| Here we see Richard Reynolds (in the vest, as befits his profession) in the Somers Cemetery, surrounded by a group of old time menagerie men. The guy in the white pants is Zebedee Macomber. |
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Somers, New York #2
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5 comments:
Is that guy in the headlock Barney Carroll?
I just remember that he asked, "Will that be original recipe or crispy?"
Dave, name everyone.
I know most of them.
I was flattered to be included in the photo with these heralded menagerists. The greatest of them all is Zebedee Macomber (white trousers). Not only did he bring us the likes of the first specimen of now extinct quagga, but he recorded for posterity his activities as well as those of all the other early 19th century showmen. He published it under the pseudonym Stuart Thayer.
Ken Kawata is kneeling in front and Gene Mascioli is the sole occupant of the back row in dark glasses. Others from l. to r.: John Diesso, Ed Todd, Richard Reynolds, Stuart "Zebedee Macomber" Thayer, Dave "Old Whitey" Price, Rob Houston, and Bill Slout. This would have been taken after the 2004 CHS convention when a couple of carloads of members made a migration to Mecca. If your a "betting" person, by whose grave marker do they stand? Actually, this cemetary, within walking distance of the Elephant Hotel, is the final resting place for many of the showmen who signed the 1835 agreement creating the Zoological Institute that brought together all of the menageries in America and many of the circuses. However, the man entombed beneath the old fogies in the photo was not a participant in the menagerie monopoly.
Dick Flint
Baltimore
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