Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Gentry Bros. Steam Calliope #4


This is how I remember her, riding pnematic tires in 1954 with King Bros. Circus.
Mr. King had purchased 13 elephants from Arthur Wirtz that year (most had come from the Cole Show) but with a pre-existing contract to make the Texas dates in the Fall. So we finished out the last month of the season with our act "Anna May", "Fanny" and "Lydia" while Fred Logan brought "Kay", Barbara" and "Hattie".
We made the daily street parade, immediately followed by the mighty Gentry Bros. calliope and it still made plenty of racket. This is also the occasion that I first met John Herriott, in fact he and Mary Ruth were married in Houston shortly after.

Posted by Buckles at 7/05/2006 05:54:00 AM

12 comments:

Bob Cline said...

It is interesting to notice in this series of pictures that new carvings were added near the rear wheel along with the sunbursts by Photo # 3 as indicated on the John Robinson show. Your # 4 photo shows those carvings are now gone again and an extension has been built on the back which moved the rear axle back about three feet at the same time. Also the obvious decay of the carvings on the King Bros. show.
Bob

05 July, 2006 07:09
Bob Cline said...

Actually, I just noticed the lower carvings and Sunbursts are in Photo# 1 , not in # 2 and back in again in # 3.
Bob

05 July, 2006 07:47
Anonymous said...

My wife and I took a steamboat river trip on the Mississippi Queen, and on the boat was a guy who was referred to as a "riverlorian", meaning he knew a lot about the steamboat & river lore. In the course of his presentation he mentioned that the King Bros. steam calliope was bought and placed on the Delta Queen steamboat where it now resides, blasting her presence up and down the rivers she plies.

05 July, 2006 09:07
Anonymous said...

Some day can you talk a little bit about elephants with pre-existing contracts -- or stories along those lines? Now that we're in the age of micro i.d. chips, and a lot fewer elephants moving around the country, if you noticed any evolution in the ways acts are contracted (or whatever comes to mind about changes).
Lotliza

05 July, 2006 09:08
Buckles said...

I never was much on dwelling on contracts. I was fortunate in dealing with honorable people for the most part.
I signed a one year contract with Big Apple Circus that stayed in effect for the next ten years and would have finished out our careers, had Workers Comp. not become involved.
I have found that if a man's word is no good, his contract is no better.

05 July, 2006 09:28
Down the Road by Jim said...

What Buckles just said !

05 July, 2006 09:40
Anonymous said...

the return of the steam caliope ?notice keyboard direction whistles & manifold and the return of the boiler

05 July, 2006 10:14
Anonymous said...

Got hold of a caliope expert
Gentry had 2 shows & 2 matching caliopes
they were 2 of 7 built in Peru,IN.all looking almost identical
the King Show caliope resides in Peru at the Festival Museum
the Delta Queen instrument, I believe, was built and installed by Dave Morecraft

05 July, 2006 10:58
Bob Cline said...

Wonderfully said Buckles!
Bob

05 July, 2006 12:00
Anonymous said...

If Floyd King had two units out in 1955,eastern and western units, with both advertising a street parade there would be two calliopes. I have seen references to the King show as being the largest truck show ever out with seventy trucks and I wonder if this may have been the total trucks for both shows. Lance S.

06 July, 2006 08:54
Anonymous said...

Lance: King Bros. was a single show in 1955. At approx 70 trucks and correspondingly huge big top, it was said to be the biggest truck show ever.

The ill-fated 1956 season is when two units (Eastern and Western) were fielded. The show collapsed in CT mid-season and sold at auction.

06 July, 2006 21:13
Anonymous said...

To Paul H.
Thanks. After posting I was aware that I had my years mixed up.
Actually I attended the 1955 show. It was billed as King Bros & Cole Bros Combined Circus.It was my first tent show.I was 14 and went by myself arriving about 10 minutes before the evening performance.I didn't have time to count trucks or go to sieshow.I bought a ticket,hurried through the menagerie tent and bought a reserved seat ticket.It was a large show.I remember five elephants in each of the three rings and an after show with cowboys and a wrestler.However I remember coming away feeling a little disappointed because there was no cage act.Something I was looking foward to.I guess you can't have everything. Lance S.

07 July, 2006 09:15

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