Evening star., 1944-06-24
Small Circus Outfits
Enjoying Good Days,
But Work Harder

But Work Harder
By the Associated Press.
In q score Of smaller cities today
horses are prancing, elephants are
plodding, clowns are cavorting, the
band fills the tent with gay music
and the daring young men and
women on the flying trapeze offer
their best In bag of thrills.
It's all done without the glamour
that surrounds the big one" thel
Ringing Bros. -Barnum & Bailey
circus that manages each season tol
monopolize the circus news In the
big newspapers, on the press serv.
ices and in the magazines.
But were 1t not for the scores Of
smaller circuses-most of which you
probably never heard of--many AM
American youngster would never
know OF the romance OF the saw
dust in the big top. The r. b.
B. g. B. and the Cole Bros. half as
large, have been the only two rail-
road circuses on the road in the last
few years and they have been play
ing two and three day engagements.
cutting down the number OF cities
visited.
Red Wheels Rolling.
But the motorized, the truck or
the mud shows-cal them what you
will--chug along from April to Mo-
vember, across the country and
back, up and down. This is their
year. This is the year for small
circuSeS.
Last year showmen went back to
winter quarters with their deep
pockets filled with greenbacks. 1t
was marvellous season.
So what happened? Every show
man who didn't own circus but
had ambitions. and could round upl
bankroll and the necessary cam
vas, rope, trucks, seats and other
scarce equipment, got himself a
show.
And now they're out. Either this
is going to be one of the circus
greatest financial years or the
countryside is going to be peopled
by stranded circuses. The early
season reports favor the former
for already the shows are playing to
capacity.
The shows are good and bad in
quality of performance, just as some |
movies are good and some are Door.
All of them have that traditional
circus atmosphere. the big top, the
sideshow, the midway, the cook
house, the grease joint" (midway
eating spoD, the opening spectacle,
the wild west show. They all have
horses and dogs and ponies, most |
of them at least one elephant.
They load them into the trucks
and trailers and move on to the
next town. either Immediately after
their night performance or the next
morning.
The performers live in their house
cars. Some OF the shows have
"sleepers" for the band and other
workers. Some have trailer COM
partments, three or four to q long
truck-like trailer.
And virtually all are brothers"
shows. That's a circus tradition. |
Not more than two or three families |
of brothers own circuses. The
Ringing family, Of course; Russell |
Bros. was family name. Tho little |
Mills Bros. circus actually has three
brothers. But, almost every show |
that started out this spring tackled
bros on after its chosen name.
One of last years truck shows
leaped into the railroad class thisl
spring-Dailey Bros. down Texas
way. Manager Ben Davenport
bought 10 railroad cars to move his
tented aggregation. Cole Bros, the
other railroad show. is playing the
Midwest after opening at Louisville,
KY, winter quarters.
Rolling the Wide Countree. |
And now the motorized shows on
the road include: Wallace Bros,
headed for the East; Mills Bros, In
Ohio; Arthur Bros. and Clyde
Beatty Russell Bros, on the West !
Coast; al G. Kelly 81 Miller Bros. in
Oklahoma; Globe Bros, Ray Bros,
REQ Bros. Bailey Bros, Hunt Bros,
Cooper Bros, Sello Bros, Roy Bros.
and Dorothy Herbert. Hugo Bros,
Monroe Bros, plus the brotherless
titles of Cronin's Circus, the Bud
Anderson, the Jay Gould and the
Seils-Sterling.
Where do they come from? WAL
lace wintered in York, s. c.; Mills
in Ashland, Ohio; Beatty Russell in
Los Angeles; Kelly & Miller and
Hugo In Hugo, Okla; Bailey in
Jackson, Mich; Bud Anderson In
Emporia, Kans.
Along with the prospects of fine
business the shows, too, face the
prospect of labor shortages. Per-
formers are helping put 1t up and
take 1t down." carrying properties,
putting up seats. driving trucks. But
II those long lines of ticket buyers
outside the red wagons are daily oc-
currences no one Is going to worry
al 4,