Received these first few pictures from Harry Kingston recently, he may have taken them himself.
Married a few months and facing reality having just had our contract with Rudy Bros. Circus suddenly cancelled after Rudy Jacoby bought the former Tom Packs elephants from Jungleland and leaving in sitting in Hugo in February without a days work.
Oddly enough tour our first job was a Shrine Date in Tyler, Texas run by Big Bob Stevens and Jean Allen (Barbara's first elephant tutor on the Dailey Show).
I can't remember how the arrangement with Corky Plunkett came about but it sure saved the day.
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Saturday, March 01, 2014
From Harry Kingston #1
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4 comments:
We took out a X-Mas Show with Corky & June Plunket. June did the booking. June came from the Brunks Rep. Show Family, I think. She was a go getter. Good at booking. I made a Santa Clause suit for "Sadie." Whiskers and all. We did okay. Fed the elephants, and that was the main thing. We had signed a contract to go on a little show. ( Can't remember the name of it.) But we got into their winter quarters, and they had fired the manager (who had signed our contract.) So they tried to pull a fast one on us. They said they wanted us but that could only pay us half of what the contract was for. And it was not much. They thought we were in a hole, ( we were ) But we didn't let them get away with it. We went with a small Carnival to do elephant rides, down in Texas. Starvation trail. But we made it, JUST. And ended up going out with Pratt. He was the owner of the small circus that these pictures were taken on. It gave us time to work on mounts more......Barbara......
When I joined the Woodcock Family Elephants, they had beautiful CHAIN head pieces. But to do mounts on them was pure torture. The chain went right down the trunk. Right where you had to sit. So the backs of my legs were black, blue, green, purple, & yellow, from butt to ankles. And on our first date Gee Gee Engesser was there. We dressed in the same dressing room. Gee Gee said OMG. Barbara he beats you. I started laughing and told her no. Now please come and help me put make up on it. Needless to say the chain head pieces had to go....Barbara.......
Vernon Pratt was a Hugo businessman as I recall who had interests in circuses a couple of times. Wasn't he Corky Punnkett's partner on the James Christy show? And possibly on Ted LaVelda's Monroe Bros too? Or maybe I'm thinking of that Hugo Bros somebody took out.
You are right on Whitey.....Barbara....
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