Tuesday, April 26, 2011

1950's Elephants #8


04-25-2011 11;55;21AM, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Hagen Bros. Circus 1958 #1
This picture fooled me, I never thought Howard Suesz ever had this many elephants with this show and referred to the Sacred Elephant Scrolls.
Sure enough this was the hear he bought the James M. Cole elephants bringing the herd to five.
Buckles

Posted by Buckles at 4/26/2011 06:14:00 AM

2 comments:

What-makes-sense said...

Buckles,
Among the Cole elephants was Dorothy who Suesz kept only about a year. Dorothy killed a roustabout who was walking by the elephant pen. She did her signature trick--a headstand--on the poor roustabout's head. It took her two tries to get succeed, and when she finished, the roustabout was also. The uproar over the death made it impossible for Suesz to keep Dorothy in the show due to the auspices sponsors not wanting the liability of the killer elephant. Suesz sold her to a Hugo circus who kept her only a year during which Dorothy attempted her trick, unsuccessfully, on a trainer. Dorothy was scheduled to be executed via deer rifle in public by the local sheriff. At the last minute, the Tulsa Zoo agreed to take her and at first claimed Dorothy to be misunderstood. After six years and numerous attempted murders, the Tulsa Zoo gave up and put Dorothy down.

08 January, 2012 10:27
Wade G. Burck said...

Buckles,
The first year I worked for Lou Regan, we were cleaning out the shop in Edmond and throwing junk away(there was a lot of it at the Edmond quarters). I picked up a thick leather strap with two buckles and two tabs on the back of it. It had silver studs across the top and bottom with the initials and name J. M. Cole in the same silver studs in the middle. Not knowing what an elephant leg band was I asked Lou what it was, and he told me a leg band from some elephants Suesz bought years ago. I turned it over and the name "Dorthy" was scratched into the back. I showed it to Lou and all he said was "that was one psychotic bitch. Made that Kitty Rex had a few years ago seem like a lap dog." I fancied the stud work on it and Lou said, "take it or it goes in the dumpster." A couple of years later I gave it to Sabu up in Niagara Falls New York as I was tired of hauling it around.
Now that I have learned what and who's leg band it was, I wish I hadn't done that. Thanks for nothing, Woodcock!!!!!! :)

Wade Burck

08 January, 2012 12:41

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