The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1910-07-08
SP PARKS SHOWS
Observe the Fourth-Give a Big
Banquet Tor Two Hundred
People.
Parade Monday a Splendid One
and Performance First-Class
in Every Respect

Just as it is true that compe-
tition is the life of trade, so the
fact that opposition brings the
crowds applies to the circus bust
ness. Sisseton has witnessed dur
ing the past 10 days a little cir
Gus war between two big shows,
and it served to arouse additional
'hterest and whet the circus APP
petite. The Sparks Shows came
in Sunday morning, from
Wheaton, and large crowd was
on hand to greet it. First APP
pearances always count the most
and it Was seen at a glance that
it was a first-class outfit. The
horses We're all fine specimens,
the wagons in splendid condition
and the parade, tableaus and
cages richly decorated. In fact,
the show gave every evidence of
stability and prosperity. The
work of unloading was quickly
accomplishd, aend it was accom-
plished without the slightest fric-
Ition. As fast as the big wag-
ons rolled down the runs, six or
eight big dapple greys swung in
to place and in less than an
hour the last wagon was on the
lot. But little work is done on
Sunday and only the side show,
menagerie, horse tents and dim
| ing tents We're erected.
| Manager Charles Sparks Sun
day rendered his employees his
annual Fourth of July banquet
and it will long be remembered
as a gastronomical treat by those
who We're fortunate enough to
pa1'take of it. The dining tent
presented a pretty sight. Mrs.
Sparks. assisted by the ladies Of
the show. Mesdames Davis, Mayo,
Cahill, Valentino and Gillespie
gave the tables a festive appear
ance and at each plate was q
pretty tour-page souvenir menu
card. Radiating from the CEN
ter to every corner and across
to the sides We're festooned red,
white and blue bunting and
American flags. Steward Charles
Davis was given carte blanche
and he fairly outdid himself. 1t
was a dinner the highest salaried
hotel chef would find it hard to
duplicate
Monday morning, bright and
early, long strings of wagons be-
gan to roll into town and at
parade time the main street was
iammed. The parade was all
that was promised. A vast throng
Was Oh the lot after the parade
and took in the side show and
saw the free attraction. The show
was all that could be expected
and pleased all. 1t was a show
that all could see, not a confu-
sion of acts and it pleased every
one present. While all the acts
We're good and there was not one
bad act in the entire program, es-
peciallv noticeable were the cast
ing act of the Valentino fam
lily. the sensational up-side-down
trapeze act of Alton, the herd of
trained elephants introduced by
Prof. Paul Jacoby, the riding of
the Mayos, and an act out of the
ordinary furnished by the
Mizano troupe of five Japs, of
which two juvenile members
gained the most applause. The
clowns, led by Joseph, Sherry
and Joe McAllister, furnished
plenty of fun and their funny an
tics kept the large crowd in an
uproar.. The Sparks people were
all clever folks and the show
was high class in every detail.
There was no gambling, no row.
dies around, and the attendants
were not Of the variety that usu-
ally do the rough work.
Fletcher Smith, the press agent,
was most genial fellow to meet
and did all in his power to
make the newspaper people en-
joy themselves. We can cor
daily endorse the Sparks Shows
and hope to have them here