Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Al G. Barnes blow down #1 (Big Timber, Mont. 7/14/25)


I have quite a few pictures of this blow down and subsequent shots of the show working outdoors without a big top which I will show tomorrow. The photographers name is Tobias Tyler and must have traveled with the show since his series covers about a week.
Unfortunately these pictures present more questions than answers. Could they have had a blow down in Big Timber and then again two days later in Bozeman? If the big top was still erect in Bozeman on the 16th, why was it necessary to show outdoors in Sunburst, Mont. on the 19th?

How many viewers of this Blog have ever been in a blow down? I have experienced four.

Posted by Buckles at 7/19/2006 06:41:00 AM

16 comments:

Bob Cline said...

I've got caught in two. One I was hospitalized in Maine on Circus Kirk when they thought I ruptured my spleen. The other was several years ago during a fair when it flattened the midway joints in Va.
Bob

19 July, 2006 07:14
Anonymous said...

I have never been in a Blow Down & have often wondered why there was not much mention of these happening( not a pleasant topic - but the knowledge of how to prepare & react to such an experience is important )especialy these Tornados etc. we see on TV News lately . Certainly a TERRIFING DISTRUCTIVE EXPERENCE !

19 July, 2006 07:29
Anonymous said...

Carson and Barnes, 198..something. Sorry, can't remember exact year. La Junta, CO. Between shows, the sky turned black. It was very still; suddenly, a blast of wind tore through the mountains. No rain. I looked out my window just in time to see the tent (which was being hit broadside by this wind) flop once,twice, and a third time which sent 3/4 of this huge tent sailing straight up-a sight to behold. No people or animals were injured, though a quarter pole was driven through the roof of the K-Bob's Steak House next to the lot. Shortly after, as D.R. Miller was surveying the surrealistic scene of torn big top, damaged equipment, and general chaotic MESS, he simply said,"Hmm. Looks like the show's going to be a little late tonight." I thought he was kidding. But to my amazement, after a couple of hours with everyone pitching in, we sidewalled it and I saw he was right. The evening show began 20 minutes late-to a packed house.

19 July, 2006 07:33
Anonymous said...

We had a partial blowdown on Hoxie in '72. I believe the only casualty was John Herriott who was hit in the head with a flying quarter pole. Another was Kelly Brothers tent, which flipped completely inside out and was left draped over half the show trucks.

19 July, 2006 07:55
Anonymous said...

The photographer was really named Tobias Tyler?? Toby Tyler was a real person????cc

19 July, 2006 08:10
Buckles said...

That's the name in the lower right hand corner of the picture but he may have been a local photographer.

19 July, 2006 08:47
Anonymous said...

2 blowdowns here. Once in Bolivia when the brand new inflatable big top (bet you've never seen one of those)got caught in high winds and got snagged on the high wire rigging. One side of the stake line held, and the rest stood straight up flapping and cracking like a whip. This happened one day after the opening of the brand new show. Needless to say, the owner (and the rest of us too) lost our asses on that venture.
The next was stateside and the whole show spent many days sewing canvas after that one.

19 July, 2006 09:14
Anonymous said...

Blowdown at Powell Wyoming on June 30 1926. Took down the horse tents and cookhouse after the matinee.Sideshow top came down in the following cloudburst.Big top ripped up from storm. Toby took photos of this,and the following day at Red Lodge,Mont. with everything out in the open. I have photos of when he was on other shows in the 20's.
Pete Holmes

19 July, 2006 11:06
Anonymous said...

I was in the audience when the Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. tent blew down in Auburn, NY in 1968. It was a very scary experience. It had been a beautiful day and then a storm came off the lake after the evening show started. I knew something was wrong when I realized that they were pulling a John Robinson and shortening all of the acts. I can still close my eyes and see the tent puff up, poles swinging in the air, the crowd standing and screaming, the band playing and then the next thing it blows to one side covering half of the people. It was raining so hard the water was up to your ankles and the thunder and lightning was everywhere. Thankfully no one was killed and there were only a few injurie. It could have been worse as the elephants had been performing maybe 5 minutes before the blow down. As it was, some of the bulls ran away from the lot. My dad was working on the police force then and he said they got strange calls from people seeing an elephant in their yard. Quite a night to remember.

19 July, 2006 11:58
Anonymous said...

I've Been in three blow downs with little Bob Stevens' show in the state of Co.. That is where I learned to baseball stich and splice rope also I've been in a couple of fall downs.
That's when the stake driver is out of order and the stakes are not down far enough.Oh one more in pueblo a ten day date on Circo Atayde in 24 hours thay brought another tent from Mexico City I think it was 1980

19 July, 2006 12:44
Buckles said...

I once heard D.R. say that he hated having a marquee since they were built like parachutes and usually the first thing to blow away.

19 July, 2006 14:05
Ned said...

have had several blow down at the Great Circus parade was always a chore trying to keep a eye on all the tents but when something did happen it was rally the troops and things got put back together
had one interesting happening at CWM was setting up for the new season and had a late snow storm which brought the big top down caught a few workers under the canvas but no one was injured

19 July, 2006 14:18
Anonymous said...

We lost our top somewhere in NC but it was an "almost" memory that still brings a smile. Wind & rain came on very suddenly - got the audience out of the top-some ran up a ramp into a pony truck that some of the working crummied up in - we put up the ramp to move it - started throwing storm stakes out, etc. Anyway, kind of forgot about those people. They had to be in that smelly old truck for almost an hour before I remembered and let them out. cc

19 July, 2006 16:06
Anonymous said...

Toby Tyler was a well known clown in the 1920s. He took many good photos.

19 July, 2006 17:09
Anonymous said...

we nearly lost the marquee the other night after the wind took the pony sweep, and that was well before the tornado siren. I think one gent got clobbered by a sidepole. Anchored to a truck the marquee could only go so far. My dad lost a tent to a blow down when he leased it to a Xmas tree vendor in the 70's. The wind knocked it down and the trees inside tore the hell out of it. I think that one was only a 60 X 120, so the tree sellers could at least crawl out.

19 July, 2006 20:09
Anonymous said...

I've been in two blow downs. In 1973 on Circus Williams (owned by Carl Conley- my uncle) and on Carson and Barnes in 1978. Also I think we were visiting Circus World Museum in the 70s and their tent blew down.
Maria Vonderheid

19 July, 2006 20:54

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