Friday, December 16, 2005

Ruby Haag and "Alice"


Now. isn't this better?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder which carnival this pix was taken on?
If you look closely, you will see a Tilt-A-Whirl ride in the background. The ride seems to be, of the late 1930"s or early 1940's vintage.

Anonymous said...

Love the wardrobe on the elephants. I do realize how impractical it was to wear during performances. For parades and spec they were beautiful. Bring them back! Wonderful things could be done with todays fabrics. Wish velcro was around back then.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of elephant wardrobe: In 1956 the St. Louis Zoo's elephant act consisted of eight babies (looked like it was inspired by Mac McDonald's Polack act). They did a "pony drill" routine (square dance)dressed in farmer outfits, overalls on the front legs, straw hats, and all. One famous trainer said the outfits were a tip they didn't really do anything; they wouldn't have lasted a week doing mounts, etc. But they were cute for the first minute.

Anonymous said...

Would you have a photo of the Mighty Haag's male elephant"Tip"?

Anonymous said...

Y’all might remember that I was more skilled at handling elephant tubes than I was in handling elephants. This tub reminds me of Anna Mae’s tub with the “W’s” welded around it. Was that “W” tub passed down from father to son, and is it still in use?

Great site Mr. Woodcock, it is another example of the class act that we’ve all been accustomed to you presenting.

Merry Christmas.

Little John

Buckles said...

I ran a picture of "Alice" and "Tip" making parade with the Mighty Show some time back before I started this Blog Site with long time trainer Charles "Blackie" Duncan.

Buckles said...

"Tip" was not a male.

Anonymous said...

Jim a Your comment about the wardrobe of the St Louis Zoo [ where I got my start] makes me think of the fact that what I acomplished in life was do more to my wardrobe then talent.

Anonymous said...

Or the lack of wardrobe!

Anonymous said...

It helped the men remember the wifes name. They were just being practical to keep out of hot water as elephant trainers were usually in deep elephant poop most of the time. As GEE GEE says {women love the smell]

Anonymous said...

I always thought"Tip" was short for "Tippoo" ,which I believe translates into Tiger in Indian language.

Anonymous said...

Would you know how and where Tip killed Frank Johnson?

Buckles said...

June 13, 1912