A Remarkable Letter

Dear Mr. Woodcock, "Dear Mr. Woodcock" does seem very formal, since I feel like I already know you, but calling you Buckles might be a little too presumptuous of me. I have seen you (and your family) preform on a number of occasions both with Ringling Brothers and the Big Apple Circus. I may have even seen you perform at the Catskill Game Farm. I do remember seeing an elephant act on our visit, but at the time did not pay much attention as to who was presenting the elephants. Our sons were young then, so it would have been in late 80's, early 90's. I found your Blog by accident while I was surfing the Internet. I am quite happy I did. I am a daily visitor. I check back often during the day so I can read the newly posted comments. I totally enjoy it. Your Blog has reawakened my enthusiasm for the circus. The pictures on your Blog are extraordinary. Your commentary and the posted comments have given me new insight into the circus. There are times though; some of the posted comments make me feel that I am eavesdropping on private conversations. The only thing that could add to my enjoyment of your Blog is to know more about some of the your regular posters, like Karen Glenn, Dutchess42 (a.k.a, Rebecca, Anonymous, Low Beams), and Gary Hill. They all seem to be former performers. I have told my friends about your Blog. Your knowledge of the circus is very impressive, and your personal experiences are the circus. I could think of nothing more enjoyable than listening to your stories and being able to ask you questions about the circus. There is one area where your vast knowledge would be of a help to me. I have often wondered about what happened to some of the performers after they left Ringling Brothers. Most of them are wild animal trainers. One of those performers is Wolfgang Holzmair. A while back I had read on a web site that he was living in France and writing his memoirs. That web site has either moved or closed down. I haven't heard or read anything since. I was looking forward to reading his book. I have had the privilege of meeting several circus performers. I have met Charly Baumann (twice), Gunther Gebel-Willams, Mark Oliver Gebel, Fred Logan and Baron Lilov. Each was very gracious. Charly Baumann and Gunther autographed their books for me. I had my picture taken with Gunther. One Sunday morning I went to the Bronx to where Clyde Beatty /Cole Brothers was performing to take some pictures of the tents and vehicles. Fred Logan saw me, and was kind enough to take me around the lot and answer questions. How is Mr. Logan doing? I saw on your Blog that he had been hospitalized. I have to agree with your friends, I think it is time that you did turn author, but not for just one book, but three books. Your first book should be your autobiography. The title that I remember being mentioned on your Blog, "Seems Like Yesterday" is perfect. The second book would be devoted to the American Circus, its history, its personalities, with your perspective. The book would spotlight how the circus has changed over the years from its humble beginnings, though the "Golden Age", to the "Gunther Era", finally to the present circuses with no rings. Maybe you could even include a prediction for the future of the American Circus. The final installment of your trilogy would be simply titled "Elephant Men". The book would be the stories of elephant trainers past and present. Each chapter would highlight a different elephant trainer, such as Captain Hugo Schmidt, Axel Gautier, Fred Logan, William Woodcock, etc. You could even do a feature on some of the more famous elephants, like Jumbo and Anna May. All the books would contain a large number of your wonderful pictures. It's something to think about. I have seen and read many of the comments on this year's circus, the 136TH Edition, few of them positive. When I saw pictures of the staging for the 136TH Edition, my first thought was that it looked more like a set for a production of "Wizard Of Oz", with that giant circular television screen and large curtain, than for a circus. Even the commercials for this years edition seem to lack something. There is no excitement. They don't promote anything. The only thing that they seem to hype is their free "All Access Pre-Show". Even that has diminished in recent years from the first one. Can the tour be going all that well? The New York Daily News and Ringling Brothers have combined for a promotion offering five dollar seats for its stay at the Garden. One of the more interesting comments that I have read came from Kenneth Feld. In defending his new edition, he said, "No show survives 135 years without making changes". My uncle also had a favorite quote, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". If this "new" circus is an attempt to compete with Cirque Du Soleil it failed. I believe that most people will tell you, if they wanted to see a show like Cirque Du Soleil, they would go see Cirque Du Soleil. Ringling Brothers should stick to the formula that has worked for them over the years. It did make them "The Greatest Show On Earth". It appears that Ringling Brothers has also adopted the Cirque Du Soleil style of naming each of their shows. The Blue Unit is the "Circus of Dreams", the Red Unit is "Bello-Mania, and the the Hometown Edition is now "An Upside Down World". The circus opened at the Garden on March 23. They had the parade of elephants through the midtown tunnel. The parade seemed to be a shorter parade than ones in the past years. The reaction to the ring-less format has not been good. In their review, the Daily News referred to this year's edition as "Circus Minimus" and the "Lamest Show On Earth". For me, the first true sign of spring has always been the appearance of "The Greatest Show On Earth". This year, however I may be breaking my personal consecutive streak of 36 years of trekking to the Garden to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I have no interest in going. It is not even about the circus having no rings. It is more about it having no tigers. It's a tough decision. In talking to my oldest son about the circus I asked him if he and his wife would be going this year, and he said no. For him, it is not a question of a ring-less circus or no tigers. In Washington, D. C. where they live they would see the 135TH Edition. My son said that he felt was not worth it. He feels that over the past few years Ringling Brothers has been in decline. As has the quality of their acts. I have to agree, but I think it may be longer than a few years. This spring Ringling Brothers will have some competition in New York City. Universoul Circus and will be in the area during Ringling Brother's stay. Not to long after, Cirque Du Soleil's new circus, Corteo" will arrive in New York. The Big Apple Circus will follow later in the Spring and play Long Island. Did you know that ringling.com has not produced a new E-zine since December 19, 2005? That would seem to say something about the state of things at Ringling Brothers. I know a little bit about you. Perhaps you would like to know a little about me. My interest in the circus had humble beginnings. I saw my first circus when I was very young, sometime in the early 50's. As the story that I was told goes, my Dad who at the time was working for an oil heating company was given a call for Madison Square Garden, the old one. The call was not for the Garden itself, but for Ringling Brothers Circus. The circus needed someone who was an expert in steam heat to repair the calliope. My Dad did. As a "tip" he was given passes to the circus for the family. I don't remember a whole lot about that circus, but I do remember the sideshow, we got an autographed picture of a "cowboy" who worked with bullwhips, the menagerie, and three rings of lions, tigers, and bears (oh, my!). That probably explains my interest in wild animal trainers. Unus fascinated my Dad. Growing up, when all my friends wanted to be policemen and firemen, I wanted to be a wild animal trainer. My "act" was Siberian Tigers and Polar Bears, "Sovereigns Of Siberia, Monarchs Of The Frozen Tundra". I also presented an elephant act consisting of six African Elephants. At the time, the appearance of African Elephants in a circus was a rarity. I had my own toy circus. It was the Marx "Super Circus". It had all the acts, all the animals, a tin big top, and a side show. I still have some of the figures. They have survived fifty plus years. My visits to the circus were infrequent until 1969. I was looking for someplace to take, an impress, a young lady that was very dear to me and I was very much enamored with. I settled on the circus. It was then that I first saw Gunther Gebel-Williams. He was making his American debut. The impact on me was immediate. I don't know if it was the girl, Gunther, or a combination of the two, but that night rekindled a fire in me that still glows today. It started my string of 36 years of not missing an appearance of Ringling Brothers at the Garden. When the Garden stay was close to three months, and the tickets more affordable, I would attend three times, once each month. Each time that I went, I would see something different. I worked part time at a local stationery store while I attended school. The owner, my boss, knew of my interest in the circus and on occasion would tease me about it. What he didn't know was that several of his customers had ties to the circus. An older gentleman, who would come into the store every morning for his New York Times would always talk to me about the circus. One day, he came in and asked me if there was a performer that I would like to meet. My first response would have been Gunther, but the Blue unit was in town, so I answered Charly Baumann. He then asked if I was going to the circus. I, of course, answered yes. Nothing more was said. The next day when he came into the store he told me that I was going to meet Charly Baumann, everything was set. I was to go to the performers entrance and tell the guard that Merle said it was "OK". I did just that. I wandered around and ended up in clown alley, where a clown directed me to Charly Baumann. We talked for a few minutes. He autographed picture a picture for me. He even playfully punched me in the shoulder. Charly Baumann was a strong man. I was in awe. At that night's performance, Pablo Noel did not perform. As part of his act Pablo Noel would place his head in a lion's mouth. During his presentation, Charly Baumann placed his head in a tiger's mouth. As you are aware, that was not a regular part of his act. I know it is not true, but I felt he did that just for me. I later found out that my benefactor was a long time friend of Merle Evans. He lent me a copy of Merle Evans' autobiography to read. The the inscription that was written inside the book, and signed by Mr. Evans impressed me. Next door to the stationery store was a liquor store. A retired gentleman owned the store. He picked his friends very prudently. He did like me. He would come in and we would talk about a number of things. He asked me what were my plans for after graduation. What was my dream job? I said the something to do with the circus. He encouraged me to write to Ringling Brothers and ask about possible employment. I did. A few weeks later I received a letter from Ringling Brothers and the office of Allen Bloom, inviting me to D. C. for an interview. My letter along with a letter of recommendation from John Ringling North had been given to Mr. Bloom for action. The liquor store owner had been a classmate and friend of Mr. North while they were at Yale University. He apparently had contacted Mr. North on my behalf. Our sons inherited some of my fondness for the circus. My older son more than the younger. My oldest son has become a big fan of the Cirque Du Soleil. When they both were younger, and after we had attended the circus at the Garden, they would play circus on the floor with their toys and animals for weeks. They even created a ring, a tent, a cannon and other props to make their circus more authentic. It was fun just to watch them play. I possess a diversified but modest circus collection. Programs, posters, pictures that I have taken, mostly slides, videos, and a number of books. Two large, "full sheet" circus posters hang in our living room. They are from 1973, and the circus' stay at Madison Square Garden. The first one is the Max Coplan, Lou Jacobs, "See you at the Circus" poster. The second poster features a leaping tiger and lion. I consider them both "classics". At night I like to surf the Internet and look for news, stories, and pictures about the circus, particularly wild animal trainers, past and present. If you have any favorite sites that you would like to share, I would be grateful for them. I also visit the web sites for different circuses. Currently, I am on my tour of German circuses. That was probably more about me then you wanted to know. I apologize. Finally, we come to the reason for my E-mail...I received an E-mail from my oldest son, with an article that appeared in the Washington Post. The article concerned a court case that was currently going on in Fairfax, Virginia. I thought you might be interested in reading about it. The case was Ringling Brothers versus PETA. The article detailed a trial with more intrigues than a 1940's spy movie. Both sides accusing each other of espionage and counter-espionage. The trial is already over. It lasted about two weeks. You may already know all about this, but since I hadn't see any mention of it on your Blog, I thought I would send the articles about the trial to you. I have enclosed the links to the articles that appeared in the Washington Post about the trial. I hope the links work. This is my first attempt at including a link in an E-mail, and I had to go it alone. Just like you, I have a computer guru, my youngest son. Unfortunately, for me, he is away at school. The last two links are to the reviews of the 136TH Edition of Ringling Brothers that appeared in New York Newsday and the Daily News. The Newsday article is the article that was referenced to on your Blog by Joe Giordano. Circus Company Goes on Trial in Spy Suit Fairfax Jury Told Ringling Circus Hired Private Eye To Infiltrate PETA, Circus Exec Cleared in Spy Case All clowning aside, it's truly a ringless circus -- Newsday.com Circus minimus I think it is obvious that this E-mail was not written in one day but over several days. Believe it or not, I am not known as a prolific letter writer, but my friends will tell you that when I do write, I do tend to be a bit long winded. Maybe it's the subject. Since I started this E-mail, I read a post on your Blog that you had been in the hospital. I hope it was nothing serious, and you are well on the road to recovery. Subsequently, I have also noticed a post by one of your readers on your Blog for the PETA trial. Thank you for your patience. I am a just a fan. I am going and close this E-mail now, the same way Ringling Brothers has ended their performances for so long with one of the nicest sentiments that I have ever heard... "May All Your Days Be Circus Days". Henry Penndorf