Monday, October 15, 2018

STAKES #4


Posted by Chic Silber at 10/15/2018 12:50:00 AM

6 comments:

Chic Silber said...


A stake is driven through

the cable loop at the base

of each quarter pole to

minimize their dancing in

strong wind conditions

Blues are inside quarters

& reds are on the outside

Ropes are attached at the

top grommet run down the

pole & are tied to it at

the bottom to keep it in

position as well

This of course is how it

was so many years ago

15 October, 2018 01:19
Chic Silber said...


Perhaps this was a 1st use of this top

15 October, 2018 01:52
Roger Smith said...

One day, I was in the top when the boys were still driving these stakes to secure the quarter poles. Down the track came Harry Rawls's 20-something daughter, and the boys hooted that no girl could do what they were doing. She stopped, grabbed a sledge hammer from one of them, and did the round-house, one-handed-over-the-shoulder driving that sent the stake down to the cable. I don't remember her name, but the girl shut a lot of mouths in the Big Top that day.

For a fine point of history, every department had a color that claimed all its equipment. Big Top's color was white, as you see on these stakes, and on the stakes around the top in exterior shots. We had a fine, old colored gentleman who worked for George Werner. He kept a pint can of white paint and a ragged old brush, and every week or so, we'd see him quietly circling the top, re-painting his hundreds of stakes.

15 October, 2018 17:43
Chic Silber said...


Wasn't the fellow with the white

paint known as Bird Liver Roger

16 October, 2018 02:20
Chic Silber said...


Another time I'll mention the

red & blue Big Bertha paint

in attempt of identification

16 October, 2018 02:23
Roger Smith said...

Yes, come to recall--Bird Liver rings a bell.

16 October, 2018 18:46

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