to Hubert castle?
Bob

09 June, 2006 07:56
Buckles said...

Higgins only owned them for two seasons 1962 and '63. They went to Castle in 1964.

09 June, 2006 08:01
Anonymous said...

Did Castle have a winter quarters? Where did he keep the animals for his circus?

09 June, 2006 08:34
Anonymous said...

Hubert Castle had a very nice WQ in Seagoville,Texas.
Bert Pettus went with those elephants to the Castle show.I came along as cat groom for Red Hartman about 1977,at that time PeeWee Pinson was the elephant man and the elephants were,Zeta,Peggy,Jan ,Bunnie and Marie
Others may be able to fill in the inbetween changes
1978 Gary Thomas took over the Elephant Dept. and stayed with the elephants through the change from the Hubert Castle Circus to the Tarzan Zerbini Circus
Dorothy was gone when I came along,many years later Zeta was retired and died,I believe at Miami Zoo,Peggy passed away last winter

09 June, 2006 09:31
Anonymous said...

I went with Bert and Marie for the arrival at Dallas Love Field for a baby elephant who soon died. Hubert got another and astounded Bert by wanting to name it Bunnie. Bunnie for an elephant? Hubert insisted, since Bunnie was Mary Castle's nickname as a kid.

Bert and Hubert had a very contentious relationship, and Bert quit at the end of the '73 season. He had his trailer hooked up and kept his engine running until Mary came out to pay us. He and Marie collected their pay, Mary and Marie hugged and cried and Bert and Marie were gone. That's when Pee Wee Pinson came in.

Hubert Castle was the name invented and given the star wire-walker by John Ringling North. His birth name was James Albert Hal Smith, and he was out of Enid, Oklahoma.

09 June, 2006 18:06
Anonymous said...

after Bert thir was a gent by the name of Wally Deal prior to Pee Wee he was thir a short time and was replaced after indnapolis Wally also was on the Hamid heard a short time

11 June, 2006 14:49

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