"Kinko" #2

At the tail end of the Orrin Davenport Winter Tour in the 1950's after Duluth we were obligated to play a number of dates in Western Canada like Brandon, Saskatoon, Regina, etc. and the elephants traveled by baggage car along with Joe Zoppe's horses and the Jack Joyce Camels since the highways were pretty bad in those days. A lot of the personnel traveled by rail as well and stayed in Hotels, now looking back I wish I had been at the dining car table listening to my father cut up jackpots with Davenport, Col. Harry Thomas and Merle Evans. One year Kinko was on the show and had a little car like Lou Jacobs and a small trailer behind with his dog inside but decided to leave his wife Mary behind in Duluth at a trailer park and the dog stayed as a body Guard. So he borrowed  my dog "Charlie" then when the big moment arrived and we were behind the curtain, I pushed him inside, close the door but it fails to latch and when the car moves ahead it flops open and Charlie steps out and sits down beside me.  Then we both watch the car go around the ring stop, Kinko emerge, go through his gestures then point at the trailer, open the door and no dog.....poor Kinko  down on his knees and groping around when Orrin Davenport seated by the bandstand  yells, "Drag the son of a bitch out!" and when it's obvious there is no dog he almost fell off the chair laughing. I well remember on our return, the prop crew bringing down cases of Canadian Whiskey to the baggage car to stash behind the elephants for Mr. Davenport to entertain his Shrine committees the following year.