Thursday, February 08, 2007

Christy Bros. Circus 1920's #4


John Hoffman.
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Posted by Buckles at 2/08/2007 06:04:00 AM

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice to see the Christy Show recognized. My Dad told me so much about that show. He and Terrel Jacobs were young apprentice wannabe trainers together on that show and John Hoffman and Merrit Belue were ther mentors. With so many animals it was a great place cause my Dad said you could do anything you were big enough to do. They both got experience with cage and hoofed stock. Like the Barnes show, lots of animals.

It was a heavy grift show and to cover up the grift Christy would put on a religeous themed spec. They did Noahs Ark, Daniel in the Lions Den and When the Lion and Lamb Shall lie down together. Dad said they ate alot of mutton in the cookhouse that winter until John Hoffman got one lion that would't eat up a sheep. Terrel Jacobs was the Daniel that was "cast among the beasts". Ab Johnson, the great hurdle mule riding clown was the bearded Noah who proclaimed "After Forty Days and Forty Nights, Land Land Land", and they would remark on that during the spring rains and mud.Christy put on a great street parade. Thats where Terrel met Dolly who was with some ground act. My Dad would bring John Hoffman to my Uncle's Schell bros. circus where he trained a small mud show lion act. I believe John, when he was back with Terrel during the time we were all in Bunker Hill [Cole] together that he came to this country with the Bostock Animals for some Worlds Fair. He was a quiet unassuming little fellow and it was interesting that Terrel had him with him. Kind of like Beatty having John Helliott with him in his late years. John Hoffman did train a three black bear act in Bunker Hill for Terrel and once we all were gone from there I lost track, but Terrel did go to K-M right after those days and maybe that act went there. Wonder if anyone knows. It very well could have been the nucleous of Allen, Steele or Newman. You can't imagine the stories I herd Sitting on the same cookhouse table in quarters with John Smith, Waxie, my Dad, Charlie Lucky, John Hoffman and other old show guys eating the great food of "laughing George Davis". I have always been mesmerized by one of the first quotations of Masonic Ritual, "Whence Come Yee"?

08 February, 2007 10:43
Anonymous said...

Mr.Herriott, Was wondering what years your dad was on the Christy show,and if he had been on the Lee Bros also.
thanks,
P.J.Holmes

08 February, 2007 17:14
Anonymous said...

John: Just as important: "What came ye here to do?"

Your comments add so much to this blog. Don't get writer's block.

08 February, 2007 19:22
Anonymous said...

I believe he was on Christy around 24,25,26. He told me about Lee Bros. but doubt if he was with it. Maybe he was on Christy in 23. He talked about being on Christy and also Mighty Haag with Harry James father , Everett James being the band leader. Also little Harry riding a hippo cart in spec. He sure floated around, but I do know about He, Terrel and John Hoffman from our later days in Bunker Hill and elswhere.I wish I could pin point more, but I do have so many photos in a trunk that need to be sorted out. Someday.

08 February, 2007 19:29
GaryHill said...

Capt or Colonel Herriott or anyone else, Have any of y'all ever seen a Moose worked in harness and I mean a large male? I came across a picture on the horseshoeing boards I read of a Moose in harness pulling lumber or cut down trees actually? Just wondering if anyone has seen an animal of this kind on any show? Thanks, Gary

08 February, 2007 23:08
Anonymous said...

Gary, Were you wearing THAT HEADPIECE when you saw that moose? Or maybe watching NORTHERN EXPOSER?

09 February, 2007 15:35
Anonymous said...

To Gary Hill: It's a couple of days late, so I don't know if you'll find this comment. I had a moose.

He was a young bull named MacDermott, whom I got in Dryden, Ontario from a game farm in late 1987. I had him on the road for the entire 1988 season on Carson and Barnes, and he was fantastic. Good health, grew like a weed, I could put a bridle and saddle on him, though I never rode him because he was still growing. One of his best friends was the young giraffe on the show.

In February of 1989, one morning with no apparent cause, he laid down and expired. The autopsy revealed nothing. Vet said, "With the exception of being dead, this animal is perfectly healthy." Broke my heart, and without knowing what went wrong, I couldn't bring myself to try again.

But he was an amazing animal. He went through one mild rut as a two year old, very dangerous. Would have to have had him castrated the following year, or been in a bull pen of some sort for the duration of those eight weeks.

10 February, 2007 16:43
GaryHill said...

Thanks Pat for your reply! I think that the photo I saw on my horseshoeing boards was a computer fake? You never know anymore as techknowledgie gets better all the time! Again, thanks for your reply and I guess you are still in Europe? If ya ever get through Texas again I'll drive to see ya!

10 February, 2007 22:58
Anonymous said...

Gary: It's possible it wasn't a fake photo on the horseshoeing site. For about a year before I decided to try this project, I had Tom Hendricks from Toledo and Jim Cole from St. Cloud Florida do reserch for me, anything at all they could find on moose. 95% of the info was on moose in the wild, but Jim Cole even came up with a circus poster from the late 1800's, showing moose pulling sulky carts (which I also planned to do). There are even reliable records of the Royal Canadian Mounted police riding moose in years gone by. So it's not a big stretch to consider a "logging harness moose". My boy was bright, good natured, learned quickly and retained his lessons. The biggest problem is diet, and the rut.
I had the diet worked out. Long story short, he appears to have died from a stroke, a clot in his brain. He just shut down. Anyway, he was wonderful, and I have touching stories and memories of this marvelous, unique animal.

I am in Japan, and God only knows if I'll see Texas again!

11 February, 2007 03:45
Anonymous said...

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Rocky: Again?
Bullwinkle: Presto!
Lion: ROAR!!!
Bullwinkle: Oops, wrong hat.

11 February, 2007 05:34
Anonymous said...

Believe me, I was the only one who called him MacDermott. Everyone else called him Bullwinkle. God's honest truth, I even got a baby squirrel late in the '88 season, it was great for about three months. We pulled into winter quarters, the squirrel bit the cable guy and it cost me $200 for the emergency room fee. The following day "Rocky" was given his freedom in the woods three miles outside of Hugo, with a pound of mixed nuts placed at the bottom of a pine tree. Only part left from the TV show is the lion's roar...

11 February, 2007 06:49
Anonymous said...

Bill is a large friend of mine; he is 400 + pounds and 6’6” tall. A squirrel attacked him when he sat by his pool reading the Sunday paper, he hadn’t been poolside for a few of the winter months and I guess during that time Little Rocky had claimed it as his territory. Bills poor leg got all tore up; he told me at first he was almost laughing at the little creature as he started the attack, but the squirrel bite and gnawed his way up from toe, to foot, to ankle, and while still climbing Bill decided it was time to put an end to this tiny beast. It was a swing and a miss, and the lawn chair Bill was sitting in was almost maxed out at 400 + pounds of balanced weight, and with the sudden wave of motion the aluminum chair tubing gave way and collapsed. Luckily Bill had a Cell phone and was able to call the paramedics because he threw his back out. But unfortunately he couldn’t persuade the Doctor not to put in his medical file that a squirrel has kicked his butt and sent him to the hospital

11 February, 2007 15:15

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