The Great Fred J. Mack Circus in 1955

Courtesy of Fred Pfening: During the spring of 1955 Public Enterprises, Inc. was organized by a group of Columbus, Ohio businessmen. Fred D. Pfening,Jr. was president of the corporation. Stock sold in the company totaled $27,600. The company operated the Fred J. Mack Circus. The show opened in late April and closed on July 5. It moved on nine trucks. The big top was a new 70 round top with two 30s and one 40 foot middle. Seating was on five hundred chairs and bleachers. Music was on records, played in a former funeral hearse. Chief Clarence Keys was boss canvasman and his wife Tillie had the cookhouse. The performance included acts presented by six former circus owners. The midway show was a menagerie owned by R. A. Miller. Miller¹s elephant, Jessie, was a feature of the performance. Frankie Lou Woods presented it. Another feature was aerialists Mickey King. The daily nut was about $690 a day. The show lost money from the start. The closing came when the advance stands ran out. The loss for season was $21,600. The equipment was advertised in the Billboard. It was sold to Arthur ³Hardtimes² Leonard in October for $3,400. They money from Leonard was used to pay the government with holding taxes and admission taxes. Leonard operated the Leonard Bros. Circus in 1956. The equipment was then sold. The grandstand finally wound up with Bob Snowden¹s Duke of Paducah Circus in 1960 and on his King Bros. Circus in 1961.