Friday, January 30, 2009

Circus World Museum looks forward to parade in Milwaukee, better days ahead

By BRIAN D. BRIDGEFORD/NEWS REPUBLIC
Rock Springs resident Craig Janzen paints one of the colorfully-decorated, steel-rimmed wheels that will carry historic circus wagons through city streets July 12 when the Great Circus Parade returns to Milwaukee. He was working Thursday morning in the C. P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center of Circus World Museum. Visible behind him is the Pawnee Bill Bandwagon made in 1903.

Getting socked by June flooding interrupted rising attendance at Circus World Museum in 2008, the director said Thursday. However the museum can look forward to a successful Milwaukee Great Circus Parade in July and rising visitor numbers in 2010, he predicted.


CWM Executive Director Steve Freese met with members of the executive committee of the Circus World Museum Foundation, the non-profit organization that operates the museum on behalf of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. They conducted a review of the shortfalls and successes of 2008 and looked forward to the next budget they must prepare, the one for 2010.
In 2007, visitors coming to Circus World Museum was rising for the first time in years and reached about 56,000 people, Freese said. Attendance was rising again in 2008, until the Baraboo River overtopped its banks in early June and forced the closure of the museum grounds.


CWM has been recovering from the floods and that trend should continue, Freese said.
"We'll be back on the growth we did in 2007, and up through the flood in 2008," he said. "We had 15 percent growth in 2007 in attendance, and we were up to 8 percent growth before the flood, That hit us pretty badly and we lost attendance," he said. Museum staff are working hard on the big project for the year, the parade through Milwaukee, Freese said. It will be the first since 2003.


CWM has already completed contracts with the horse teams and drivers who will be pulling the wagons, Freese said. Restoration of the historic circus wagons that will appear in the parade is also moving along well, he said.


In the C. P. Fox Wagon Restoration Center, Wagon Superintendent Harold "Heavy" Burdick and a crew of museum employees and volunteers were busy preparing 50 elaborately-carved and colorful circus wagons to make their best showing during the Great Circus Parade July 12 in Milwaukee.


On one side of the wagon workshop, Baraboo carpenter Jeff Fry used an electric saw and chisel to shape part of a wooden frame for the Ken Maynard Air Calliope Wagon. Time and again, he tried the fit of the part before taking it back to his workbench to shape it further.
The calliope wagon, a type of musical instrument circuses used to attract crowds, stood stripped to bare wood, waiting for completion of its restoration. Burdick flipped a sheet over and displayed the gleaming, brass pneumatic pipes of the wagon's music-making mechanism.
"It needs some loving," he said of the antique circus wagon.


In another area, Rock Springs resident Craig Janzen and Donald Sanders of Baraboo painted the colorful wood and steel-rimmed wheels that carry the wagons along the parade route. Overlooking them were the ornately painted scenes and faces of the museum's Pawnee Bill circus bandwagon, originally made in 1903 for Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show.
As part of preparations for the parade, Burdick said they had the wheels squeezed by a giant hydraulic machine to make sure the steel rims cling tight to the wooden spokes and hubs. Each wheel can weight up to several hundred pounds, he said. "That's 200 wheels, we have to make sure they go three miles (of the parade route)," he said.


Fry said the last six months of working on wagon restoration rather than home building has been a new experience for him. "You get to use the same skills," but it's always interesting here," he said. "You never know what they'll pull in here." Fry added it is a lot better to be working in a heated workshop rather than an outdoors construction site.


On another side of the workshop near giant garage-type doors a second air calliope wagon stood, the Cole Brothers Air Calliope No. 82, ready to take part in the parade. This one gleamed with a new coat of red paint and looked as if it was ready for work almost a century ago in the golden age of circuses, parading through the streets to draw adults and children to the performances under the big top. "That was a total restoration too," Burdick said. "It worked out really nice.
"A compliment to my guys, because I couldn't do it without them," he said. "They deserve a lot of credit for what they do here."


Burdick said he expects he and his co-workers will not be done restoring all the wagons until shortly before the Great Circus Parade hits Milwaukee's streets this summer.

In the CWM conference room, Freese said he is optimistic about the future of the museum. However, with the economic slowdown, he didn't expect attendance in 2009 to rise above that of last year, about 53,000 people.

But as the economy revitalizes in 2010, Freese said effective efforts to promote the museum will again bring rising numbers of visitors. His strategy has been to be "really out there with the public." "I think because of the different marketing style and approach that I've taken to the management of the facility, I think we can reasonably expect an uptick in the attendance," Freese said. "We have basically two-and-a-half years evidence for that."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Ringling's 22nd baby elephant born

RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY® PROUDLY ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST ELEPHANT CALF BORN FROM ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
It’s A Boy! The 22nd Calf Born into the Ringling Bros.® Conservation and Breeding Program
(January 27, 2009 -Vienna, VA) – The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation® proudly announces the birth of a healthy male Asian elephant – marking the twenty-second birth in what has proven to be the most successful Asian elephant breeding program in the Western Hemisphere. Most importantly, this is the first calf in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey assisted reproduction program born as a result of artificial insemination (AI). Born on Jan. 19, the inaugural eve of the 44th President of the United States at 11:50 p.m. and weighing 250 pounds, the calf has been named Barack, This calf is a first for fourteen-year-old Bonnie, who also was born at the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation, and until recently was performing with The Greatest Show On Earth®. Two male elephant donors from the Ringling Bros. herd contributed to the AI procedure and Ringling Bros. veterinarians will soon be taking blood samples to determine which donor is the calf’s father. As with each calf born at Ringling Bros., Barack will have a team of veterinarians and elephant husbandry specialists that will watch over and care for him as he grows and develops.

“The reality is that the worldwide elephant population is declining, which means the overall mortality rate is increasing and that is a heart breaking fact. That is why at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey practical solutions that help to care for and to save these magnificent animals are critical,” says Kenneth Feld, Founder of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation. “Our priority at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is to invest in and support health and conservation programs for captive populations that in the future may help save range country populations. We are thrilled that Bonnie and now Barack are living tributes to our commitment at Ringling Bros.”

Barack is only the fourth elephant to be born in the United States from artificial insemination (AI). The first calf born from an AI was in 1999 at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri under the watch of Dr. Dennis Schmitt, Chair of Veterinary Care and Director of Research for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. AI procedures are considered a viable option in conservation programs where species like the Asian elephant are endangered. The AI procedure is meant to complement natural breeding efforts not replace them. It also helps to manage and increase the gene pool population without the logistics of relocating and introducing a male elephant (solitary by nature) to an established herd of female elephants.

Read more at http://www.elephantcenter.com/press/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=17472

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Makes a lot of sense to me!

AIN'T IT THE TRUTH!!?

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6am.

While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA )was perking,
he shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG )


He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA ),
designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE )
and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA )


After cooking his breakfast in his new
electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA )


he sat down with his calculator
(MADE IN MEXICO )
to see how much he could spend today.
After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN )
to the radio (MADE IN INDIA )
he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY )
filled it with GAS (from Saudi Arabia )
and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.
At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day

checking his Computer (Made In Malaysia ),

Joe decided to relax for a while.He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL )
poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE )
and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA ),

and then wondered why he can't find

a good paying job in AMERICA ....

Sept. / Oct. issue of Bandwagon

The Sept. / Oct. issue of the Circus Historical Society's periodical the Bandwagon, featured two show cards from the Sig Sautlette season of 1911. They measured 10 1/4" x 14". Both were printed by the Erie Litho Co. Both are in the Pfening Archives. To learn more about Circus History you can go to the Circus Historical Society's web page at http://www.circushistory.org/ Anyone can now fill out the application for membership and mail it in or we now have the website set up to use the PayPal system of online payments which allows you to become a paid member instantly. No other organization features a complete review of every show on the road each year as well as some of the most detailed accounts of Circuses past and present. Join the Circus Historical Society today. You'll be glad you did!

Sept. / Oct. issue of Bandwagon

This is another window card from the 1911 season. It was also printed by the Erie Litho Co. It is in the Pfening Archives.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

More Flatcar Information

I recieved this nice email from Ned Kronburg today to go along with the flatcar information. This probably isn't going to copy and paste very well either. Hopefully you can read it.
you might be interested in the possum belly inventory for the flat cars or the equipment we used for the run cars
2 long bars
4 sledge hammers
4 stop chocks short handled (left and right )
2 follow chocks (long handled (these were square ends and could be used as left or right)
4 crow bars (for removing chocks)
2 pull over ropes (long hook on one end and a short hook on the other) long hook attached to the wagon
1 pull up rope (this rope had a hook on both ends ) one fastened to the flat car the other to what ever was doing the pulling and the snatch block was attached to the wagon
1 snubbing rope ( this rope had a hook only at one end
1 snubbing post
1 snatch block for the pull up rope
2 racks
2 shovels

Friday, January 23, 2009

Warren Flatcars

In this old postcard of the original "Old Milwakee Days" train, we see a string of Warren flatcars in differing paint schemes. The Warren Tank Car Co. manufactured this style of a car from 1921 to 1927 era with a truss support under the car. A few of this style still exist at the Circus World Museum. The more modern versions made after 1927, generally do not have this truss design. Several of the Warren flatcars at the Circus World Museum have circus backgrounds before going to the World of Mirth carnival. A couple came directly from Ringling and one came from the Foley and Burk Carnival. A few came from the Royal American Shows. They were made in 70' and 72' lengths. The Strates Carnival still uses one Warren as their unloading ramp where they literally pick up one end of the car and remove the wheels and then lay the end down on the track. A Short set of ramps are then added to get from the flatcar to the ground.

Warren Flatcars

A detail of the steel manufacturer used in Warren Flatcar # 244.

Warren Flatcars

This is a detail of the steel manufacturer used in Warren Flatcar # 69.

Warren Flatcars

These three photos are taken under Warren flatcar # 56 showing the truss type support.

Warren Flatcars


Some details from under a truss supported Warren flatcar.

Warren Flatcars

Details of the under side of a truss supported Warren Flatcar.

Warren Flatcars


This gives a pretty good example of the truss support under the car that the three previous detail shots were of.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

From Ned Kronburg in Minnesota

Bob, that was just a heavy frost up here. It's starting to thaw and the deer are running again. Ned

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Greetings from Sunny South Carolina

Whoo Hoo! Thank you to all my northern friends for sending us some gifts from a far. I love it! However...... in South Carolina, snow is like a dirty four letter word. The first sign of a snowflake and everything closes up shop. Bread and milk disappear from the store shelves like a Major natural disaster is about to occur. Schools cancelled last night already. Most places of employment are closed also. Of course you have to realize there are no snowplows here either. They use the road graders that they grade the dirt roads with. Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

Greetings from Sunny South Carolina


Supposed to be almost 60 degress by Thursday.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Flatcars # 10 & 20


The two Mt. Vernon flatcars # 10 & # 20 on the show grounds came from the Bill Hames family in Texas. My Dad's photo taken in 1963 still reflects the Bill Hames Shows paint job. Since there are no railroad tracks on the grounds attached to a real rail line, these cars were all picked up by cranes and re-located onto trucks, then moved to this newly built rail spur, then placed back on tracks. Over the years, these two cars have been used for the loading and unloading demonstration. As you can see from these photos, real horsepower was used. The horses are now gone from the Circus World Museum and the Mack trucks are used instead. The following photos will show some of the various paint and lettering schemes that have been used on these two cars over the last 45 years.

Flatcars # 10 & 20

Jim Peterson was kind enough to run these photos over the last couple years on his blog at http://poles2engine.blogspot.com/ They will give you a little idea of all the changes these cars went through on the Show Grounds.

Flatcars # 10 & 20


This is a Jim Peterson photo dated 1986.

Flatcars # 10 & 20

This is Jim Peterson's photo. He dated it 1986.

Flatcars # 10 & 20


This is from Jim Peterson's photos. You can see the RBBB lettering on a yellow car.

Flatcars # 10 & 20

You can see the numbers have changed also.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Wisconsin Historical Society newsletter


I subscribe to the newsletter and recieved this issue today. There is a lot more to it that I have not placed here but this all about the Circus World Museum. If you'll double click it , this will enlarge to read a lot better. I continued this into the next post.

Wisconsin Historical Society newsletter

Double click to read better.

Flatcar # 51


This is one of my Dad's photos taken in 1971. This flatcar was painted like this until 1997 when it was repainted like the photos below.

Flatcar # 51


Flatcar # 51


This was one of the original group of railroad cars bought by the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. from the defunct World of Mirth Shows that became the Schlitz Circus Parade train.

Flatcar # 51

Note the electrical outlet. It is much lower in the frame than the # 64 car shown below.

Flatcar # 51

The History of Flatcar # 51

This flatcar is a 70 ft. flatcar similar to a Mt. Vernon design. It was purchased from World of Mirth Shows on September 21, 1964 by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. While on the World of Mirth Shows it was numbered # 81.
The actual origin of the car is only speculation. It is believed to have been built in the 1921 to 1927 time frame. The actual manufacturer is unknown. Fred Dahlinger has indicated that this was made of a different steel supplier and different dimensions than those of the Mt. Vernon variety thereby indicating a different manufacturer than the Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Company.
The original owners are unknown also. The car was on the World of Mirth Shows for many years but it is not clear as to when World of Mirth acquired it.
Upon its arrival at the Circus World Museum, the car was refurbished and re-painted a Dark Orange car with Black lettering titled Christy Bros. Big 5 Ring Wild Animal Show on both sides of the car. This was a run car used during the loading and unloading. This paint scheme was used from 1965 until 1996.
In 1997, the car was re-painted Orange with White Letters and a Red Outline titled Hagenbeck Wallace Circus on both sides. The car was still used as a run car for loading and unloading through the final parade in 2003.
As of September 2007, the car was resting on a siding beside the Train sheds located just west of the Circus World Museum.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 50


As you can see, this car was last repacked in 1990. That was the last year it was used in the Parade train.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 50


This was one of the original rail road cars bought by the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. from the defunct World of Mirth Carnival.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 50


Unlike all of the other Mt. Vernon flatcars, # 50 was painted and lettered the same on both sides.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 50


This was one of the original flatcars from the first train in 1965. It was last used in 1990. As you can see by the snup post brackets, this was one of the run cars.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 63


While many of the Schlitz Circus Parade train cars were bought in 1964, a few more were added in 1965. Four of those were Mt. Vernon flatcars. All four were used in the parade train over the years but in 1988, two of them # 62 and # 65 were disposed off as not being able to be repaired anymore.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 63


Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 63


Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 64


The Circus World Museum was fortunate enough to have two of the Mt. Vernon Flatcars donated by the Bill Hames Carnival. They are on the grounds and used for the loading and unloading demonstration. The Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. bought 5 others from the World of Mirth Carnival after they folded in North Carolina. One other one (# 51 ) looks very much like a Mt. Vernon also. Unless there is one of these in a Railroad Museum somewhere, these are the only Mt. Vernon flatcars left in existance and they are all at the Circus World Museum in
Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 64


Notice the electrical outlets that were placed for the lights when loading at night on these old shows. The silver plaque was placed there by the CWM honoring the purchase of this car by the Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 64


If you enlarge this by double clicking it, you'll see the lettering "Illinois G USA" under this orange box of paint. I am only assuming that this is the steel that was used in the manufacture of these Mt. Vernon flatcars.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 64


This is the paint scheme on the other side. This photo was taken in 1970 by my Dad.

Mt. Vernon Flatcar # 64

The History of Flatcar # 64

This flatcar is 70’ long and was built by the Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Co. sometime between 1921 and 1927. The original owners are unknown. Speculation could be that they were from the Sparks Circus that bought Mt. Vernons in 1921 and 1923 and that they were bought from Ringling in 1936 or 1937 after Ringling had bought the American Circus Corporation that included the Sparks Circus. The Cole Bros. Circus had Mt. Vernons also. Their train was a compilation of former show equipment including the 1925 Robbins Bros. Circus, the 1924 to 1926 Christy Bros. Circus and / or the 1925 to 1927 Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West show.
It is also uncertain as to just when the World of Mirth Shows acquired this car and from whom. While it was on the World of Mirth Shows it was # 61.
This car was purchased by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co from the World of Mirth Shows for the Circus World Museum on Sept. 21, 1964. It was used as a run car.
Once in the possession of the Circus World Museum, the car was refurbished and repainted a Red body with White lettering and a Gold Outline titled Howe’s Great London Circus with Van Amburg’s Trained Wild Animals on one side of the car and painted Maroon with Yellow Letters and an Orange Outline being titled the Greater Norris and Rowe Show on the other side.
This car was used from 1965 through 1973 then when the parade train was resurrected again in 1985 through 1991. It was never used after that.
As of Sept. 2007, this car was resting on a spur track by the Train Sheds located just west of the Circus World Museum.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Thrall Flatcars


The Circus World Museum bought 6 of the Thrall flats from Royal American Shows. Four were never touched. Two were repaired and re-painted with # 231 seeing the most service. # 234 was repainted and ready to go again but never re-decked. # 234 was used from 1992 through 1999. # 231 saw the parade from 1992 through the last train ride to Milwaukee in 2003. I may be wrong, and I hope someone can straighten this out, but to the best of my knowledge, these are the only 6 Thrall flatcars still in existance and all of them are at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Thrall Flatcars


Thrall Flatcars

What were the color code bars for near the center of the photo?

Thrall Flatcar # 234


Thrall Flatcar # 234


This shows somw of the structural design under the decking.

Thrall Flatcar # 234


This welded 38 was the number used on Royal American Shows.

Thrall Flatcar # 234

This is the other Thrall flat that was used in the CWM parade trains.

Thrall Flatcar # 231

Taken inside the CWM Train sheds.

Thrall Flatcar # 231


This is a Dom Yodice photo from the 2001 parade.

Thrall Flatcar # 231

The History of Flatcar # 231

This flatcar is a 72 ft. Thrall design flat. It was purchased from the Royal American Shows on January 28, 1987 by the Circus World Museum for $ 2000.00. While on the Royal American Shows it was numbered # 35.
The origin of the car is from the Thrall Car Manufacturing Company. It was built in 1949 for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It was intended for use by two of the steel seat wagons designed by Art Concello but it was discovered the seat wagons were too heavy for these flats.
After Ringling closed under canvas in 1956, they were put up for sale in 1959. Royal American Shows bought a couple. In 1961, Ringling sold all remaining flatcars to Royal American Shows, so it us unknown for sure whether this was purchased from Ringling in 1959 or 1961.
Royal American Shows used this flat on their train until they stopped train travel. It was offered for sale and six of them were purchased by the Circus World Museum for $ 2000.00 each.
They were not used for the first 5 years. In 1992, the first Thrall flat car was used in the Parade train. It was painted silver with the Bright Red Letters and White Outline with the traditional lettering of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows. The flat car was used in every parade through 2003.
As of September 2007, this car was resting inside the Train sheds located just west of the Circus World Museum.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Flatcar # 8

A few of you know that I have been working on a documentation of the Circus World Museum train for a couple years now. This documentation was about every train car used over the years they had the parades. Every time I think I'm not going to find anything else, another photo appears that adds to the documentation and at times has changed the order of the train consist.
A few Days ago Dick Dykes ran a few pictures of the Cetlin & Wilson Carnival and I commented on this car. This straight sided Flatcar is currently outside of the train sheds at the Circus World Museum. It is considered to be the oldest flatcar still in existance in Show business. The Historical information at the end is in part due to the work Mr. Fred Dahlinger Jr. did while at the CWM. I have greatly expanded it and brought it up to date.
I will ask all of you, if you have a Schlitz or Great Parade poster would you mind emailing me a digital photo of it to add to the complete history? I have many but I'm missing some. You can reach me at my website address; tigeract@thecircusworld.com
Thanks,
Bob

Flatcar # 8

This is a Xerox copy of a Wm. Jones photo at the Circus World Museum taken in 1939. You can see it is numbered 44. The Mighty Sheesley Shows was a carnival. They had this flatcar from at least 1930 to 1944 when they sold the show. The original owner after manufacture of the car is unknown. If anyone has any more information, please feel free to let us know.

Flatcar # 8

This is a Bill Hall Photo. Once this car was bought by Cetlin and Wilson, it was number 44 for its entire 23 year stay.

Flatcar # 8


Is this the brand of Steel that was used?

Flatcar # 8


Flatcar # 8