Saturday, January 30, 2010

H-W Commissary


SAVE2394, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

To the unaware this is what Tennessee Ernie Ford referred to when he sang "I owe my soul to the Company Store" (Sixteen Tons).
Rather than a Paymaster circuses had a Time Keeper. In this establishment the working men could buy clothes, cigarettes, postal stamps, etc. but most importantly you could make a draw on your salary by the use of dukie books whose coupons were only negotiable with the show (pie car, grease joint, commissary, crap game, etc.) thereby often enslaving good workers for the season.

Posted by Buckles at 1/30/2010 05:57:00 AM

4 comments:

Wade G. Burck said...

Buckles,
Another noble tradition, still carried on to this day.
Wade Burck

30 January, 2010 07:06
JIM ELLIOTT said...

Another outstanding set of photos. THANK YOU BUCKLES!

30 January, 2010 07:17
Anonymous said...

This was about the end of the line for a simple but elegant tableau that had been built by the Moeller brothers of Baraboo for the Dode Fisk Circus of nearby Wonewoc, Wisconsin for 1909. It carried the number 14 and can be seen in a posing on Third Avenue, in front of the Moeller shop. The latter is now an annex to the McGann furniture store on the corner.

30 January, 2010 08:15
Henry bSchroer said...

The first few years I was on Ringling the time keeper, I think his name was Eddy Ward, would advance money to the crew, quarter on the dollar payback. Then Feld stopped this bloodsucking business and there was no more money to be advanced. Until Werner Edling, one of our Elephant handlers started it up again, and after 2 years both himself a truck and trailer.

30 January, 2010 17:14

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