Tuesday, November 18, 2008

To Jim Alexander


scan0399, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

"Stella" did indeed have a snow suit, it was made by Jimmy Douglas.
I think Jim Cole took this picture in Albany, NY in the Fall of 1965.
The expression on my wife's face suggests that she is looking for me.
That's Eloise's cat truck in the background.

Posted by Buckles at 11/18/2008 02:59:00 PM

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was in 1966

19 November, 2008 07:15
Anonymous said...

The first time I met Eloise, in 1966, she pulled onto the parking lot at Jungleland to stock up on provisions. This dark green monster rig looked like a war wagon coming at us. She had a guy with her named Soldier, about whom others may have more history.

The outstanding memory of her visit came when we all walked out to meet her, and along came a former gun-boy known for falsely claiming credit for everyone else's animal training. Eloise had to caution him against his unwelcome proximity to Zero, the Polar bear, and for placing his already mangled hand on the cage. He angrily rejected her warning, loudly declaring, "I broke that bear, remember?" Eloise fixed him with a long, stern look and replied, "No, (gun boy), I remember that Joe Walsh and I broke Zero when you were a new bear boy on the outside looking in. Remember?" The gun boy skulked off, caught trying to take credit from the wrong trainer.

21 November, 2008 00:06
Buckles said...

Soldiers was the prop boss, his real name was Barnie Longsdorf and had been around the Polack Show forever.
Not an outgoing guy, I tried to draw him into conversation about the shows he had trouped with but with little results.
He just didn't have much to say.

21 November, 2008 08:51
Anonymous said...

BUCKLES: Indeed, I remember Soldier, the Prop Boss. When you showed Pomona, I visited the Polack show with Benny Bennett, who had been on Polack with the Compound cat acts, including Mabel Stark, and he knew Soldier well. When Benny called out a greeting to him, the old Prop Boss barely acknowledged him, and drove past on his golf cart, taciturn as ever.

But the Soldier I referred to was another guy, assisting Eloise at the time, a very able-bodied of about 30, maybe among the vast crew of those who helped mightily, but alas, whose names are relegated to obscurity.

22 November, 2008 18:09

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