Wednesday, July 10, 2024
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . 4 Nappanee Area News . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7 Vol. 54, No. 3
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
CIRCUS PARADE — Sheila Strickland points out the pictures that show the Circus Parade. Every day, starting at 11 a.m., circus shows would parade the street to woo and awe the public with entertainment.
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
TICKETS TO THE CIRCUS — Shelia Strickland points out a shadow box that houses over 50 circus tickets. The tickets are from a range of different shows, including Hagenbeck Wallace Circus, John Robinson’s Circus and Cole Bros. Circus.
Warsaw exhibit highlights
INDIANA’S CIRCUS HISTORY
Text and Photos By MARISSA SWEATLAND Staff Writer
Warsaw’s Old Jail Museum, 121 N. Indiana St., has opened its latest exhibit installation and it pays tribute to a colorful, theatrical piece of Indiana history: the circus. The museum exhibit walls are lined with posters, ticket stubs and banners. Indiana has nearly 150 years of circus history. The exhibit will remain on display until the museum closes in mid-December. In 1882, Civil War veteran Ben Wallace cemented Indiana into circus history when he started a small traveling show near Peru. This small traveling show eventually became known as The Great Wallace Circus. “The Great Wallace Circus started out as an overland circus, that is, it traveled by wagon from town to town,” Greg Steffe, co-director at the Old Jail Museum, explained. “Within just a couple short years, the show grew and prospered to the point that it was converted into a railroad operation.” The Great Wallace Circus continued to prosper and grow. In 1907, Wallace purchased the Carl Hagenbeck Wild Animal Circus. This purchase added 13 elephants and doubled the amount of wagons and train cars to his circus. “He combined the two to form the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus, one of the most revered names in circus history,” Steffe said. “Wallace prospered and became quite wealthy. He was one of just a handful of individuals to become rich directly as a result of his activity in the American circus industry.” Nearly a decade later, in 1918, Wallace sold the Hagenbeck Wallace Circus to three Peru-area circus businessmen, Jerry Mugivan, Bert Bowers and Ed Ballard. The trio were the owners of Sells Floto Circus, John Robinson Circus, Sparks Circus, AI G. Barnes, Yankee Robinson and Buffalo Bill’s Real Wild West. “Together, these men would form the American Circus Corporation; which, at the height of its’ power, was the most powerful entity in the history of the American circus,” Steffe mentioned. “At one time, they owned title to virtually every major circus in America with the exception of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey.” In 1929, the American Circus Corporation was sold to John Ringling for $1.7 million. Less than a month after the sale, the stock market would crash and kick off The Great Depression. “Starting in 1930, the great shows of the American circus would begin falling by the wayside,” Steffe explained. “By 1934, Hagenbeck Wallace remained the only subsidiary still left on the road.” Peru is not the only town with deep circus roots. Other circus towns include West Baden, Rochester, Muncie and Bloomington. Although The Great Depression severely dampened
RINGING BROS. MAUL — While giving a tour of the recently unveiled circus exhibit at the Old Jail Museum in Warsaw, Sheila Strickland, co-director of the museum, picked up a stake driving maul that was used by the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. The maul dates back to the 1800’s.
WAGON TO RAILROAD — Ben Wallace started a small, traveling show that traveled by wagon from town to town. After the booming success of The Great Wallace Circus, Wallace converted the show into a railroad operation. Strickland points to a model of one of the railroad cars.
RING OF SIDESHOW GIANT — Among the items displayed is the ring of famous sideshow giant, J.G. “Jim” Tarver the Texas Giant. Tarver was a circus sideshow giant who toured the United States with various companies in the first half of the 20th century. Tarver appeared in the Hagenbeck Wallace sideshow in 1926. Tarver was a whopping 8’6” tall and weighed 460 pounds. circus’ popularity, circus’ are still ingrained into local Hoosier culture. Every year, local third graders attend the Fort Wayne Mizpah Shine Circus. This is a decades-long tradition as Warsaw elementary schools have attended for over 30 years and Wawasee schools started attending in the 1960’s. “Circus history is important because, like all other history, it shows who we were and how we become who we are today. In the days before the internet, television and mass media, the circus provided a wholesome form of entertainment to the masses,” Steffe explained. “In many cases, the traveling menageries that were carried on these shows pro-
vided the only opportunity many rural residents ever had to see rare and exotic species up close. Circus day was like a holiday in many communities and is a treasured part of our American history.” The Old Jail Museum is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The museum is consistently looking for volunteers to assist in the genealogy research library, give tours and front desk help. For more information about the museum or its volunteer opportunities, call The Old Jail Museum at (574) 2691078.