The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-02-09
TODANS SPORTARARADE. n. k8A&$Mg@e
BY HENRY McLEMORE (UnitOd Press Staff Correspontlcnt

\o~As~u A"aSSS SeNaA NOEECSpVuWCBND
 Sarasota, Florida, February o.
 (UP) Y Notes scribbled by
 sports writer on a walk through
 the winter headquarters of the
 Greatest Show on Earth" = the
 combined circuses of the Messrs
 Ringing, Barnum and Bailey:
 The. aerialists. their wires and
 swings swung from pine trees, fly Ting through the air with the great est of ease and lovely contempt for the hard ground and scrub
 palmettos below. .-;.-. It looked like a Tarzan movie lot, as the near
 naked artists whifled and spun and som ersaulted through the branches. | :. Tho monkeys in the outer, cage,
 suffering from a chilly wind. fight ing for vantage points on a thick coated raccoon some thoughtfui
 keeper had placed in the cage. Only the top of the coon's nose was visible, so thoroughly did the mon keys curl about him. |. The
 keeper explaining that the coor
 had the monkeys nearly crazy and vice versa. .''.l "The coon. who
 doesn't sleep at night. keeps the
 monks up all night playing, and
 the monkeys, who can't sleep, dup- ing the day. pestering the coon,
 who wants to sleep"
 The unbelievable gentleman IF
 charge of the harness shop, whlca
 makes every bit of the Acircuses'
 leather trappings !. completely blind, he works as swiftly and sure ly as his helpers. In his mifio
 he carries a picture of every nook
 and corner of his big workshop
 every bit of leather, every tool.
 Twice we saw him dive into a great
 stack of ,assorted leather. and,
 with quick rubbing of his fing-
 CTS, distinguished not only, the type of leather, but the color. .. {. It was Ia black piece he wanted the firsi time, and he pulled a black sheet from the middle of great stack
 of natural hides. D7
 Lawrence Bianchi, head of the wardrobe department, which de- signs and makes every costume for every x 1perforher, man and beast. .. |. He was fitting Eva, an ele- phant, for robe when he arrived,
 and no Parisian dressmaker could have been more patnstaking in his
 measurements. =. Eva's measure
 ments Include hips, z feet g inches;
 Girth 1directly behind front legs) 13. feet even; neck to tip of tail. feet. .. Eva, when she comes tripping out in the grand parade
 in Madison Square Garden in April.
 will wear a stunning robe of mo- decorated with thousands of bril- Ito rta Mr pta unhna nat VNoavoQ
 are camel robes. The humps are
 a nuisance. he said, and prevent proper, snug fit. .-. The paint
 shop, with dozens of men splash ing the gaudy wagons with bright
 paint and gold leaf. The circus,
 by the way. is one of the worlds
 largest users of gold leaf. ...
 Nothing else, 1t seems. will give
 that exact circusy gold look. Most of the wagons will have pneumatic tires this year. .. to
 save the streets of the cities visited. .. Painters refreshing those little toy fire department trucks employed by the clowns in their burning house scene. Clyde Beatty won't be back. ..}.. In his place will be Q youngster named Nelson who, according to General Manager Sam .Gumpertz,
 '.isn't afraid of any catsiwho ever lived; be 1t tiger.. Hon.. panther. leopard or puma. "The tent department, where every yard of canvas for all the shows is cut and sewn. i. TO give you an idea of the size of the big top, c man, to inspect all the stitching, would have to walk nearly 75 miles. |. The pet of the entire show -
 Modok, the 45-year.old elephant. l. {. It is Nodok you have seen do Ia waddling dance around the arena,
 and she loves the work so much that when she hears the opening blast of the trumpet, which calls the performers to their posts, siie,li
 run over anything to get in hes spot. And that trick she has
 of holding girl In her trunk, and
 swinging her from side to side Ns
 she dances, was added to he. repertoire in one day.
 Copyright, 1ssb. United Yressl