| Cole Bros. Circus |
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
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35 comments:
Jimmy,
Do you know where they are today and tomorrow? They changed their route at the very last minute. They have Murrells Inlet papered for today and tomorrow and then a couple little signs stating a date change until next week. If they are in South Carolina, I would like to try to see the show. I can still get to Murrells Inlet.
Bob
I would check their website. www,colebroscircus.com. They post their route there.
Thanks Jimmy,
I did that yesterday. Their route is missing up until they go into Wilmington on Friday, then it's jumbled with two overlapping dates for the three days next week.
Bob
I wonder what D.R. Miller, up in Heaven, thinks about this help shortage situation?
Back in the 50's moving a canvas top was so effortless. Of course they had no chair grandstand to contend with and a cannon act was out of the question.
If God returned him to earth in a
golden Chariot, I'm sure his first decision would be to run ads in advance for temporary help with instructions for all interested parties to report to Albert Vonderheid.
Just knock on his trailer door anytime, day or night.
This new Cole show is circus at it's best. maybe not beatty-cole of the early 60s, but the pictures are impressive. looking at these pictures makes me want to take off today -- and if my health would let me, I would. this show has style and class, and even with the help problem, people will still see a real circus when they go.
buckles brought up a good point. are these shows running the help wanted ads before they get to town? we always did in the old days -- leaving out an ad like that was almost as bad as leaving out the regular ads.
Let's not forget the ads for old horses. PETA would love that.
Buckles and Ole Whitey,
I can almost bet the ad would read, "Wanted temporary help, must do three or more." Wait until the "temporary help" find's out that doesn't mean three or more checks.
Wade Burck
Give me another nightmare! Ads for temporary labor... (laughing out loud)...We certainly hire a bit of casual labor if somebody shows up on the lot, but as soon as any shows runs an actual "AD" there's a paper trail and you become an "employer" in that given state. "Casual labor" can stay largely off the books if there's no trail. Given their Florida base, I'm a bit surprised that Cole didn't consider recruit in Puerto Rica. Several carnivals and landscaping companies are going there to solve the H-2B shortage. The labor from PR is more expensive, but they work hard and won't blow.
Cole Bros is still waiting for the VISA paperwork to be finalized and for their crew from Mexico to arrive. Fred Vonderheid hires out CDL drivers to carnivals and they were available to get the show to NC.
My dad follows the fleet and he got in at 6 am today(they left yesterday morning), when he is up I will read him Buckles' comment about DR--I know he will laugh.
The photos look great--I'll be seeing them when they are in VA.
Maria Vonderheid
According to the offical Cole route card:
4-7-travel
4-8&9-Murrell Inlet
4-10-13-Wilmingtom
4-14-16-Jacksonville
4-19&20-Greenville
I cannot figure why they did not open on March14 but the help was not there.
I wish Isla Miller was here to tell us how it was during the War years with help. But they were real troopers and all pitched in to help get it up and down and down the road.
I know D. R. Miller would solve the problem some how with help.
I miss the hell out of all those great circus stories how would tell.
Carson and Barnes is here in town today and the son-in-laws drove two rigs in and helped lay out and set up the big top. I helped Geary Byrd set up the steps to there trailer.
If D. R. would have been here the tent would be 450 feet long and 25 elephants would be out there and that Golden chariot would be driven around the hippodrome track.
God love teh circsu.
Harry
Harry,
Do you suppose General Colin Powell wished General Dwight D. Eisenhower was there to advise him at Desert Storm on what to do? Like Eisenhower had done at Normandy? It's a different world, Harry. I suspect they will work it out.
Wade Burck
Wade,
It sure the hell is a different world we live in and todays troopers are not like they used to be.
You see the old movies and the years ago the troopers used to put the act on for the fans out side the tent and let them photograph it and today they would tell you to go to hell real quick.
Troopers do not want you taking videos of there act but years later oh i wish i had movies if my act and no one has them becasue they did want movies taken of them.
I love the circus as much as any one but shows have really changed to keep up with modern times, the nuts are out of sight.
Yes they will work it out some way as the show must go on.
But i still wish Mr. Circus, D. R. Miller was around to enjoy it with us, what a showman.
Harry
wade, no matter how different the world is today, i think EVERYBODY would breath easier with Eisenhower giving advice. he was a leader when leaders were leaders.
This photo gives me chills. I am very partial to this show since it turned me into a circus fan at the age of four. During my teenage years I lost interest but in 2006 my love for it came back. I drove two hours to catch the Cole show set up in NJ. As I was watching, Mr. Dean Chambers began talking to me and convinced me to join the CFA. Thought the show was great last season, especially meeting Mr. Bale. I've been waiting all winter for the show to roll out again so I can catch them in PA. I do miss Mr. Logan. I will never forget how close the elephants came to the first row as they ran into the tent at the start of their performance. Talk about excitement for a kid!
All things considered, the 2008 Cole Bros.(aka "J&E show") is a pretty good show.
They really don't have a ring curb per say. They take those flat border sections and form a circle as best they can for the camels, dog & pony, and elephants.
One of the best acts on the show was the girl doing single trapeze. I did not get any still photos of her however.
The music was not what I would have used, but it was a lot better than they had these last few seasons.
I wish them well on their 2008 tour, the 50th year in a row that I have seen the show.
Jimmy Cole
I love this show. first time Diane and I saw it was in the very early 80's and it was SOMETHING.
We had front row seats/center ring and when they did that walking long mount within arms reach I stopped breathing.
I particularly treasure Jimmy James introduction...something like "Ladies and Gentlemen, experience an earthquake; the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros walking longmount." Wow!!! (14 bulls back then I believe. THE CIRCUS HAS IT ALL! God Bless all involved and thanks beyond measure.
Paul G.
Harry,
The reason they did not want you to video their act, was they thought you were going to sell it for millions of dollars and not give them a cut. They thought they could make millions of dollars selling it themselves. Wrong on both accounts.
But, it was a nice dream.
Wade Burck
Henry my friend,
But what really made Eisenhower great was the fact that he an Clyde Beatty were working on that white tiger deal, right. I'm assuming thats what you meant Henry. LOL
Your friend,
Wade Burck
Jimmy Cole,
Next time you go to Cole, I'll go with you to remind you to close your mouth and quit drooling. You might be able to get those trapeze pictures you missed the first time. Lol
Best wishe, friend
Wade Burck
The circus shanges, the circus stays the same. At six this morning we jumped forty miles from someplace in Arkansas to someplace else. It was raining. It's been raining for weeks. Thursday they predict five inches. Lot turned to mud. Tent went up in a down pour. Elephants came out and went back into the truck. BUT we put on two shows to good business. This is a town that hasn't seen a show in 40 years. The tigers, the elephants, the trapeze...they didn't really care that they could have used an umbrella inside the tent, to them it was magic. They didn't notice that the cage cages got bogged down in the mud heading for the truck and we had to wrestle them out in the dark. We'll be in another town tomorrow. We'll forget the name of thiks town. But for twelve hundred people who live here, for a little while at least, even if it's only for a month, today was the day that a real circus came to town. And for them, their recollections won't be all that different than thge recollections of their grandparents fifty years ago. The clown was funny (well, maybe) the elephants were enormous, the tigers and the showgirls were beautiful. The circus has changed, but if the mud on the Wellingtons hasn't, perhaps the circus is really the same.
Ben
Ben,
I don't know if it is the same recollections their grandparents have. I promise 10 years from now when my grandson goes to Ringling he is going to see something very different from what I recall.
Be safe Pal,
Wade Burck
for those who weren't around until the 70s, you really missed the heyday of beatty cole, in the 1957(without cole) through around 66. then it WAS the circus of the stars. in addition to beatty himself, until he passed away, you could see laNorma, Pinito Del Oro, Maryse Begary, Greta Frisk, Alex Konyot. the seitz-mendez variations, josephine berosini, the flying gaonas (with trampoline and casting, a young Tito and a tiny Richie) alberto zoppe (riding and riding dogs), cuuciola, princess olga ming wong, tonito, attilina, the frielanis, the dubskys, lucio and gilda cristiani, fred and ortans canestrelli, the carmenas, bob top, 3 rings of supernly trained elephants (trained before either rex williams or fred logan got there) the flying placios, the Sabrjets, Herbi weber, Los Latinos, the namedils, zacchini or munoz cannons, Doval, the wallablies (with Johny Pugh) the Bale family with the electrifying elvin and his heel catch trapeze, big, beautiful aerial ballets, and others i can't remember. add ringmaster count nicholas and boom-boom's band, it was a true winner each season. Style, Class, Showmanship unequaled. the shows were a virtual who's who of the circus. animal acts were thin some years, but you always had cats and elephants. i never heard any of these acts complain about being underpaid, and a payday was never missed this was the show that makes me talk about the good old days.
and ben, your story about the rain day is classice. we can all identify and when you think about how happy you made those people, it was well worth it.
hey Ben trumble . Well said i bet those people didnt even care if they were in a middle of a storm the thought is that you guys made there day or month . if you come by Ogallala give me a holler ill make sure we get you some elk steaks or tamales . and i will give you some rain gear . good luck catch you down the road . CleanRaul
The 1958 appearance in Traverse City, Michigan of the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus was what really started my love of the circus. I earned my free pass helping with the set up. I sure wish I could have taken pictures on that day, but I was just eleven at the time. I can still picture it in my mind and will never forget it as long as I live.
Bob Karczewski-- I was at the night show in Traverse City, in 1958. Little did I know, 50 years later, I would be talking to someone, on a thing called A BLOG, about that day. I had rides booked with Skerbeck's Carnival at the time, and Joe Skerbeck and I saw the Beatty Show that night. Joe was 12years old, at the time. I was 19.
JIM ELLIOTT
Wade, I think we have specific memories, and emotional memories. The emotional memories of what your grandchild sees and experiences may not be all that different from your own memories.
Ben,
Are you suggesting that Casey McCoy Canine(CMC) will have the same emotional impact on my grandson, that Gunther Gebel Williams(GGW) had on me? I'll be interested in sitting down with the youngster and comparing memories one day. LOL
Wade Burck
Jim Elliot,
I also have in common with you, the fact we both knew Dave and Marge Carpenter. Email me at rjk949@gmail.com, I would like to talk with you. Thanks,
Bob
Speaking of advertising - Garden Bros. is in town tonight. I heard one radio spot and (perhaps I missed it,but...) no newspaper advertising and I haven't seen a single poster. I wonder how the business will be?
HM
Guys,
The route is updated and they open
tomorrow in Wilmington, NC. Then
they go to Murrells Inlet after 4
days in Wilmington. The route was
changed several times. Renee, still my sister in law, (ha!) says
she has been swamped with the work
thrown in her lap because of some
people not fulfilling their tasks
and so there have been a lot of things going on behind the scenes
besides the help issue.
The show had top notch talent when
Wilson Storey booked the show.
John Whitfield
Seeing Casey McCoy's act may or may not have the same emotional impact. However meeting him in person could cause serious emotional scars that could take years of therapy to correct.-BJ
THey made the jump from Wilmington to Murrells Inlet, with no mishaps. 2 drivers had to doubleback for a second load, but the balance of the Mexicans are do in before the next move. If they arrive as planned, they will have enough drivers to move the show in one trip.
Cole Bros. is in Metairie Louisiana 10 minutes outside of New Orleans. Have not seen the show as of today but the outside looks good.
Irwin
I stopped by the Cole Show, last Sunday, in Mary Ester, Fla. Did not see the performance, as I was there for about 45 minutes on my way home. Did talk to Louie DelMorale, Albert and Anita VonDerheid, and Johnnny Pugh. Mr. Pugh told me, business had been real good, until Labor Day, then it dropped off.
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