Little Eva

Little Eva, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. About the winter of 1925-26 Gruber acquired Minnie II, a three-year-old elephant. The elephant was taken to Bluffton for training, however, shortly after her arrival in Muskegon she passed away. Soon after, the Grubers welcomed Little Eva, another three-year-old. Topsy, a two-year-old zebra and Ringo, a Great Dane were added, and the act was christened "Oddities of the Jungle." Packed into truck custom-built by Muskegon-based Fitzjohn Corporation for the act, the Gruber's returned to country's vaudeville stages with Eva, "the human elephant" and Topsy, "the wonder zebra." Eva would make frequent appearances, selling papers on the street corners, or pedaling a huge tricycle down the main street of the towns they visited. She bowled on a portable bowling alley built by the local Brunswick plant. Topsy, billed as the worlds only performing zebra, would dance to Eva's drumming and organ grinding, and skipped rope for the entertainment of the masses.