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11 comments:
This was the 1st marvel of
canvas rolling engineering
that I saw in 61 in Philly
at Lighthouse Field
Chevy from Johnny Canole
What a great sight. I can smell the damp grass and hear the clanging of the stake driver!!!
It looks like the body was taken off the Ford, that Beatty got from King Brothers, when he first went to trucks.
Also Chic, you can do series on other special circus vehicles, such as bull trucks, cookhouse trucks, sleepers etc.
BOPPABILL: There's a thing about the conversion to trucks. Beatty had gone bankrupt in '56, and the show was sold at a Sheriff's auction in Macon, Georgia, where CB had incorporated. It was rumored that when The Gang of Four arrived, $80,000 bought that show. Overnight, they decided to convert from Beatty's 15-car rail show to trucks. The show's lifers were dismayed when the train was stripped and abandoned, except for Beatty's private 61 Car, which was not involved in the sale. For '57, the show left DeLand on rubber tires. Beatty's home car remained on a siding, and later fell victim to a mysterious fire. Catcher Dick Anderson told me when his flying act team arrived to find a truck show sitting there, they were so disenchanted they had to make themselves honor their contract.
CHIC noted Johnny Canole. It was known at the time that he got very rich on the 3 fleets he sold for Beatty, King, and Sells & Gray. Remember, folks--"Save Money With Johnny".
1956...What a bleak year for circus fans with the mid-season closing of Big Bertha, and Beatty and King Bros Circus going into bankruptcy. I lived in Macon, Georgia at the time and the demise of King Brothers Circus was a bitter pill to swallow. The show wintered in Macon at Central City Park...no more visits to the park to watch performers practice their acts, visit the elephant barn and watch all the activity of the show being prepared for the next season. The only bright side if you can call it that...the courts in Macon, Georgia awarded the title, "King Brothers Circus" to Vickie Kernan King (Mrs. Floyd King). She leased the title to the Little Cristiani's (Cosetta, Remo, Chita, Tripoli) and King Bros Circus toured once again in 1958. As many will recall, the Cristiani Family had been in partnership with Floyd King which ended in 1953...A highly successful partnership. My apologizes for getting somewhat off topic.
King Bros. Circus toured once again in 1959.....not 1958.
Bleak, for sure, CHARLES. The demise of RB, Beatty, and King, all made the network news. No one knew they would all eventually carry on, even with altered formats, so at the time it was like having our hearts cut out on black-and-white TV.
Well said...it was like having your heart cut out. Life Magazine did a great spread on RBBB in 1956 and also on King Bros. Circus in 1956. I have the King article from "Life Magazine" framed and hanging. It still stings to look at it after all these years. Seeing these circuses in their prime....it was almost impossible to even think that dark days were ahead......
No apologies necessary Charles as
meandering is always welcome here
Johnny Conole also held paper
at very affordable rates for
performers & working stiffs
He also found cheap insurance
often of little more value
than getting a registration
from Leland Enzor who was the
Probate Judge in Andalusia AL
I still have a couple of the
old "Heart of Dixie" plates
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