Saturday, May 09, 2009

Ringling-Barnum 1932 #1 (From Buckles)


Scan11646, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

These unloading pictures were probably taken by Charlie Kitto.
Taken in Madison, Wisconsin Aug. 19, 1932.

Posted by Buckles at 5/09/2009 06:24:00 AM

5 comments:

4pawfan said...

3rd section before being unloaded.
You will see a giraffe wagon (on the left) loaded on this section for some reason. It would have been on the cage cut of the 1st section most of the time. After the giraffe wagon on the next flat is the #201 concession dept wagon,a spec float, lightplant wagon, and past a couple of other wagons is the funny Ford and then the Zacchinis cannon.

09 May, 2009 10:40
Richard Reynolds said...

I believe that the explanation for the giraffe wagon on the 3rd section is this - - -

The show took four giraffes on the road in 1932, each one occupying a separate giraffe wagon. The wagons were nos. 86, 92, 96, and 97.

En route from Sarasota to NYC for the opener the show lost its male, Fritz, owing to a broken neck in transit. It happened somewhere between the feed and water stop at Florence and Washington, D. C. [see NY Times for 4/6/32].

That meant the show had a vacant giraffe wagon. There was no longer any need to have it on the 1st section where all the other giraffes rode and where they could be cared for by the menagerie men also on that section. So the now vacant wagon was put on the 3rd section as shown here. It likely carried supplies or extra props.

One of the show's four giraffes that year was Anna (sometimes called Annie). She was pregnant when the show hit the road. She gave birth to her calf in Harrisburg, Pa on June 3, 1932.

Mama Anna had, herself, been born on Barnum & Bailey in 1914. The calf was named Andy and died in the menagerie fire in Cleveland in 1942. His mama Anna had died in Peoria, IL in 1934.

The late long string driver Frank Updegrove was on the 1932 show and told me he was involved in figuring out how to transport the newborn calf and his mama. It was decided to keep the calf in the wagon with the mother.

Frank did some carpentry work to build a crate against the inside wall of the wagon so the calf would not fall and injure itself in transit but still have access to the mother so she could nurse and lick it, etc. It worked and the two finished the season just fine.

09 May, 2009 15:37
Anonymous said...

Buckles,
I will check the negative files and see if these were dad's photos.
Bob Kitto

09 May, 2009 19:18
Anonymous said...

Buckles,
Yes, these are Charlie Kitto photos.
Bob Kitto

10 May, 2009 18:35
Anonymous said...

Buckles,
As many of your viewers know, my dad was more interested in the equipment than the actual show, a trait that I must have in my genes, because I still am more interested in the equipment, setup and teardown than the actual performances. Don't get me wrong, we always saw the performance, but that was secondary.

When Chappie Fox was at CWM, he would send a letter to dad whenever he got a new wagon that he thought my dad would have a picture of and 9 times out of 10
dad was able to come thru, including some that each side of the waqon had a picture, if they were all different.

In addition to the libraries, etc., that were mentioned on the web, my dad at one time sold some sets that are, no doubt in these collections. In addition, they have appeared in LCW, Bandwagon and White Tops over the years. Sometimes they were credited, but many times they were not.

In the past few years, I have sent letters to the persons who used the pictures, with no credit, even though I have added information that would have increased their knowledge, when I could, but have never received any replies!

Please don't think that this just a sour grapes type of reply, but think of it as a chance to to let people know that dad was always generous with his knowledge and I only want to have credit where it was due.

Bob Kitto

10 May, 2009 19:11

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