Thursday, October 27, 2005

Circus World Museum 1985 #4


Also in the every day scheduele was the daily street parade around the grounds. Elephants are "Peggy". "Toto" and "Mac" pulling the cage.
My biggest disappointment in Baraboo was not being able to spend more time in the Library. When business dropped off after Labor Day I would go up there as often as I could and on each occasion Bob Parkinson would explain to me how to open and close a book without damaging the spine.

Posted by Buckles at 10/27/2005 06:44:00 AM

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps in some of those books you opened (without breaking their spines), you noticed it was often fashionable to criticize John Ringling North. I've always been in the other camp. I recall being wowed as a kid by the acts he brought to the circus --- including the three-ring Alfred Court displays, Francis Brunn, Unus, Harold Alzana, Hugo Schmidt, Charles Moroski. And in 1955, he presented over 50 elephants. An amazing sight to see them all lined up in the Garden. Do you know how he happened to buy all of those baby elephants the previous year? Back then, was it as simple as picking up the phone and placing an order with Hagenbeck's TierPark? Or did it takes months of negotiations with various governments? Or did he simply fall into a wonderful opportunity and seize the moment?
Thank you. ToddP

28 October, 2005 00:22
Anonymous said...

Perhaps in some of those books you opened (without breaking their spines), you noticed it was often fashionable to criticize John Ringling North. I've always been in the other camp. I recall being wowed as a kid by the acts he brought to the circus --- including the three-ring Alfred Court displays, Francis Brunn, Unus, Harold Alzana, Hugo Schmidt, Charles Moroski. And in 1955, he presented over 50 elephants. An amazing sight to see them all lined up in the Garden. Do you know how he happened to buy all of those baby elephants the previous year? Back then, was it as simple as picking up the phone and placing an order with Hagenbeck's TierPark? Or did it takes months of negotiations with various governments? Or did he simply fall into a wonderful opportunity and seize the moment?
Thank you. ToddP

28 October, 2005 00:22
Buckles said...

North brought over 7 young elephants the winter of 1952-53 and 20 more the winter of 1954-55 at $2,000 a head.
They were transported by the American Fertilizer Company. No muss no fuss.
We were showing the Amptheater in Chicago in 1978 when Mr. North and his brother caught the show on their way to the Mayo Clinic for annual check-ups.After the performance they were escorted by the elephants with the hand full of people remaining who knew him. After being seated in his limousine he leanout and said something to Charley Baumann. After they had left Charley came over to me, laughed and said "He wanted to know if this was the Red Show or the Blue Show".

28 October, 2005 00:51

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