1953 Ringling-3

1953 Ringling-3, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. I have repeated the story several times on the Blog about how I first learned to drive. It was behind the wheel of elephant truck #45 with D.R. Miller as the instructor. My parents were making Fair dates in 1953 and camped with us on the Kelly-Miller lot for about a week. One day D.R. says, "It's terrible that your folks have to worry about hiring drivers all the time. How old are you now? I answered, "Eighteen". "Well be at #45 in the morning!" So I got my crash course in driving. Even carrying a regular conversation with a cigar chewing D.R. Miller was a challenge but being yelled at while grinding gears was terrifying.. The day we pulled off the lot headed for LaCrosse, Wisconsin, it seemed like everyone was waving farewell like a ship leaving port. with D.R. shaking his head from side to side. The following winter in Hugo when I applied for a legitimate Drivers License I had to use our Chevrolet semi tractor since I had never driven a car. Anyway we made it to the Fairgrounds in LaCrosse with minimal damage and to my surprise half way thru the date the Ringling Show, as represented in this mailer, day and dated us. But that's a story for another day.