The Topeka state journal., 1919-09-11
$1,000 PERSONS
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these lines and ventured into the little
tent used by the family for dressing
room.
There he found man whose hair
is turning white, two young men in
the pink of clean young manhood, a
beautiful young lady with sparkling
eyes and smiling lips. an interesting
girl with a rosebud face, a charming
Spanish sonora and little shaver of
three summers who talks Spanish and
English fluently and who is training
he himself prepares for the hazardous
career of an auto racer.
It was out in the centerfield before
the grandstand and before thousands
of spectators-but 1t was strictly a
family circle that the reporter broke
into. At first the ice was rather thick
despite the heat, but gradually the
reception became more cordial and
the patriarch of the flying family. Z.
COdona, laid aside his "All Story
magazine, smiled and consented to talk
about himself and his family of star
performers.
"Yes, we have all been in this bust
ness all of our lives" he said with
something of a proud tone. I'VE are
all circus people as far back as we
can trace our genealogy. My father
and my grandfather were both circus
performers and began to take up the
game when 1 was about a year old
my father doing a juggling stunt in
which he balanced me on something
that 1 do not recall at the present
time. When I was only six years old
my father became very i'll and 1 went
out to support my mother, which
did very nicely thru the training my
father had given me-"
The kindly old gentleman then said
that his children had not started in
the game as young as he, but he ad-
mitted that the boys were doing stunts
before audiences when they were four
years old and that his daughters went
on when they no more than six.
The "Old Man" now is merely the
patriarch of the family. He attempts
to do nothing. but the youngsters who
have thrilled Kansas Free Fair audi
ences all week assert he was the best
in the business when he was on the
bars"
In the family actually working at
the fair there is Victoria, who does
wire act every day and who is one
Of the few wire workers in the world
to carry no balance of any kind in
her hand. She does a tight wire stunt
and then slack wire stunts that seem
impossible to persons who are unable
to boast three generations of acrobatc
ancestors. In the family tent she is
most pleasing young lady. Her sis
ters, Misses Clara and Rosa Codona,
do trapeze stunts with their brothers,
Clara manipulating the bars and doing
some of the most difficult flying feats.
The flying trapeze stunt is done by
Alfred and Lalo Codona, the two
brothers. Lalo is the strong man and
Alfred is the one who does the fly
| ing stunts and is caught and tossed
| by Lalo. Alfred has four gold medals
that he has been given for his spec
tacular work. altho he admits that his
act would be impossible without the
| aid of his brother. and that he would
"bust" himself in a fifty if his brother
/ Lalo did not stay on the job every
/ minute OF the time.
The -Codonas have travelled three
times around the world. They were
with the Barnum & Bailey circus for
a number of years and were running a
| Villa started his revolution and
burned up all their equipment after
| capturing the town in which they were
| showing. They spend their winters in
Cuba and boast that they have more
dates during the show season than any
other similar act on the road. Also.
Phil Eastman says they can boast that
they get more money for their act
| than any other troupe Of acrobats ever
brought to this city.
United States Is Best.
The senior Codora says that after
travelling all over the world three
! was the best place for a poor man to
| lives and he now owns his own home
at FL Paso, Tex. The young Codoras
| assert that Mexico is the best country
in the world and they say that they