45 YEARS YOUNG , FELDS MARK MILESTONE (2 photos) : Unbelievable as it seems, Nov. 12 will mark the 45th anniversary of the Feld's ownership of RBBB, seen here in Rome (John North is somewhere here), in 1967, Irvin, Judge Hofheinz, our own Lee Solters, and Israel "Izzy" Feld, plus assorted Feld and Hofheinz kids, including Kenneth and Karen Feld—the BIG DAY when the circus sale was official. (It’s said that Irvin’s group paid $8 milIion in gold bullion and when JRN died, he was worth north of $100 million) the early days, I remember the anti-Feld bias among veteran circus folks, pointing to their alleged lack of "circus expertise." Looking back, it's a very different story, as, ironically, the Felds have now operated the combined shows LONGER than any Ringling ever did and operation is now in the hands of a THIRD Feld generation, also a record! |
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
From Jerry Digney #3
From Jerry Digney #5
50 YEARS AGO: Charly Baumann does one more turn with his tigers at Circus Krone, |
I'm going as fast as I can!
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Monday, August 27, 2012
To Chic Silber
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On the subject of guns, we had a carpenter on the Kelly-Miller show years ago, an old time cowboy named Jack Wright who built himself a camper mounted on a pick-up truck with an overhanging bed similar to the one we had 20 years later as seen above. One day he parked it next to the cook house and from the candy butcher's table we got this same view of Jack in repose. Suddenly a beef arose, Blackie Woods came storming up to the camper to avenge his daughter's honor. He yelled "I know what you've been saying about Frankie Lou, are you coming out of there or do I have to come in? The cook house was completely silent. "All right I'm coming in after you!" Blackie put his foot on the step and Jack calmly reached under his pillow and pulled out a pistol similar to the one you described and said, "Take one more step and I"ll pop this cap at you." Being in the line of fire the butcher's table erupted, people scrambling every direction. Later I heard someone ask a shaken Blackie why he hadn't gone inside and he explained that he would have but had suffered a temporary heart attack. That made two of us. |
From Chic Silber #1
Valerie Menz has been our head frontlight operator |
Circus Juventas #1 (From Jim Cole)
As the Youth Chairman for the Circus Fans Association, I have this year taken several trips to the various youth circuses across the country. My latest venture was up to St. Paul, MN to see the final weekend of “Showdown” the 2012 summer production of Circus Juventas. To say the least, their show was amazing. It is kind of like Cirque Soleil, but with a story line you can understand. It blends theater, dance and traditional circus arts. Showdown took us back to the old west. Good guys, bad guys, prospectors, dance hall girls, a stage coach robbery, a bar room brawl, and finishing with a gunfight on the wall trampoline. They had a great sound system with mainly country –western music, top notch lighting, and very well done costumes. The show even had a horse, didn’t really do much, but it is unique to see a youth circus that uses animals. |
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