Thursday, May 10, 2007

From Jim Cole


May 10, 1962, Fall River, Mass. My first circus photo, taken 45 years ago today. I was 15 at the time, skipped school and spent the day on the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.
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Posted by Buckles at 5/10/2007 08:11:00 AM

7 comments:

Mike Naughton said...

Mr. Cole,

I bet you remember EVERYTHING from that day and would have a hard time recalling the topics taught that week in school.

I'm not discounting the importance of a formal education, but there are some things you can't learn in school.

10 May, 2007 14:16
Harry Kingston said...

Hi Jim Cole,
Thank you for sharing with us your very first circus photo which is excellent.
I am a photographer and what ever camera you used sure is a good one.
I bet that truck was a beauty in color with all that scroll and lettering.
On top of the truck is that part of Clyde Beatty's cage or the cat shoot as what ever it is is really stacked.
Is that the meat locker up front??
Hope we get to see many more photos of your great circus
photography of the way it used to be.
Harry

10 May, 2007 20:16
Anonymous said...

Great shot, Jim.

To Harry Kingston: This is 78 Cat Wagon. On top was indeed carried a spare arena section with the animal gate--the section most likely to take a beating. In my time, it was still aluminum, un- painted with the Spanish blue of the arena, and was buried under bales of straw, as you see here, bags of shavings, and other impedimenta. The cat chutes were stacked on top of the arena on 76 Wagon, which pulled the Bandstand. But the side chute section, which Beatty used when he practiced cats needing further shifting, was atop this wagon. The compartment you see is the sleeper. Mine in '64 was in the middle of the wall you see, with the vents. We were allowed 6 cagehands, but two bunks at floor level were jammed with footlockers and Beatty's whipbox. We had two middle bunks and two uppers. All were angle-iron, with whatever loose boards were scrounged up around Winterquarters for the bed. They weren't bolted down, and bounced around at will going down the road. The paint job seen here was claimed by Eddie Dullum. The meat freezer was in a front compartment of 51 Prop Wagon.

10 May, 2007 22:41
Anonymous said...

About 25 years after that photo was taken, I ran into my former high school art teacher, who unknown to me at the time, was somewhat of a circus fan. I confessed to him my school skipping - circus visit in 1962. He looked me in the face and said that he was still angry about that!
"I wish you had told me about the circus" he said, "I would have skipped school also and gone with you!".

That photo was taken with an old Kodak Brownie 127 camera. At age 15, I could not hold it steady in my hands, so I placed it on top of a tent stake, hence the reason I only got part of the truck in the photo.

11 May, 2007 07:14
Harry Kingston said...

A big thank you to Mr. Jim Cole and Mr. Roger Smith.
Jim, with a Kodak camera that shot is the best. I thought you used a Rolleiflex or a Zeiss ikon.
I sure hope we get to see alot more of your fantastic shots as you have that photographer's eye when to shoot.
Roger Smith, again your detailed descriptions are the best. From circus folks like you and Buckles who share your experiences the way it was we relive circus history in all it's glory. Without you all telling us the way it was we will never know the true story about the real circus.
Thank you both so much and it is greatly appreciated, from a fan that loves cirus history.
Harry

11 May, 2007 09:19
Anonymous said...

Hey Rog!!

6 Cagehands? How many cats did you have??

:-)

Cindy Potter

11 May, 2007 15:53
Anonymous said...

Cindy: We were allowed six cagehands, but we never had a full crew. That year, Mr. Beatty had six tigers and ten lions.

11 May, 2007 22:14

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