My first true boss out here, when I arrived at Jungleland, was the foreman, Doc Hayden. He was a great guy, who advised me from the first day to get myself around the Compound's revered cat man, Benny Bennett. This was the most valuable advice of my career. It led to Bennett getting me into Mabel Stark's inner circle, which only he could have done. Doc invited me over to see his circus collection, but others who had been there warned me off, saying Doc's wife was a horror to visitors. Later, I learned Doc was formally Robert Hayden, among the most accomplished circus model builders. His crowning achievement was his model of Hagenbeck-Wallace, for which fans and students would travel great distances to see. His name turns up in BANDWAGON and WHITE TOPS as a highly respected builder, and I only hope what he achieved is somewhere being honored today.
I have seen many model circuses, and the one built by Jimmy Cole is among, if not the, most impressive I have seen. The attention to detail blows me away. It is in a special building behind his house, and the care he takes in maintaining it is stellar. He told me he started it when he was 14 years old, and has worked on it through the years. It's really something.
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My first true boss out here, when I arrived at Jungleland, was the foreman, Doc Hayden. He was a great guy, who advised me from the first day to get myself around the Compound's revered cat man, Benny Bennett. This was the most valuable advice of my career. It led to Bennett getting me into Mabel Stark's inner circle, which only he could have done. Doc invited me over to see his circus collection, but others who had been there warned me off, saying Doc's wife was a horror to visitors. Later, I learned Doc was formally Robert Hayden, among the most accomplished circus model builders. His crowning achievement was his model of Hagenbeck-Wallace, for which fans and students would travel great distances to see. His name turns up in BANDWAGON and WHITE TOPS as a highly respected builder, and I only hope what he achieved is somewhere being honored today.
I have seen many model circuses, and the one built by Jimmy Cole is among, if not the, most impressive I have seen. The attention to detail blows me away.
It is in a special building behind his house, and the care he takes in maintaining it is stellar. He told me he started it when he was 14 years old, and has worked on it through the years. It's really something.
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