Saturday, May 19, 2007

D. R. Miller #1 (From Richard Reynolds)


reynolds, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


Carson & Barnes, Snellville, GA - - Friday, October 16, 1981

(L to R) Ted Bowman, Charlie Campbell, D. R. Miller, Bob Brisendine, and the only one of this group left standing today - -Richard Reynolds. (Photo by Phil Moyer).

Posted by Buckles at 5/19/2007 06:38:00 AM

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

From 25 to 35 years old, there's no where else in the world I'd rather have been than on D.R. Miller's show. I'm still grateful for the opportunities I was given there.

To watch a smiling Mr. Miller spotting trucks in the early morning hours, surrounded by harness bulls, knee deep in mud and being pelted by torrential rain was a sight to behold. Somehow, he always seemed happiest and in his element when things were tough.

I always got a kick on the closing day of the season, when in lieu of a written contract Mr. Miller would approach me and simply say, "So; you gonna come play circus with us next year?" We'd exchange smiles and handshakes- and the deal was sealed.

I had such deep respect and admiration for D.R. Miller, who to me epitomized "circus". One year as the season was ending, we received word from winter quarters in Hugo, OK. that the cat barn had burned down. I asked Mr. Miller what I would do that winter for a place to practice. He said, "Don't worry." A new cat barn was already being built when we pulled in off the road.

I was so pleased a barn went up so quickly, to say thank you I wrote a poem which ended up in the program the following year. It was only a few stanzas, but from the heart. Many years later, it was read at his funeral in front of thousands of people in the Kelly Miller Big Top- I hoped the listeners would understand how honored I was to have known him, and to have worked on his show for a decade.

He was a great influence in my life. I miss both D.R. Miller and my friend, Ted Bowman.

19 May, 2007 07:47
Buckles said...

That's a fact but on the other hand, he was at his grumpiest when business and the weather were good.
Hard to figure.

19 May, 2007 07:56
Anonymous said...

Pat, the year before you started with CB, D.R. offered me the deal of a lifetime - working 5 acts (cats, elephant/lion, single elephant, 3 elephant act and camels) all for the princely sum of 150 bucks a week and cookhouse, and I was to provide wardrobe. Hope you fared better LOL

19 May, 2007 09:19
Harry Kingston said...

Hi Pat,
Like you I have many memories of Mr. Miller also.
You worked for Mr. Circus as his word and a hand shake meant something.
I think D. R. was the world's greatest circus fan and I could listen to his stories all day long.
I wished I could have seen Al G. Kelly and Miller Bros. with all those elephants with Bill Woodcock and Fred Logan over there.
I thik D. R. loved the mud as it was a challenge to him. I was visting many years ago and Carson and Barnes was in Killeen, Texas.
there mud was the stick to you kind like your brother ot sister. the more you walked in it the higher you got. So D. R. got a Cat D-10 and it could not pull the truck deep in the mud as the track just turned in the mud. D. R. got 3 elephants and hooked on to the Cat and then the truck moved. The Cat driver just shook his head.
I was visting Hugo winterquaters one year walking around the quarters taking photos and D. R. drove up in his big Lincoln and said do you want to come to lunch at the house. I did not bat an eye and said yes real quick. What a thrill for a fan to get to eat at the Ranch house with the man himself and family. That was a thrill of a life time for this circus fan.
Pat White, you are in a class by your self as you are all circus, with it and for it. The care you gave to all your animals as they came first. You just shined out in the ring and you sold your act to the folks in the audience. Very classy.
I always enjoy what you have to say about the circus.
See you one day down the circus trail.
Harry

19 May, 2007 09:23
Anonymous said...

I don't guess I'm the only reader to have known all five of these guys. Worked for D R Miller, drank Gin and Tonics with Ted, swapped lies with Charlie (he won), questioned Brisendine about the poisoned elephants tragedy and continue to swap railroad yarns with the tall fellow at the right end. He knows a right smart about the ole Tennessee Central.

19 May, 2007 10:47
Anonymous said...

Pat didn't mention the classic rubber boots D.R. slogged around the mud in.

Harry is correct--D.R.'s handshake was his bond. Very few showmen around today like that.

19 May, 2007 15:48
Anonymous said...

To Anonymous: (I think I know who you are) You hoped I fared better than your $150 a week and cookhouse offer. Well, not much. But I looked at it as a few bucks, free food, free rein with the cats, lots of other animals and a steady diet of everything I could possibly learn. What a deal! What could be better than to do this show in my youth, reach middle age, and have no regrets? Money? Nah. I'm honored to have had Mr. Miller teach me what it meant to be "generally useful".

To Harry: The ultimate compliment for someone with a towner background is to be seen as "with it and for it". Thank you. Circus seems to be the only place I'm really in 'class'... out in the rest of the world it's like sitting in the corner with a dunce cap on, or being scolded in the principal's office. I felt I went from "On the Road 101" to getting my "Circus Ph.D." under the guidence of D.R. Miller, who always believed I could do whatever he asked of me. There is no greater motivator than that.

For those who have never been to Hugo, OK., there is an archway over the drive leading to the main Miller/Byrd house. The arch reads, "Dun Rovin". My first winter there, I asked Mr. Miller how his property came to have that name. He replied, "It means Dun Rovin; come home to rest for a while."

One of these days, I'll be 'dun rovin'' too; and I'll remember all the nuggets of wisdom that were doled out by the old man in the lawn chair chewing Red Man tobacco- with spittle on his tie.

19 May, 2007 17:46
Anonymous said...

Anonymous: Yes, rubber boots were an integral part of all our wardrobes. I never got over the silliness on rainy days of the stylish combo of spandex, fishnet tights, red turkey feathers on my head and mud boots on my feet for the elephant act- AND I was paid to dress like that! Who on earth would prefer working in an office?!

19 May, 2007 17:59
Anonymous said...

Pat -- it's people like you who formed the backbone of the circus; at one time it was a world where everyone loved their work and if they didn't like the way things were done on one show, they just moved to another. more circus people today who have that kind of love for their work -- and pride in their show -- might make a world of difference. And more owners who followed Mr. Miller's way of doing business might help too.

19 May, 2007 18:50
Anonymous said...

Mr. Edgar: Mr. Miller was the backbone; I was just a rib. There were many others who felt just as I did about his show, and helped make up the framework. Regarding the rest of your comment, I'll just say, "Amen!"

19 May, 2007 23:14
Harry Kingston said...

Pat,
You proved that money is not everything in this old world but i know it helps. You learned the trade from the expert, D. R. Miller. It is a family affair over on Carson and Barnes which it still is today. Mr. Miller was a great teacher, and Jim Judkins, Gopher Davenport, and many more learned the trade from him.
I have one of Fred Logans paychecks from Kelly Miller and it was $175 a week less deductions.
Ted Bowman was the iceing on the cake on D. R.'s shows. When a fan walked on the lot you, were greated make yourself at home on our circus. Ernie Miller took Ted's place and was fantastic to us fans, Also Edna Antes, Mari Jo Couls, and Harry Hammond were the best to us fans. Great fan friendly folks.
Now one that had NO use for us fans was Art Branning. I can here
him now you g d circus fans.
Pat, I know you would not take a million for your learning experiences and D. R. would come out with the way it was back then or we need to do it this way.
There will never be another like D. R. and Isla Miller. Cause behind every good man is a good woman. Isla told me she was taught how to drive a semi during the war years and she had one speed 40 miles an hour.
About a week before Ted died I talked to him on the phone and he told me about D. R.'s whale show and what a story it was and I wish I had recorded the story. It was a laugh a minute one.
Great memories of the circus the way it was.
Harry

20 May, 2007 09:34
Anonymous said...

Harry: "money's not everything, but it sure helps." Yes it does. I'd be very pleased if you remembered me in your will. :-)

Mr. Edgar: I want you to know I took your kind words to work with me as I headed in to do the FOURTH show (overflow crowds) yesterday afternoon here in Hiroshima! Better than a cup of coffee for a boost. Thank you.

About Mr. Miller, I think one of the best things for me was being around someone who'd seen it all.
Things that would put me in a panic would just roll off him like water off a duck's back. Learning to quickly assess a situation, weigh the options, choose a solution and then ACT- what better education for this business filled with the unexpected? You find out what you're made of on a mud show.

Tickles me silly to see people on an island for 40 days eating bugs and they call that "Survivor"! Ha. Put them on Carson and Barnes for a season!

20 May, 2007 16:05

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