Ringling Elephants.1 - May 18, 1971

Ringling Elephants.1 - May 18, 1971, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. From Henry Penndorf Some more pictures from my collection of circus clippings. I thought you would enjoy these pictures in particular. All the pictures are from either the New York Daily News or the New York Times. In May of 1971, Ringling Brothers' Centennial Edition (Blue Unit) was making a special return appearance at Madison Square Garden. I believe that this was the first, and only time, at least that I can remember, that both units appeared at the Garden in the same year. On its way to New York City, the circus train was stopped and stranded at a rail yard in South Kearney, New Jersey by a nationwide railroad signalman's strike. Alternate means of transportin! g the circus' animal population to the Garden had to be found. The circus had great difficulty in locating enough trucks that were big enough, and could accommodate the number of elephants traveling with the show on such short notice. It was determined that the elephants would have to walk to the Garden. Led by Captain Hugo Schmidt, nineteen elephants, one zebra, a llama, and a pony made their way thirteen miles from South Kearney, through the Lincoln Tunnel, into Manhattan and finally to Madison Square Garden. The elephants were classified by the Port Authority as a "Class 2 Vehicle" and Ringling Brothers was charged fifty cents for each elephant for use of the Lincoln Tunnel. The total charges for this parade of pachyderms came to $9.50. (It was 1971) The zebra, the llama, and the pony did not fit into any classification, so they were not charged. This lumbering caravan was escorted on their journey by element s of the Weehawken, Hudson County, Port Authority and New York City police. The remaining menagerie, including two gorillas, fifteen tigers, nine lions, eight leopards and black panthers, were all shipped by vans across the George Washington Bridge, the Holland Tunnel, and the Lincoln Tunnel to the Garden. The tigers belonged to Charly Baumann. The lions, leopards and panthers belonged to Dick Chipperfield, Jr.