Monday, October 16, 2006

Ladies of the steel arena #5


scan0350, originally uploaded by buckleswoodcock.

Eloise Berchtold with Rudy Bros. Circus 1973

Posted by Buckles at 10/16/2006 07:30:00 AM

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The very best picture I have seen of ELOISE. She looks beautiful here.

16 October, 2006 08:29
Anonymous said...

There was a well known circus fan from Ossining NY, by the name of Paul Neff, who was very good friends with Eloise.
Paul worked for IBM back in the days when a computer was the size of a railroad car.

One day he was assigned to list all the holidays for IBM employess, which he did on a piece of paper that he placed in the out box on his desk. Paul had also made a note on a similar piece of paper of Eloise Berchtold's birthday for himself.

While he was at lunch, an office employee picked up Paul's listing of holidays, and he noticed the note on Eloise's birthday. He must have thought this was included in the IMB days off, and took it with him. The info got taken to the computer room and programed into the company system.

For about 2 months, Eloise's birthday was an official IBM company holiday!

16 October, 2006 16:39
Anonymous said...

Among the best memories of the '73 season, are those of Eloise being with us on Castle, April 26-29, in Indianapolis. We had long visits during our cage cleaning in the mornings, between shows, and in the backyard those few nights. We walked off the lot to a little diner for coffee a time or two, and I remain grateful for all I learned from her. After this date, I never saw her again.

16 October, 2006 18:43
Anonymous said...

I was a cage boy for Eloise in l973. that was a rough year for both her and Morgan Berry. Had a elephant run in Indy at the Shrine Circus. and again in Boston and Milwaukee .I left in Oct of that year at the end of the season with Rudy Bros. I went on to train a group of male 9 lions at my home in Indiana,talking with Eloise every night. She talked me through it. Then Morgan talked me into selling it to a Mexican circus, Eloise was so mad at me that she did not talk to me for a year. I learned so much from her she was a great lady.

16 October, 2006 23:41
Anonymous said...

I was a cage boy for Eloise in l973. that was a rough year for both her and Morgan Berry. Had a elephant run in Indy at the Shrine Circus. and again in Boston and Milwaukee .I left in Oct of that year at the end of the season with Rudy Bros. I went on to train a group of male 9 lions at my home in Indiana,talking with Eloise every night. She talked me through it. Then Morgan talked me into selling it to a Mexican circus, Eloise was so mad at me that she did not talk to me for a year. I learned so much fromer she was a great lady.

16 October, 2006 23:42
Anonymous said...

I first met


I first met Eloise on the Polack Show in l966. It was the last week of Jan in Hammond Indiana. My grandfather told me that he felt sorry for her because Louis Stern had jewed her down to the bear minimum for both her acts. AS I recall, she didn't have money to by meat for her cats. We went to a local store and the Shrine Club bought her 600 pounds of beef scraps and chicken.She thanked us very much and from that time on I had a life long friend. She always had time for us when ever she saw us, no matter how much she had to.Eloise was the person who tought me to drive Semi trailer truck as well train cats and elephants.In fact in Indy with the Castle show, when a elephant ran he put me in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder broken arm. The shrine club paid the hospital and Eloise stated that I was working for her and she paid them back every cent.She was one class act and I miss her and Morgan very much. THANK YOU ELOISE Truckerdon.

17 October, 2006 00:08
Anonymous said...

I recall Eloise telling me about the time she was at home in Woodland, WA and recieved notice from the IRS that she had been randomly selected to be audited. Eloise informed the local IRS office that she couldn't possibly leave her buisness, but they were welcome to come to her "office".

Well, on a cold winter morning Eloise was informed that an IRS auditer would be at her office before noon time. Eloise was ready, she had all her animal care and traveling reciepts neatly sorted out... on bales of hay in the barn.

The young neatly dressed auditor showed up at the house, and was informed to proceed down to the barn.

BARN ???

Well, as the young gentleman from the IRS entered the barn door he was greeted by Eloise and Morgan, along with the aroma of 10 big cats, 3 bears and 9 elephnts, combined with that of the kerosene heater. Quite a mixture.

He was politly invited to sit down and examine her tax reciepts, and was offered a cup of coffee and a bologna sandwich.

The IRS auditor, whos eyes were watering by now, quickly glanced at the stack of paperwork on the hay bales and announced "Miss Berchtold, everything seems to be in order" and made a rapid exit out of the barn.

There is justice in America!

17 October, 2006 06:55
Anonymous said...

Memories on the Blog: I too remember Eloise on Polack in 1966 with Buckles, Joe Lemke, and others. I was also in Indianapolis the night the elephant ran. It was one of the male Asians that Morgan was working. I also joined Eloise for coffee in that diner at the corner of the Fairgrounds.

Eloise and Marian Cristiani visited the St. Louis Zoo in 1968 while playing the Shrine date at Public School Stadium. I was driving them back to the lot and Eloise asked to stop at Sears. She purchased a large bird cage to temporarily house a baby rabbit she was nursing back to health. It was a rather expensive purchase and Eloise was far from wealthy but for her all animals came first.

17 October, 2006 09:54
Anonymous said...

Some time back here, I think we told of the night Raunchy ran from Eloise's ring, in Indy. One of her men got jammed between Raunchy and a standard doorway, and we now realize it was Truckerdon. I grabbed his bullhook to follow Raunchy and yelled at a cop to put his @#$%-ing gun down. I kept pace with Raunchy throughout the building, including his busting into a Ladies Room and out again. I tried in absolute vain to get his attention with the hook, and very likely would have gotten myself stampeded if he had noticed me. At last, he found the floor again and headed to the back, where he was met by Lee Keener, who hooked him hard left, making him see Eloise's other elephants and come in line. Hubert Castle materialized alongside, dead white and trembling, stammering out, "El...Elo...Eloise...I...we...we j-just can't have this! We just can't...can't...have it!" I left, since I knew if I caught Lee Keener's eye, I'd die laughing.

17 October, 2006 20:36
Anonymous said...

That's a great story Roger. That's what real circus and circus people are all about. Jumping into the fray to help eachother.

18 October, 2006 21:38

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