Show World (July 1910)

e THE SHOW WO RL D July 30, 1910. Columbus, Ohio, I July 27—Our ranks 1 are thinning. The I Grim Reaper never | closes the season. I His harvest, wet ] with the tears of I thousands, draws, I mourners to the I brink of the grave I and points out the 1 certainty of death I and the way to live by the lessons left of the lives he buries. Those we loved in the profession die and are buried before we hear it. The cold¬ ness of this custom is more frigid than the chill of the tomb. While we live let’s keep in perfect touch. When one of our number dies let’s inaugurate a way of doing t* 131 tell those who live we have not for¬ gotten. I remember when Charles H. Day died. The notices he received in dramatic papers were so meagre that no doubt there are those of our clan who still think him r.aptiffed with the world. Sam Joseph died three weeks ago and an inch of space told the story of the man. Sam Joseph was great in many ways. Press agents of this day and time are using the elementary principles upon which he built his splendid publicity^ struc¬ ture. My hat is always off to “Tody” Hamilton, who lives the greatest of all press agents, and never failed to acknowledge the ideas of the late Sam Joseph. When “Tody” dies 1 want the right, if I survive, to pen the last farewell lines to him. I was glad in¬ deed to write the tribute of love and remembrance to Jimmie DeWolf. I had the same printed on white satin and sent to circuses to frame and hang ip the ticket wagon; to secret orders to frame and place on the walls of their lodge rooms; to dramatic papers for their sanctums, where stories of “white top” are created and given t press and paper. Why c t this c of white satin tribute be adopted by show people everywhere? This week the death of Mrs. Virginia Jef¬ fries Wolcott is announced. She was known to the stage by her maiden name, Virginia Jeffries. The end came at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. V. O. Jeffries, this city, last Fri¬ day night. She was twenty-five years of age and had been on the stage about five years. She played in §tock in a number of cities. Possessed of a fine figure and charming personality, she became quite a favorite. For the last two years she starred both east and west in her own company under the name of “The Virginia Jeffries Theatrical Company.” Three weeks ago she collapsed from the strain of overwork and gave up the stage. Brain affection developed and spinal meningitis brought the end. Her hus¬ band, Edwin Walcott, survives. Her sweet sleep of eternity is at Green- lawn. Birmingham, Ohio, One-Time Good Thing for Wagon Shows. I made a trip to the historic town of Birmingham, which, when blessed with a postoffice, was called Milners- ville, situated near Cambridge, Ohio, and known to all old-time circus folk. No railroad touches the plaGe. It is a stone’s throw from the farm of “Cv” Young, the baseball pitcher, who has his home at Paoli, illuminated by the circus light. In the days of the wagon shows, when the “slick” ones worked the three thimbles and the paper wad and the old army game, Birmingham was a regular stop. Money hung on the trees and you could reach to a limb any morning and pull down a breakfast. The O’Brien show stopped here every year and took all the money in sight and out of sight. The old stone building that in those days served as a hotel and sheltered and hid many a circusman is now the home of my dearest friends. The late Frank Aldrich (you couldn’t get them trickier) was compelled to flee from the sheriff and constable at Birmingham and the landlord of the then hotel hid him in the big chimney INTERESTING CIRCUS GOSSIP place. When Aldrich emerged he was made-up for the chimney¬ sweep play. He took into that chim¬ ney with him $1,000 he had worked an innocent for. I accompany this with a picture of the old hostelry, or inn. In front of the place are Dr. Rosa¬ mond, a friend of the profession, who has been physician at Birmingham all these years; Mrs. Kate Bell, of Los Angeles, Cal., whose father kept the old hotel, and Parson Waddell, my son. Dr. Rosamond says that every year brings two or three old- timers, who come to talk over circus days at Birmingham and look again upon the scene of the biggest money harvest known to wagon shows. Med¬ icine shows pass that way now and stay one week. Many Changes in Field Minstrel Plans for Season. Last week I gave what was then the opening route of the A1 G. Field Minstrels. The opening date was to be Marion, Ohio, August 15 This may son was chief carpenter with Shu- bert’s “Havana.” Oscar Hodge will be in advance of the Lew Dockstader Minstrels and Charley Sturgis will guide the seven- day lead of the Cohan & Harris “Honey Boy” burnt cork aggregation. D. H. Harris Divorced from Regular Circus Business. I had a pleasant visit with D. H. Har- tis and his good wife, Madame Mar- antette, and Ed. Holder, at Indianola Park, the past week. They put on the ■‘Harris Hippodrome and Society Cir¬ cus for two weeks and big crowds went to see it. Mr. and Mrs. Harris may never be seen with a circus again. Thev now have their own car and are dated leading state and county fairs. This, they figure, makes it easier and gets them more money. Mr. Harris dated at leading state and county fairs. Cleveland. They open there Monday, August 1. John Purvis, the old Eng¬ lish clown who came to this country in 1884, joining the Sells Brothers, OLD STONE INN AT BIRMINGHAM. Dr. V. B. Rosamund, Mrs. Kate Bell, and Parson Waddell (Young Doc). be changed to August 16, and perhaps later. The Cleveland date of the minstrels has been cancelled. About all that is known now for sure is that the A1 G. Field Minstrels will open the Great Southern theater here during state fair week, tlve last of August. Doc Quigley, manager of the > Field minstrels, began rehearsing to¬ day. The general agent of the min¬ strels has been changed. Col. W. C. Pickens, who was ahead last year, suc¬ ceeds Harry Fitzgerald, who has re¬ turned to his home at Ogdensburg, N. Y. Harry goes to his home a sick lad. He will rest and recuperate. W. H. Edwards will be second man with the minstrels. This is his fourth season. Ed. Conard will be secre¬ tary and treasurer and not Joe Rieder. The latter is in the laundry business at Connersville, Ind. Will Walters will have charge of the band. He was formerly of the team of Howe, Wall & Walters. Joe Norton had the band last year, and the season before that, Ed. Brill. Brill, this season, will con¬ duct the band with the Cohan & Har¬ ris minstrels. Georgia A. Dean has signed to be Uncle Al’s stage car¬ penter. For two seasons Dean was assistant stage carpenter for Klaw & Erlanger’s “Ben Hur” and last sea¬ worked with the hippodrome her.e, as. did also Billy Ahern and wife, classy equilibrists and head-balancers. The latter are at Lancaster this week and will be at Collins Garden, this city, next week. Ed. Browning, known to the road all about—one of the best— is stage manager of Collins’ Garden. The Harris combination plays Chili- cothe, Ohio, July 28, 29, 30 and 31 at the baseball park for the benefit of the Chillicothe team. Holder and I had quite a talk of the old days of the John Robinson “Ten Big,” which showed Middletown last Saturday. We did not visit, for the reason we feared storm and rain. When we were with John Robinson the wind and the rain always came in torrents when Middletown was reached. My route book of 1905 reads: “August 14, Middletown—It rained; then it poured. The lot flooded. Trained sea lions jumped off elevated stage and swam under reserved seats. Steam engines engaged and the water pumped off. Ricardo, the magician, and his wife, were visitors. Whitey Crossett saw this: One of our ballet girls was caught in the wind and rain just as she turned a corner on a crowded street. Her gown was the lightest of summer muslins, and on her head sl»e wore a marvelous creation of gauze f and flowers. Every vagabond breeze ’ in that vicinity instantly saw an op¬ portunity to do stunts. Sooner than / it takes to tell it, the summer mus- L lin was describing the most alarming ' flights. But the owner, a hand on f either side of her hat, kept on as f stubbornly as though such a display L of openwork hosiery and dainty hn- | gerie and garters and well-groomed J calves were an every-day affair. , ‘Madam,’ cried another woman, rush- 1 ing up to her, holding her own drap- ( eries in tight embrace, ‘you probably ! are not aware of it. but your skirts are above your knees.’ ‘I don’t care,’ replied the ballet girl, never moving a finger from the flower-laden bon¬ net, ‘I’ve had these legs for eighteen years and never lost them yet, but I have just bought the hat, paid $18 for it, and I don’t mean to lose it.” ' I have no report from Middletown as to the weather handed the “Ten Big” . Saturday, but from the over-hanging 1 clouds at this point I believe the reg¬ ular storm and rain came for them. .. Not far from Middletown Ed. Holder . for two years has been in fhe livery * stable business. I refer to Richmond, | Ind. He has trained every sort of an- I imal known. The other month he went to the stockyards at Chicago and when he approached the pens j grunts of approval and welcome were | heard all over, and by the time he got » up to the bars of the pens dozens of porkers were there to recowiize their old trainer and handler. Dode Fisk R. R. Trouble Was Wildly Exaggerated. I received word that the Dode Fiske circus has been wrecked, several killed, others injured and animals out. Long distance got me to R. E. (Doc) Minturn, the irrepressible New Lex¬ ington heavyweight at fixing, and the truth was told me: “Going from Hib- hing to Colerain in Minnesota, one- fourth mile from Payne, we were wrecked at 3:30 a. m. A wheel on the front truck of a stock car broke while we were at full speed, demolish¬ ing second and third stock cars. No stock or people hurt.” Doc Minturn writes: “We have done fine business up on the Iron Range. In all my ex¬ perience I never met better officials and newspaper people. It has been a love-feast. We have had opposition with the Gollmar and Campbell Bros, i shows, but it certainly did not hurt us. Any show that is able to deliver the goods and is without graft^can come up here and get the money.” Columbus Car Strike Hurt Recent Circus Dates. The street car company and its em¬ ployes who belong to the union have been disputing for some time. The first strike was declared the day the Hagenbeck-Wallace and the 101 Ranch Wild West contested here for business. It has never been made clear to me why the circuses should be injured by parties with whom they never had dealings. The strike, you know, rendered going impossible to many. Had the cars been running I believe both shows could have given three performances that dav. Well, the strike is on again. The union men walked out Sunday morning The city is full of strikebreakers and des¬ perate characters; the head of the po¬ lice department is weak; the chief ex-* ecutive of the citv is weaker. Thu 5 beginneth and endeth the first chap¬ ter and the end is far off.