1. Henry Ringling North and Alden Hatch, Circus Kings (New York: Doubleday, 1960). Throughout this book, Brothers, upper case, is used to denote the five Ringling partners; brothers, lower case, is used when talking about the seven boys in general.
2. Fred Dahlinger Jr. and Stuart Thayer, Badger State Showman (Baraboo, WI: Circus World Museum, 1998); Dean Jensen, The Biggest, the Smallest, the Longest, the Shortest (Madison, WI: Wisconsin House, 1975); and Janet Davis, “Circuses,” in The Oxford Companion to U.S. History, ed. Paul Boyer (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), pp. 120–121.
1. North Iowa Times, October 2, 1867.
2. Alfred T. Ringling in his book Life Story of the Ringling Brothers (Chicago: R. R. Donnelley & Sons, 1900) wrote that his father was twenty-one when he sailed to America. As August was born in 1826, he must have arrived in Canada in 1847. Alf T. also wrote that August spent “about a year” in Canada; thus he likely arrived in Milwaukee in 1848.
3. Ibid., p. 72.
4. J. J. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” Wisconsin Magazine of History 26, no. 1 (September 1942): 9.
5. Quoted in Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” p. 10.
6. Richard Current, The History of Wisconsin, vol. 2, The Civil War Era, 1848–1873 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1976), p. 237.
7. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” p. 11.
8. North Iowa Times, December 10, 1862.
9. Marian Carroll Rischmueller, “The Ringlings of McGregor,” Palimpsest (State Historical Society of Iowa), June 1944, p. 182.
10. North Iowa Times, October 2, 1867.
11. North Iowa Times, May 25, 1870.
12. Rischmueller, “Ringlings of McGregor,” p. 184.
13. Consolidation Circus, Mike Lipman’s Colossal Combination of Circus and Trained Animals, and Dan Castello’s Great Show, Moral Exhibition and Wonderful Wild Animals. Rischmueller, “Ringlings of McGregor,” p. 185.
14. Ibid.
15. North Iowa Times, May 18, 1870, and May 25, 1870.
16. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 21.
17. Stuart Thayer, “The Circus That Inspired the Ringlings,” Bandwagon, May–June 1996, p. 25.
18. Ibid., p. 24.
19. James D. Allen, “McGregor and the Ringlings,” Annals of Iowa, October 1952, p. 458.
20. North Iowa Times, [1967?].
21. Sally Veit Scarff, interview by the author, McGregor, Iowa, July 2, 2002.
22. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” pp. 17–18.
23. Frances Burt, “Brodhead Claims Beginning of the ‘Greatest Show on Earth,’” White Tops, November–December 1955, p. 37.
24. Ibid., p. 37.
25. Alvin F. Harlow, Ringlings, Wizards of the Circus (New York: Julian Messner, 1951), p. 47.
26. Stillwater, Minnesota, May 1, 1875, Minnesota Census.
27. Town and Country Business Directory, Sauk County, Wisconsin (Baraboo, WI: Woodman and Powers, 1881).
28. Ibid.
29. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” pp. 18–19.
30. Jerry Apps, Cheese: The Making of a Wisconsin Tradition (Amherst, WI: Amherst Press, 1998).
31. Charles Bernard, “Old-Time Showmen,” Billboard, July 12, 1930, pp. 54, 83. In 1881 (and perhaps in 1882) Al Ringling was with the Parson and Roy Circus out of Darlington, Wisconsin.
1. Richland Center (Wisconsin) Republican-Observer, December 7, 1882.
2. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” p. 21.
3. Robert C. Nesbit, The History of Wisconsin: Urbanization and Industrialization, 1873–1893, vol. 3 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1985), p. 280.
4. Ibid., pp. 476–477.
5. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 88.
6. Ibid., p. 92.
7. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, Circus World Museum Robert L. Parkinson Library and Research Center (hereafter referred to as CWM Library), p. 1; and Charles E. Ringling, unpublished notes, ca. 1925, CWM Library. Trinkhouse was variously spelled Trinkhaus and Trinkaus.
8. Ringling Concert Company Program, ca. 1882, Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin (hereafter referred to as CWM).
9. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 94.
10. Ibid., p. 95.
11. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, pp. 1–4.
12. Spring Green (Wisconsin) News, November 30, 1882.
13. New York Clipper, August 11, 1883; Route Book of J. H. LaPearl’s Shows, p. 5, CWM Library.
14. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, August 25, 1883.
15. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, June 23, 1883.
16. Charles E. Ringling, unpublished notes.
17. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, pp. 133–134.
18. Charles E. Ringling, unpublished notes.
19. Schlicher, “On the Trail of the Ringlings,” p. 22.
20. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, pp. 5–10.
21. New York Clipper, February 9, 1884, p. 807.
22. According to circus historian Richard J. Reynolds III, the Yankee Robinson name had enough attraction that circus owner Fred Buchanan used it for his circus as late as 1920. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, November 27, 2002.
23. Gene Plowden, Those Amazing Ringlings and Their Circus (Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1967), p. 44.
24. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 172.
25. Ibid., pp. 173–178.
26. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 16, 1884.
27. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, May 3, 1884.
28. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, May 14, 1884.
29. J. T. Walker, Baraboo City Clerk, to C. P. Fox, June 3, 1960, CWM Library.
30. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, pp. 79–80.
31. Charles Philip Fox, A Ticket to the Circus (Seattle, WA: Superior, 1959), p. 21.
32. Ibid.
33. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, May 24, 1884.
34. W. C. Coup, quoted in Stuart Thayer, Traveling Showmen: The American Circus before the Civil War (Detroit: Astley and Ricketts, 1997), p. 48.
35. Darlington (Wisconsin) Republican, June 13, 1884.
36. Dodgeville (Wisconsin) Star, June 1884.
37. Route Book of the Ringling Brothers, 1882–1914, pp. 11–14.
38. W. C. Coup, quoted in Thayer, Traveling Showmen, p. 49.
39. Frank Parkinson to Circus World Museum, CWM Library, ca. 1954.
40. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 204.
41. Charles E. Ringling, unpublished notes, CWM Library.
42. Route Book of the Ringling Brothers, 1882–1914, pp. 11–14.
43. Ibid., pp. 15–17.
1. Otto Ringling to the Bank of Baraboo, May 15, 1888, CWM Library.
2. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914.
3. Waterford (Wisconsin) Post, September 17, 1885.
4. Richland (Wisconsin) Rustic, May 30, 1885.
5. 1885 advertising poster, CWM.
6. Alfred T. Ringling, Life Story of the Ringling Brothers, p. 210.
7. The November 24, 1886, Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic reported Evansville, Indiana, as the source for the animals, but Evansville, Wisconsin, would have been more likely, as it was much closer to Baraboo and a circus was located there.
8. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, pp. 28–31.
9. Shullsburg (Wisconsin) Pick and Gad, October 7, 1886.
10. Darlington (Wisconsin) Republican, October 8, 1886.
11. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, pp. 32–33.
12. Fond du Lac (Wisconsin) Daily Reporter, May 23, 1887; Juneau (Wisconsin) Telephone, May 27, 1887; Stoughton (Wisconsin) Hub, May 20, 1887. The Interstate Commerce Act became effective February 4, 1887, and was supposed to stabilize rates and eliminate price discrimination. American Source Documents, http://www.multied.com/documents.
13. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, pp. 34–38.
14. Ibid., pp. 39–48.
15. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, November 27, 2002.
16. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 45.
17. Otto Ringling to Bank of Baraboo, May 15, 1888 (on Mason House [a Waukon, Iowa, hotel] stationery). Courtesy of John Ringling North II. Copy at CWM.
18. Bank of Baraboo Loan Records, 1880–1919. Courtesy of Baraboo National Bank. Abstract at CWM.
19. Ibid.
20. Otto Ringling to Bank of Baraboo, May 25, 1888 (on Plainview [Minnesota] Hotel stationery). Courtesy of John Ringling North II. Copy at CWM.
21. Otto Ringling to Bank of Baraboo, June 14, 1888. Courtesy of John Ringling North II. Copy at CWM.
22. Otto Ringling to J. Van Orden, Bank of Baraboo, August 8, 1888 (on Boyd Hotel [Wayne, Nebraska] stationery). Courtesy of John Ringling North II. Copy at CWM.
23. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 44.
24. Prairie du Chien (Wisconsin) Courier, October 2, 1888.
25. Sauk County (Wisconsin) News, October 1888.
26. Sauk County Register of Deeds Office, Baraboo, Wisconsin, November 25, 1887, bk. 56, p. 561.
27. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 48; Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, October 18, 1888, and November 29, 1888.
28. Handbill reprinted in Fox, Ticket to the Circus, p. 32.
29. Hartford (Wisconsin) Press, May 17, 1889.
30. Columbus (Wisconsin) Democrat [May 1889?].
31. Brodhead (Wisconsin) Independent, June 21, 1889.
32. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, November 27, 2002; Fred D. Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
33. New York Clipper, November 16, 1889.
34. Richard E. Conover, “Notes on the Early Ringling Railer,” Bandwagon, March–April 1967, pp. 4–8.
35. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, October 10, 1889.
36. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, December 12, 1889.
37. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, January 29, 1890.
1. Part of a clothing store ad that offered free tickets, with a $5.00 purchase, for the Ringling circus opening in Baraboo. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 23, 1890.
2. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 54.
3. William Grant and Ken Dvorak, “The American 1890s: A Chronology,” Bowling Green University, http://www.bgsu.edu/departments/acs/1890s/chronology.html.
4. Information Please, “Inventions and Discoveries,” http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004636.html.
5. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 16, 1890.
6. H. D. Barretta, Route Book, Season of 1890 (Cincinnati, OH: Donaldson Lith. Co., 1890), p. 6.
7. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 23, 1890. According to circus historian Richard Reynolds III, the elephant was really Asian and had been acquired from the Forepaugh show, where she was named Juliet. Calling the elephant “umbrella-eared (African)” was likely carelessness on the part of the circus press. Richard Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, November 29, 2002.
8. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 23, 1890.
9. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, May 7, 1890.
10. “The Late James E. Cooper,” New York Clipper, January 9, 1892, p. 730.
11. Barretta, Route Book, Season of 1890, p. 12.
12. Ibid., p. 22.
13. Ibid., p. 17.
14. Ibid., p. 19.
15. Ibid., pp. 11–15.
16. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 64.
17. Barretta, Route Book, Season of 1890, p. 21.
18. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, August 29, 1890.
19. Barretta, Route Book, Season of 1890, p. 29.
20. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, October 15, 1890.
21. Sverre O. Braathen to Chappie Fox, November 7, 1964, Fred Pfening III, private collection, Columbus, Ohio (hereafter referred to as Pfening collection).
22. “Ringling Bros. Circus Car Shops,” Car shops, Reference Docs, CWM.
23. Fred D. Pfening Jr., “Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Railroad Shows: The 1890–1891 Seasons,” Bandwagon, July–August, 1993, p. 11.
24. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, November 13, 1890.
25. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, December 24, 1890.
26. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 8, 1891.
27. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 59.
28. H. D. Barretta, Official Route Book of Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Railroad Shows: Season of 1891 (Buffalo, NY: Courier, 1891), pp. 27–43.
29. From the Grand Forks (North Dakota) Daily Plaindealer, quoted in the Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, October 15, 1891.
30. From the Galesburg (Illinois) Daily Mail, quoted in the Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, October 15, 1891.
31. Ringling Daily Ledger, 1891, Pfening collection. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
32. Ibid.
33. Ringling Salary Ledger, 1895, Ringling business records, CWM.
34. Thayer, Traveling Showmen, pp. 20–21.
35. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, November 26, 1891.
36. Best known as the Malayan tapir. It has striking white saddle markings on a black body and is also called a saddle-backed tapir. It is found in Sumatra, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as Malaysia. Mature Malayan tapirs will grow from three to three and a half feet tall and weigh from 551 to 1,100 pounds. Sheryl Todd, “Tapirback Homepage,” http://www.tapirback.com; Richard J. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
37. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, October 29, 1891.
38. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, February 4, 1892.
39. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, March 24, 1892.
40. Ibid.
41. The bell wagon is now on display at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, on loan from Kenneth Feld and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
42. O. H. Kurtz, Official Route Book of Ringling Brothers: Season of 1892 (Buffalo, NY: Courier, 1892).
43. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 28, 1892.
44. Ibid.
45. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, June 27, 1892.
46. Waupaca (Wisconsin) Post, July 14, 1892.
47. Kurtz, Official Route Book of Ringling Brothers: Season of 1892, p. 90.
48. Ringling Ledger, 1892, Pfening collection. Material compiled by Fred Pfening III.
49. Fred Pfening III and Richard Reynolds III, conversation with the author, July 10, 2001.
50. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 71.
51. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
52. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, January 26, 1893.
53. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, January 1893.
54. Gary B. Nash, John R. Howe, Allen F. Davis, Julie Roy Jeffrey, Peter J. Frederick, and Allan M. Winkler, eds., The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society (New York: HarperCollins, 1996), pp. 427–428.
55. Ibid.
56. According to Richard J. Reynolds III, the Panic of 1893 ultimately forced the Adam Forepaugh Circus out of existence. It lost heavily in 1893, went out as a small twenty-one-car, one-ring show in 1894, and was off the road in 1895. Its name reappeared in 1896 as the Forepaugh-Sells show, which was mostly the Sells Circus with some Forepaugh animals and equipment added. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
57. Display ad in Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, September 9, 1893.
58. Route Book of Ringling Brothers, Season of 1893 (Buffalo, NY: Courier, 1893).
59. Ibid., pp. 44, 50, 54.
60. Ringling Bros. Daily Ledger, 1893, Pfening collection.
61. John D. Buenker, The History of Wisconsin, vol. 4, The Progressive Era, 1893–1914 (Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1998), p. 10.
62. Route Book of Ringling Brothers, Season of 1893, p. 62.
63. Ringling Bros. Daily Ledger, 1893.
64. Route Book of Ringling Brothers, Season of 1893, p. 76.
65. Farewell dinner menu, “Farewell Dinner: Tendered to the Employees of Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows. Havanna, Illinois, October 10, 1993. By E. C. Haley,” CWM Library.
66. Ringling Bros. Daily Ledger, 1893. Data complied by Fred Pfening III.
67. Alf T. Ringling, Beneath White Tents: Route Book of Ringling Brothers, 1894 Season, p. 144.
68. Ibid.
69. Ibid., p. 155.
70. Ringling Bros. Daily Ledgers, 1894, Pfening collection. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
71. Data from 1891, 1892, 1893, and 1894 Ringling Bros. daily ledgers, Pfening collection. Income includes matinee and evening performances, concert, sideshow, reserved seats, and privileges. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
72. Ringling Bros. Daily Ledgers, 1894.
73. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, November 22, 1894.
1. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus: A Route Book of Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows, Seasons of 1895 and 1896 (St. Louis: Great Western Printing, 1896), p. 131.
2. Ibid., pp. 128–129.
3. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 83.
4. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 129.
5. Ibid., p. 129.
6. Chicago InterOcean, April 28, 1895.
7. Ringling Brothers Receipt Book, 1895, Pfening collection.
8. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 131.
9. Ringling Brothers Receipt Book, 1895. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
10. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 137.
11. Quoted in Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 137.
12. Ringling Brothers Receipt Book, 1895. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
13. Quoted in Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 33.
14. Chicago InterOcean, May 2, 1896.
15. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 33.
16. George L. Chindahl, “The W. B. Reynolds Circus,” White Tops, July–August 1950, pp. 7–8, 18.
17. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, p. 71.
18. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows, 1882–1914, p. 91.
19. Alf T. Ringling, With the Circus, pp. 29–30.
20. Ringling Receipt Book, 1896, Pfening collection. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
21. Berlin (Wisconsin) Journal, July 16, 1896.
22. Chang Reynolds, “The Ringling Elephants 1888–1967,” Bandwagon, September–October 1968, pp. 3–12.
23. Ringling Receipt Book, 1895, 1896, and 1897, Pfening collection.
24. Ibid.
25. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows, Season of 1897 (Buffalo, NY: Courier, 1897), p. 107.
26. Ibid.
27. Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, July 16, 1897.
28. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows, Season of 1897, p. 103.
29. Ibid., pp. 121, 133.
30. Ringling Receipt Book, 1897, Pfening collection. Data compiled by Fred Pfening III.
31. Henry Casson, “A Ringling Item,” Circus Scrap Book 8 (October 1930): 50.
32. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, Wednesday, April 6, 1898.
33. Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 103.
34. Ibid., p. 97.
35. Red Wagon: Route Book of The Ringing Bros. World’s Greatest Show, Season 1898 (Chicago: Central Printing and Engraving, 1898), p. 37.
36. Ringling Receipt Book, 1898, Pfening collection.
37. Red Wagon: Route Book of The Ringing Bros. World’s Greatest Show, Season 1898, p. 37.
38. Ibid.
39. Ibid., p. 39.
40. Ibid., p. 45.
41. Ibid., p. 47.
42. Ibid., p. 58.
43. Ibid., p. 59.
44. Ibid., p. 45.
45. Ibid., p. 75.
46. The Route Book of Ringling Bros. Shows: 1882–1914, p. 102.
47. For more information, see Fred Dahlinger Jr. and Stuart Thayer, “The Ringling Cottage Cages,” Bandwagon, November–December 1998.
48. Baraboo, Wisconsin, Register of Deeds Office, October 24, 1898, bk. 73, p. 627.
49. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, October 6, 1898, and October 12, 1898.
50. Martindale Mercantile Agency to Strobridge Litho Company, August 19, 1899, Pfening collection.
51. Red Wagon: Route Book of The Ringing Bros. World’s Greatest Show, Season 1899 (Chicago: Central Printing and Engraving, 1899), p. 3.
52. Ibid.
1. Route Book: Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1900.
2. Kingwood College Library, “American Cultural History, 1900–1909,” http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade00.html.
3. Ibid.
4. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Evening News, January 3, 1900.
5. Hagenbeck’s (Hamburg, Germany) to Ringling Brothers, January 14, 1900, Pfening collection.
6. Otto was likely well aware of the problems involved in caring for a walrus. They require a very specialized diet of heavy cream and clams on ground herring—not readily available to a circus on tour. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 4, 2002.
7. E. D. Colvin (Hagenbeck’s U.S. agent) to Otto Ringling, February 6, 1900, Pfening collection.
8. Route Book, Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1900, p. 9.
9. Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, May 26, 1900.
10. Route Book, Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1900, p. 8.
11. Ibid.
12. Richland (Wisconsin) Rustic, July 1900.
13. Appleton (Wisconsin) Crescent, July 28, 1900.
14. Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, June 4, 1900.
15. Chicago Tribune, April 14, 1901.
16. Alf T. Ringling, The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers, Season 1901 (Chicago: Central Printing and Engraving, 1901), p. 33.
17. Ibid., p. 48.
18. Ibid., p. 51.
19. Ibid., p. 54.
20. Ibid., p. 63.
21. Ibid., pp. 69–73.
22. Ibid., pp. 81–82.
23. Quoted in Alf T. Ringling, The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers, Season 1901, p. 81.
24. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, November 7, 1901.
1. Canton (Ohio) News Democrat, May 1, 1902.
2. Fred Dahlinger Jr., correspondence with the author, May 1, 2001.
3. The Circus: A Route Book of Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1902 (Chicago: Central Printing and Engraving, 1902), p. 15.
4. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 30, 1902.
5. The Circus: A Route Book of Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1902, p. 17.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., p. 21.
8. Ibid., p. 23.
9. Ibid., p. 25.
10. Ibid.
11. Dahlinger, correspondence with the author, May 1, 2001.
12. The Circus: A Route Book of Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1902, p. 17.
13. Fred Dahlinger Jr., “The History of the Golden Age of Chivalry,” Bandwagon, March–April 1997, pp. 24–31.
14. Hagenbeck’s to Ringling Brothers, August 5, 1902; Hagenbeck’s agent, C. L. Williams, to Ringling Brothers, November 12, 1902, Pfening collection.
15. Mammoth spectacles were not a new idea in the circus world. The Barnum show put on “Nero and the Destruction of Rome” in 1890–1891. In 1893 Forepaugh presented “1776.” John Robinson did “Solomon and Sheba” in the 1890s and early 1900s. Fred Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
16. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1903, p. 57.
17. Ibid.
18. Canton (Ohio) News-Democrat, May 14, 1903.
19. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1903, p. 64.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid., p. 65.
22. Ibid.
23. Canton (Ohio) News-Democrat, May 22, 1903.
24. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1903, p. 66.
25. Detroit Free Press, June 20, 1903.
26. The Circus Annual: A Route Book of Ringling Brothers’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1903, p. 68.
27. “Thirty Years Ago Today,” Baraboo (Wisconsin) News Republic, December 20, 1933.
28. Dahlinger, correspondence with the author, May 1, 2001.
29. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Evening News, November 4, 1903.
30. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 17, 2002.
1. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, January 14, 1905.
2. Columbus (Ohio) Post Press, May 1, 1904.
3. Newark (Ohio) American Tribune, April 21, 1904, and April 23, 1904. According to Richard Reynolds III, the huge spectacles mounted by both the Ringling and Barnum & Bailey shows required removing part of the grandstand on the side of the tent opposite the center ring, where they would install a stage with overhead canopy, scenic backdrop, and other features necessary for an elaborate production. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 17, 2002.
4. Columbus (Ohio) Post Press, May 1, 1904.
5. Newark (Ohio) American Tribune, May 5, 1904.
6. Chicago Evening Post, March 29, 1904.
7. Ibid.
8. Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, May 1, 1904.
9. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, July 2, 1904.
10. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, September 1, 1904, and January 12, 1905.
11. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, January 14, 1905.
12. Ibid.
13. Article of Agreement between Barnum and Bailey Shows and Ringling Brothers Shows, November 1, 1904, CWM.
14. Al Ringling to Henry Ringling, March 1905, Pfening collection.
15. Otto Ringling to Henry Ringling, March 13, 1905, Pfening collection.
16. Ibid.
17. Otto Ringling to Henry Ringling, March 20, 1905, Pfening collection.
18. Otto Ringling to Henry Ringling, March 25, 1905, Pfening collection.
19. Bank of Baraboo Loans, Discount Register A, January 5, 1880, to April 7, 1906, CWM.
20. Canton (Ohio) Morning News, May 5, 1905.
21. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, September 22, 1905.
22. Fred Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
1. Show World, November 9, 1907, p. 20.
2. Agreement, Barnum & Bailey Show and Ringling Brothers Show, December 2, 1905, CWM.
3. Appleton (Wisconsin) Crescent, August 18, 1906.
4. Ringling Brothers Receipts Ledger Summary, 1906, Pfening collection.
5. Legal agreement between Ruth Louisa Bailey and Ringling Brothers, June 5, 1906, Milner Library collection, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.
6. Appleton (Wisconsin) Crescent, August 28, 1906.
7. Newark (Ohio) American Tribune, April 21, 1906.
8. Candy Stand Book, Ringling Bros. Show, Season of 1906, Frank Parson, CWM.
9. Van Wert (Ohio) Times Democrat, June 29, 1906.
10. Candy Stand Book, p. 150.
11. Ibid., p. 178.
12. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, November 28, 1906.
13. Duluth (Minnesota) Evening Herald, July 10, 1906.
14. Ibid.
15. Duluth (Minnesota) Evening Herald, July 11, 1906.
16. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, November 28, 1906.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. Ringling Brothers Receipts Ledger Summary, 1906, Pfening collection.
20. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, November 7, 1906.
21. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, November 6, 1907.
22. Allen Paschen, interview by the author, Baraboo, Wisconsin, January 2, 2002.
23. The purchase took place in stages, with the October date culminating the deal.
24. Otto Ringling to Ringling Brothers, October 26, 1907, Pfening collection.
25. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, October 30, 1907.
26. Billboard, 1907, p. 22.
27. Glenn Shirley, Pawnee Bill: A Biography of Major Gordon W. Lillie (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1958), pp. 162–163, 180.
28. Show World, November 9, 1907, p. 20.
29. Otto Ringling to Ringling Brothers, October 26, 1907, Pfening collection.
30. Otto was probably referring to elephants that were a part of Forepaugh-Sells show, as Barnum & Bailey had no African elephants. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 14, 2002.
31. By this time some circuses were having difficulties mounting a parade on city streets clogged with automobile, truck, and streetcar traffic. Barnum & Bailey had already eliminated parades by the time of the Ringling purchase.
32. Otto Ringling to Ringling Brothers, October 26, 1907, Pfening collection.
33. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, December 25, 1907.
1. Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Times, July 31, 1908.
2. Van Wert (Ohio) Daily Times, July 26, 1908.
3. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, June 13, 1908.
4. Show World, December 21, 1907, p. 140.
5. Racine (Wisconsin) Daily Times, July 31, 1908.
6. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, June 25, 1908.
7. Fred Dahlinger Jr., correspondence with the author, November 13, 2002.
8. Otto Ringling to Charles Ringling, October 28, 1908, Pfening collection.
9. Ibid.
10. “With the White Tops,” Show World, March 28, 1908, p. 16.
11. H. L. S., Letter, Boys’ World, June 20, 1908.
12. “With the White Tops: Free Zoo at Baraboo, Wis.,” Show World, February 1, 1908, p. 8.
13. “One hundred fifty years of Masonry in Baraboo: Program of Celebration,” CWM.
14. Allen Paschen, interview by the author, Baraboo, Wisconsin, March 5, 2001.
15. John Ringling to the Ringling Brothers, winter 1908, Pfening collection.
16. John L. Sullivan to the Ringling Brothers, October 31, 1908, Milner Library collection, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.
17. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 17, 2002.
18. Shirley, Pawnee Bill, p. 197.
19. Ibid., pp. 162–163, 197–198.
20. “With the White Tops,” Show World, December 28, 1908.
21. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 18, 2002.
22. “With the White Tops,” Show World, January 15, 1910, p. 17.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid., October 16, 1909, p. 22
25. Ibid., January 15, 1910, p. 17.
26. By the 1910 season the Ringling Brothers’ train comprised three advertising cars, twenty-six stock-cars, forty flatcars, and fifteen passenger cars. Havirland list, Circuses on Tour, Season 1910, CWM.
27. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, October 7, 1909.
28. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, November 4, 1909.
29. The Ringlings bought their first railcars used and later purchased new ones from Barney and Smith of Dayton, Ohio; “Ringling Bros. Circus Car Shops,” CWM.
1. Show World, August 6, 1910, p. 1.
2. Havirland list, Circuses on Tour, Season 1910, CWM.
3. “With the White Tops,” Show World, January 15, 1910, p. 17.
4. John M. Staudenmaier, “Henry Ford,” in The Oxford Companion to United States History, ed. Paul Boyer (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 275.
5. Timothy E. Scheurer, “Irving Berlin (1888–1989),” in The Oxford Companion to United States History, ed. Paul Boyer (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 70.
6. Havirland list, Circuses on Tour, Season 1910.
7. Ringling Brothers to E. Allen Frost, January 7, 1910, Pfening collection.
8. Otto Ringling to Al Ringling, February 21, 1910, CWM.
9. Fred Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
10. “With the White Tops,” Show World, July 2, 1910.
11. Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, August 13, 1910.
12. 1910 reviews file, Decatur (Illinois) newspaper, August 7, 1910, CWM.
13. Janesville (Wisconsin) Daily Gazette, August 13, 1910.
14. 1910 reviews file, Decatur (Illinois) newspaper, August 7, 1910, CWM.
15. Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, May 19, 1910.
16. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 22, 2002.
17. Internal memorandum, Circus World Museum, December 23, 1998.
18. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, October 13, 1910.
19. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, November 14, 1912.
20. Jan and Duane Neuman, interview with the author, Baraboo, Wisconsin, December 10, 2001.
21. Sauk County, Wisconsin, Register of Deeds, vol. 94, p. 366.
22. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, February 2, 1911.
23. Chicago Sunday Record-Herald, April 16, 1911.
24. Otto Ringling to his brothers, January 18, 1910. Copy from original owned by Sally Clayton Jones, CWM.
25. Purchase agreement for Forepaugh-Sells drafted November 1911, Pfening collection.
26. County Court of Sauk County, Wisconsin, Estate of Otto Ringling, Summary of Inventory with Appraised Values. March 31, 1911.
27. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, May 29, 1913.
28. Release, dated June 23, 1913, and signed by the three nieces. Copy from original owned by Sally Clayton Jones, CWM.
29. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, December 22, 2002; cables and telegrams between Jordon and Ringling in September and October 1910, Milner; and Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, April 6, 1911, and May 4, 1911.
30. Ringling Brothers Road Ledger, 1911, CWM
31. Ringling Brothers Standard Daily Journal, 1911, Pfening collection.
32. Ibid.
33. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 19, 2002.
34. Ringling Brothers Road Ledger, 1911, CWM.
35. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, November 9, 1911.
36. Fred Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002; sales agreement for Adam Forepaugh and Sells Brothers Circus, 1911, Milner Library collection, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois.
1. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, November 16, 1911.
2. Buenker, The History of Wisconsin, vol. 4, The Progressive Era, 1893–1914, pp. 553–554.
3. Reprinted in Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, May 30, 1912.
4. Ibid.
5. Milwaukee Sentinel, February 5, 1888.
6. Fred Pfening III, correspondence with the author, December 1, 2002.
7. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, September 16, 1897.
8. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, March 7, 1912.
9. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Republic, April 18, 1912.
10. Al Ringling to Charles Ringling, March 6, 1912, Pfening collection.
11. Summary of information in regard to winter quarters at Chicago office, July 1, 1912, Pfening collection.
12. Necedah (Wisconsin) Republic, April 18, 1912.
13. “With the White Tops,” Show World, January 15, 1910, p. 17.
14. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, April 25, 1912.
15. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, May 30, 1912.
16. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, April 25, 1912.
17. Ibid.
18. John Ringling to Al Ringling, January 27, 1912, Pfening collection.
19. Al Ringling to John Ringling, February 1, 1912, CWM.
20. John Ringling to Al Ringling, March 4, 1912, CWM.
21. Charles Ringling to John Ringling, March 12, 1912, CWM.
22. Ibid.
23. Toledo (Ohio) Blade, June 14, 1912; Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, July 17, 1912.
24. Ad in Toledo (Ohio) Blade, June 25, 1912.
25. Toledo (Ohio) Blade, June 25, 1912.
26. Duluth (Minnesota) Herald, July 17, 1912.
27. Unidentified writer, Coliseum Building, Chicago, to John Ringling, April 10, 1912, Pfening collection.
28. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, April 18, 1912.
29. Findley (Ohio) Courier, August 23, 1912.
30. Charles Ringling to Al Ringling, August 8, 1912, Pfening collection.
31. Ibid.
32. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, December 26, 1912.
33. Ibid.
34. Ringling Brothers, Baraboo, to various suppliers, January 24, 1912, November 8, 1912, November 13, 1912, Pfening collection.
35. John H. Snellen to Al Ringling, December 12, 1912, Pfening collection.
36. Display ad published by the News Publishing Co., Baraboo, Wisconsin, November 1, 1912, Pfening collection.
37. Harry Humphrey to Ringling Brothers, December 30, 1912, Pfening collection.
38. Al Ringling to Charles Ringling, February 6, 1913, Pfening collection.
39. Contract between Ringling Brothers and Thomas Zingaro, November 9, 1911, Pfening collection.
40. Thomas Zingaro to Al Ringling, December 9, 1912, Pfening collection.
41. Al Ringling to Thomas Zingaro, December 12, 1912, Pfening collection.
42. Al Ringling to John Ringling, December 16, 1912, Pfening collection.
43. George Rapp to Al Ringling, February 3, 1913, Pfening collection.
44. Al Ringling to C. W. and Geo. L. Rapp, February 5, 1913, Pfening collection.
45. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, April 24, 1913.
46. Ibid.
47. Wisconsin was the first state to pass a Workmen’s Compensation Act (1911). Before the law, a worker who was injured had to sue his employer for compensation and prove that the employer was negligent. Under the new law no such proof was needed, and an injured worker could be promptly compensated, although with financial limits. Employers could choose whether to comply with the act. State of Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, http://oci.wi.gov/.
48. Duluth (Minnesota) Labor World, December 28, 1912.
49. Charles Ringling to Al Ringling, August 14, 1913, Pfening collection.
50. See Fred D. Pfening Jr., “Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Show: The 1913 Season,” Bandwagon, March–April 1993, pp. 6–7, for an extended discussion of the electric generator.
51. Billboard, June 6, 1914, p. 22; Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, May 28, 1914; Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, May 28, 1914; Cleveland (Ohio) Leader, May 26, 27, 1914.
52. Three contracts between the Ringling Brothers (signed by Henry Ringling) and the Barney & Smith Car Company, May 29, 1914, CWM.
53. Correspondence between Ringling Brothers and Barney & Smith Car Company, June 18, 1914, and June 22, 1914, CWM.
1. “Deaths,” New York Clipper, January 8, 1916.
2. Ringling Brothers to Eretto Trio, December 17, 1914, Pfening collection.
3. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 29, 2002.
4. New York Clipper, May 1, 1915.
5. Fred Bradna, The Big Top (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1952), p. 306.
6. Havirland list of railroad shows, 1915, CWM.
7. Daily Receipts, Ringling Bros.’ World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1915, Pfening collection.
8. Volksblatt, September 10, 1915, translation from German by Jon Romelton.
9. Winter Quarters Ledger, 1915–1916, CWM.
10. Sauk County, Wisconsin, Register of Deeds, recorded December 1, 1914, vol. 104, p. 301.
11. “From Mud to the Field of the Cloth of Gold,” Show World, September 17, 1910, p. 12.
12. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, p. 169.
13. Charles Ringling to Fred Warrell (a Ringling employee), February 7, 1916, Pfening collection.
14. Columbus Citizen, May 16, 1916.
15. Charles Philip Fox, A Tribute to the Percheron Horse (Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1983), pp. 168–169.
16. Ringling Brothers Receipts Book, 1916, Pfening collection.
17. Official Route: Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1916, CWM.
18. Sauk County (Wisconsin) Democrat, November 8, 1916.
19. Thomas J. Knock, “World War I,” in Paul S. Boyer (ed.), The Oxford Companion to United States History, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 844; Nash, Howe, Davis, Jeffrey, Frederick, and Winkler, American People, pp. 485–494; and Oscar Handlin, The History of the United States (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1968), pp. 329–340.
20. Bradna, Big Top, p. 93.
21. Chicago Herald and Examiner, April 5, 1917.
22. Artist’s contract and release, The Clarkonians (three Clarke Brothers), April 7, 1917, Pfening collection.
23. Havirland list of railroad shows, 1917, CWM.
24. Official Route: Ringling Brothers World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1917, CWM.
25. Daily Receipts: Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows, Season 1917, CWM.
26. Charles Ringling to the Strobridge Lithographing Company (Cincinnati, Ohio), July 20, 1917, Pfening collection.
27. W. W. Dunkle, “Ringlings Ready to Ramble,” Billboard, March 23, 1918, p. 16.
28. Havirland list of railroad shows, 1918, CWM.
29. Dunkle, “Ringlings Ready to Ramble,” p. 16.
30. The American Experience, “Influenza, 1918,” Public Broadcasting System, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/.
31. World Almanac, The World Almanac and Book of Facts (Mahwah, NJ: World Almanac Books, 2001), p. 448.
32. “Circus Season Virtually Brought to Close,” Billboard, October 19, 1918, p. 26.
33. Daily Receipts, Ringling Bros. World’s Greatest Shows 1918, Pfening collection.
34. Richard Thomas, John Ringling (New York: Pageant Press, 1960), p. 126.
35. “Still a Question: Nothing Definite as to Barnum & Bailey Wintering in Baraboo,” Billboard, May 25, 1918.
36. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, October 17, 1918.
37. C. P. “Chappie” Fox, interview by the author, Baraboo, Wisconsin, December 10, 2001.
38. “Ringling Circus: To Winter at Bridgeport?” Billboard, October 5, 1918.
39. “Circus Season Virtually Brought to Close,” Billboard, October 19, 1918, p. 54.
40. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, p. 171.
41. “Circus Season Virtually Brought to Close,” Billboard, October 19, 1918.
42. Railroads and other seized carriers were returned to private control on March 1, 1920. See www.archives.gov/research_room/federal_records_guide/us_railroad_administration_rg014.html.
43. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, July 21, 2001, and December 29, 2002.
44. Thomas, John Ringling, pp. 125–126.
45. According to the 1917 Barnum & Bailey Route Book, they showed in Toledo, Ohio, on June 13, 1917. 1917 Barnum & Bailey Route Book, CWM.
46. Bradna, Big Top, p. 95.
47. Fred Dahlinger Jr., correspondence with the author, February 10, 2004.
48. Robert Barnes, interview with author, Madison, January 2002.
1. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, p. 174.
2. Thomas, John Ringling, pp. 122–123.
3. Havirland list of railroad shows, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1928, CWM.
4. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, pp. 194–195.
5. Sarasota Government homepage, “John Ringling, Dreamer,” http://www.co.sarasota.fl.us/.
6. Jane Bancroft Cook Library, “The Charles Ringling Estate,” http://www.ncf.edu/library/speccoll/CREstate.htm.
7. Peoria (Illinois) Journal Star, September 29, 1991.
8. Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1987.
9. Will of Charles E. Ringling, dated September 1, 1926, Sauk County, Baraboo, Wisconsin, Register of Deeds, vol. 140, p. 545.
10. Richard J. Reynolds III, correspondence with the author, December 30, 2002.
11. John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, http://www.ringling.org/.
12. Havirland list of railroad shows, 1929, CWM.
13. North and Hatch, Circus Kings, p. 220.
14. Ibid., pp. 222–226.
15. Ibid., p. 251.
16. David Lewis Hammarstrom, Big Top Boss: John Ringling North and the Circus (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1992), pp. 38–39.
17. White Tops, May–June 1962, p. 23.
18. John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, http://www.ringling.org/.
19. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, July 21, 2001.
20. Fred Dahlinger Jr., correspondence with the author, February 11, 2004.
21. Reynolds, correspondence with the author, July 21, 2001.
22. Robert Barnes, interview with the author, Madison, January 2002.
23. Baraboo (Wisconsin) News, March 2, 1939.
24. Ibid.
25. Baraboo (Wisconsin) Weekly News, June 15, 1939.
1. See Bob Dewel, “The Opulent Ringling Bros. Homes,” Baraboo (Wisconsin) News Republic, April 14, 1999, for a description of Ringling homes. Paul Wolter, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, also provided information.