Billboard advertising (Dec 1911)

DECEMBER 2, 1811. The Billboard 5 THE LIFE OF WILLIA M H. HARRIS 5 en Sketch of an Interesting Character, Whose Career Intimately Affected the Pres- ent Day Highly Systematized Methods of Conducting Circuses—Psychological Study of a Great Circus General Who, While Not Generally Known to the Public, Occupies a High Position in the History of American Circuses Tin hero of the above pen sketch, to *•>••*•• ,f tbe writer, can not help sUtlng truthfully lit Mr. William H. Harris, of Nickel Hate ttow fame, deserves a niche In the world-wide Jrcai lOTlng Hall of Fame, sot only on account t the inlendid specimen of American manhood Jto displayed at all times the marka of a true nntleman, a loving linaliand and a kind father,, rat oa account of the grand and glorious show hit He collected together and traveled all over he country bo aa to reach tbe people legion jij on account of the prices naked for admls- lon except In the far West and South of the eople. Just stop and think one moment, kind eiden, a large circus company comprising a rare menagerie, a grand atreet parade and laat rat not least a grand free exhibition Immedlate- r after the parade, all for the email aum of en centa for children and twenty cents for dolts—simply giving a fifty-cent show for the _jbeve-mentloued small sum. These small prices if admission enabled whole families to attend, ■hereaa If the prices had been kept at 80 cents, is all first-class circus companies now-a-daya Is, possibly none could afford to go and every- way knows the great dlaappolntment that the no, daughter and often Clmea the wife and 'ither hare to go through when they can not ttfnd the circus—aa money Is short. This simply portraya desolation and misery lersonlfied. Mr. Harris was born at Cookarllle. Ontario, od. of course, using his own language, was 1 Canadian, but an American by adoption, hav- oc spent the greater part of his life In the lalted States. His father. Thomas Harria. was I Irish ancestry, hla parents having Immigrated 0 the back woods of Western Canada over one randred yearn ago. His mother was also of irba parentage, though bom In Canada, near fort Credit. Daring his father's early years he was a 'inner, but sustaining an accident In foiling: limber, whereby a large tree fell upon him. he ns unfitted ever after for manual labor. Tost unfortunate event was among tbe earll- «t recollections of young William H.—the lortor'a dally visits and those friends left such Mi impressions upon the young son's mind shlch were never erased. Upon the father'a recovery he found that his farm was not tree enough to support his family by employing 1 farm hand, consequently he exchanged It for rUlige property In CooksvIUe. where he re- sumed until 1855. Interested to various atags Ines running out of Toronto. Ills father's education waa somewhat limited, ind It waa his great ambition that hla sons ihonld have a good edncatlon. and aa the son roilam H.. looked back conld sea that his lather denied himself many things to order that ill little ones should have good schooling, raere were no free schools in those dare. Ulster Harris stsrted to school early In life. 'JJ"' ""t remembrance of writing was in 850, when he wrote hla nam* to hla spelling and from that time on improved rapidly it tbe village school. Even st that early age bis thoughts ran to J* * bow business, and every Saturday after wo he would bave a show In the Home of an d abandoned saw mill, the price of admls- n^iS," 1 ? 1 Te A " near aa he could re K?« v h ,T, h " a for Partnera Frank Morley and ™ ,na 0,ner a whose names have »nr been forgotten. iJ?h .* 5° h .* d * menagerie In tbe garden, which SS" 4 of Mbblts. ground hogs and other do h»jL "'nwla. 1 also had some coons, but il£ £5™"."""*" ,nd what wss lost by rab rfJS trowln « beneath the pens and escaping simply closed out my Infant menagerie. Many years after this Jot Pentland'a circus used through our village, and- the very looks if those "red wagons" Inspired hla young wirt with the hope that some day he might be- ?»• the possessor of a circus—little dreaming "'a that be should eventually own a circus Jd menngerle. and with them visit almost ev- JJ town and hamlet from the froaen coaat of Woe to ibe golden shores of California, and iT .rock-bound cliffs of Lake Superior to wE-JI"* 1 . 1 " 1 *" of Worlila. In 1855 hla father °»Iht a hotel In Trafalgar, and young HarrU '■• made the clerk. He said the hotel busl- ?mi2. a * *. fascinating life, and one that he S? *i' «"* Pt th » whiskey and the bar !i . no beartlly detested. He attributed 2* of the success he made In life to f strong temperance man. which cer- Qtcut trom be,n * * »agahond and an tl'/L' 0 ^. 01, thought he would make a lawyer ii n .l? r .n na wat hln > to the grammar aehool at „ *J" ,< ',' hut the son soon tiring or such s eft EE"." In tnt studying of Greek and Latin, we i-S. t m ,cc «P ,p 0 a poattlon In a general rt.; .J 2 r » n>Rn named John McMillan and aboltm.l, nr "t was made the asslstsnt ff 1.1! I; l 2J be ,nr,n 5 of 1881 JO™* Har- li'J' 0 ' Chicago and using his own lan- I;.i« 0 hoa a Ion « ■»* checkered career aa II ent?. rc * nt " • ahowman. a traveling aten- wSlLl'• *. P'cture peddler, a showman again, nln^' ,n a " T « rT ,,,b,e - billposter, and 'hlc».I "" < '<'™»f«l merchant In the great city of «SS r, r ? ra 1807 ,0 18T »- When he Brat l"o« ,, "?. ,t0 v* n 'l »topnlng at the Tremont IT* iA***"" contained a popula- «; iVnnV^ S 00 People;' now It numbero over tie'V^'" """'''"Vment In the theatrical or show Wd .1 f " ro ' w - »• McAllister, who wis ... Pre "«>tt Honse. Clark and Van Profeaan?.' "' ""«■ » n lo f e"l«' with the >-lt 1 T "S n » c HarrU decided to Invent and £ i h S. b °5'» and formed a part- ™»1P In furnishing about |200 for printing and engaging J. E. Noble, late of tbe Porepangh Show, as agent, and atartlng out through- Wis- consin and Illinois, and for the first fifteen days his share was over eleven hundred dollars. They returned to Chicago for a few daya and then started South, playing at St. Louis six days: thence to the towns of Louisiana and Han- nibal In Missouri. At the latter place he be- came acquainted with the famous and lamented American, Artemus Ward, who was lecturing there. From Hannibal they made their way to Cairo, III., and there gave one performance in the din- ing room of the St. Cbarles Hotel at $1.50 ad- mission, realizing something over (500. Money waa plenty then In Cairo, aa the place was full of soldiers' and officers and their charge for admission then waa no more than ten centa would be today. friends with McAllister and assistants left for Cincinnati, and there meeting Wash Blodgett, an old acquaintance, they for.aed a new com- pan-?*tjllng themselves as "Prof. Vsndamlen'a atttjSftow," and started down the Ohio Elver vritstttAt,': stopping st all the principal towne until they reached Louisville. Business waa none of the best, and soon they found themselves getting down fast to the bottom rung of the ladder. A young fellow running as s candy botcher on the L. & N. By. from Louisville to Nashville, gave them $500.00 for third Interest, and they gave him a bill of sale of the outfit for security until he could wind up his business and come on to the show. He overtook them at Kokomo, Ind., where he found them happy but penniless. Young Harris then turned his attention to clerking in different positions, at last finding himself once more In Chicago. He made the ac- WILL1AM H. HARRIS, Whose memory doth linger in tbe hearts of all American clrcns men of the declining generation. At Cairo they took a steamer for Memphis. Tenn., which was then under martial law. Gen- eral McDonald being provost-marshal. During the company's engagement there. For- rest made a raid on the city and there was con- siderable excitement, but It in no way af- rected their business, which w«a enormously large. Thence they went tnto Kentucky, and while at Lexington. Morgan made hla raid on that city; but again they were In no manner annoyed. At Lonlavilie their business was so great that-It became necessary to take extra precau- tion In putting In timbers In the stores beneath the hnll (Masonic Temple) where- they were playing. On six consecutive nights people were turned away, and for their Inst Saturday matinee the crowds began gathering aa early aa IS o'clock, though the performance waa not to commence nntll 2 o'clock, and to use a hack- neyed phrase, they turned away thousands. From Louisville they went to Cincinnati. O.. opening at Mosart Hall, and there, for the first time Mr. Harris realised that tbe show business wss not all one-sided. They opened to abominable business, a little over the hall rent ($100) being their total receipts: however, the- had faith that they could draw the r>eo- nle before the end of their engagement, which was tor nine days: hut Instead of growing better, business continued dropping oft, their Isst night netting but $30. McAllister, ss well as Harris, up to this time, supposed they hsd a well that would never run dry, and were not prepared to meet the disastrous reverse. We had to resort to the showman's favorite dodge of "floating eonic Jewelry." < Their business through Ohio waa simply wretched, but at Da.vton. Harris had an opportu- nity of disposing of his interest to a Mr. Stan- ley, receiving tftOO and parting the beat of qoalntance of Dr. Richard T. Splklnga. who had an office at 47 La Salle street, ami to this gen- tleman be unfolded a scheme of starting out In *he bllluosting business. X. H. Crosby, of the Crosby Opera House, and George K. Hazlitt. of the Evening Journal Show Printing House, promised young Harris all tbe work they could cummnml. so Dr. Splklnga kindly loaned him money enough to open an office and erect the necessary billboards. Young Harris worked faithfully and hard, and soon had tbe largest opposition billboard man, named Broad- way, aa hla partner,-and from this union great profits were made. Whenever they could induce a show to play on ehares with them, they did so. and always made good financially. Early In June. 1SGT, Mr. Harris leased Hassl'a Park, which was ten miles out of the city, for a Fourth of July celebration, and It has often been stated by old Chicago residents that prob- ably there has never been assembled at that Sara any greater crowds than were seen that, ay. unless it might have been the banner day at the late Chicago World's Fair. It took every available car that the Chicago and Northwestern road had to transport the people, so that even fiat cars were hastily pressed into service, rigging them np with temporary seats to carry parren- gers. besides the thousands who drove out In their own conveyances. Mr. Harris* day's profits were very large, as not only had he rented over fifty booths to men who paid from $25 to $250 per booth, who sold different articles, but be received five cents for •very passenger carried by the Chicago and North- western Railroad. In 1867, Mr. Harris married Miss Clara Sar- gent, and this estimable lsdy made him a grand and glorious helpmate as a wife,'and the world- wide aaylng: "The hand that rocks tbe cradle Is the bsnd that moves the world." never more clearly dernonntrated the true worth of this noble woman. I Mrs. Harris was not only a charming help- mate, but an able adviser, and devotedly eav- tbuaisstic over all tbe enterprises that her nobis) husband entered into for over thirty-five year*. to 1871, the terrible Chicago fire laid wast* to both my stores, ss well ss a newly tar- nished house. In an hour his accumulations of years were swept away, and once more b* found himself at the toot of the ladder and truly a trying place. Net wishing to be Idle, Mr. Harris pur- chased the stock sad patents or the Favorite Egg Case Company, owned by Brownell and Co.. and soon found upon closer examination that he hsd been swindled, and simply laid tbe busi- ness on a shelf. Next entering another business) which msde money almost Instantly, and after again opening the egg case elephant industry, soon msde this also prosper and prove a 'gold mine. Now the writer has placed true facta before tne reader's eyes, showing the ops and downs of a wonderful business man, and will now step Into his introduction to the sawdust circus field. Harris also ahlned ss where Mr. maker. Meeting Mr. Dsn Castello, the famous show- man. In the fall of 1882, Mr. Haxate^caneJndsd to embark once more in the show-line.- During the fall and winter, he purchased ring horses), and as fsst as purchased would ship them to Benton Harbor, Mich., where Mr. Castello waa breaking them, assisted by an able corps) of He worked hard all winter getting the stock ready, and Mr. Harris attended to the preparing of printing, providing wardrobe and other prop- erties. Everything being brand, aparkllng new uw top to bottom, and Mr. Harris not a dollar 1st debt, concluded It was nickel plate, and It no remained until bis pissing away, and the name Is still considered a valuable property by an circus men. Mr. Harris hsd marked out hla route throngs) Michigan, Minnesota, Dakota. Montans. Oregon. Washington Territory, British Colombia and California, but tbe "wiseacres of showman" thought differently, ssd though they did net tell Mr. Harris so, they gave him a fsw weeks to run. The show opened Saturday. May 5. 1888, at Benton Harbor. Mich., on account of having the show organised there and having spent a great deal of money with tbe townspeople. He waa led to believe that he might expect an enormous business, bnt tbe writer regrets to say that the business for the day did not accord with the great merits of tbe show, and only about esvs- quarter of what bad been expected. May 7 they were at Bangor, tbe 8th at South Haven, and the 9th at Holland, where they encountered their first blow-down, and took au night to load the show. The 14th was cold and It was snowing hard «t Cadillac, but they did a good day'a business May 21. at East Saginaw, they encountered a cold, wintry day, the wind blowing a hurricane, so they unloaded nothing from tbe can. May 28, at Marquette, Mich., was the first big day he) had, though business was fair all throngs) Michigan. He was now in the. iron and copper country, snd making money fast. At L'Anse, Mich., a terrible accident hap- pened which distressed his wife snd himself very much. A boy who was holding for one of the grooms one of the gentlest horses tbst Mr. Hsrrls owned, through some unaccountable man- ner tbe animal, becoming frightened, kicked the boy and killed him instantly. . They were ex- onerated from all blame by the parents of the boy, and utterly refused sld of any kind. At L'Anse they embarked on the steamer Ivanhoe for Houghton, there taking teams to Calumet, Lake Linden sM Hancock, st the Utter place again taking the steamer Ivanhoe for Oirlonagan. where be did a large bnslness. He played Dnlnth. Minn.. June 14 and 15 to a profitable business, then making a 500 mile run to Bismarck. Dak. Here tbe admission wss esse dollar, and so remained the balance of the sea- Son. Showing Mandon. Dickinson and Glen- dive, ill In Dskots. and reached Miles City, Mont.. Saturday. June 23. Next came Billing*. Livingston. Boxeman snd Townaend. then on to Helena and Deer Lodge and Bntte City, and right here the writer ststes that this being the first circus ever seen In Montana. It was a novelty and well patronised at every point. Returning to Deer Lodge. Mr. Harris encaged freighters to tske the show over the Rocky Mountains, each train having from twelve to twenty hesd of horses on it. snd the first day out stopped at Pioneer snd showed on July IX reached Sew Chicago, where they gave one Serformance and did well: Missoula. Monday, ulv 14 and 18. to packed tents. A 300-mile Jump to Spokane Falls. Wash: thence to Cheney. Sprsgue snd Walla Walls. Wash After finishing the Intended and originally selected route, which In every way was. suc- cessful, not only from s financial standpoint, bnt a business educator ss well, the Nickel Plate Show, whose wonderful achievement Is now history, simply eclipsed all expectations of Its owner snd 'orlglnstor. He next showed Day- ton, thence to The Dalles. Portland. Oregon. Tacotna, Olympia. Seattle. Victoria. British OA- nmbls, Vancouver's Island, and back to the States, making all dates. Reached Chicago, 111., in October, and at once began looking tor additional attractions for the coming season. Thus ended his first season, which he con- tinued without any break of years for over , twenty sessons. each year stronger and better. The first anlmsls purchased were a den of per- forming Hons and tigers, then an nmhrella-eared trick elephant named "Gypsy," hyenas and other animals. These Mr. Hsrrls placed In the barn (Continued oa page 54.)