Old Time Circus

Remember when the circus came to town? I'm thinking of the circus with the large canvas tent, the tons of sawdust, the animals, clowns and the usual barkers at the sideshows extolling the unusual freaks of humanity.

Families would drive into town in their buggies, spring wagons and surries to see the parade on the street. The parade generally consisted of about a dozen musicians seated high up on a beautifully decorated wagon, pulled by six white horses, a steam caliope, an elephant or two, caged wagons with lions, tigers, bears, seals and perhaps a few monkeys. Following the wagons would be a number of clowns who shook the hands of the children and waved to the pretty ladies. After the parade the crowd moved to the circus grounds for the main show.

Later, the model 'T' transported the families and perhaps a neighbor's child from the country to see the thrill of a lifetime.

The boys of the town lined up at the spot where the tent was to be erected, all hoping they could get a job of working or watering the elephants or some other chores in order to get a free pass to the show.

The ‘big tops' are no longer seen in towns, large or small. The few circuses, that are still in existence, put on their shows or acts in large indoor arenas. The small town circus no longer exists.

The circus can really be traced back to thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians developed them in many forms. The Romans had their circuses in large outdoor arenas, which featured gladiators contests where the loser met his death, battles between animals and man, exotic animals and chariot races.

The modern type of circus originated in the 1770's in England, and later spread to America. By the middle of the 1800's we saw the beginning of the 'golden age of the circus'.

Within the ‘big top', the circus usually began with the grand spectacle. This featured the band, all the clowns and other performers and long lines of animals and their trainers marching around the arena. Around the walls of the tent were wooden bleachers for the spectators. In the center were the large circles which they called 'rings'. The largest circus generally had acts being performed in three rings simultaneously. There were the elephants, bareback riders, lion acts, acrobatic stunts and the high wire performers with the usual aerialists catching each other in the high trapeze suspended from the top. Generally these performers worked over large nets to protect them if they accidentally fell.

The circuses which traveled all over the country in the early days had troops of American Indians and cowboys. Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakly and dozens of other famous persons of the wild west joined the circus. Old Sitting Bull and a host of famous Indians brought thousands of people to the show.

Many smaller shows also employed lesser known personalities in their acts. Generally after the main performance was complete, the ring master would loudly announce that for an extra 50 cents or one dollar, the audience could remain for a Wild West show. These acts consisted of several expert cowboys who would lasso from one to four or five horses galloping down the main center. Other trick lariat performers would astound the audiences with their fancy rope work.

The grand finale consisted of a stage coach pulled by four or six horses galloping around the large oval followed by shrieking Indians in full war paint on their ponies, shooting blank cartridges.

Between each act, hawkers would move through the crowd selling their rattlesnake oil and Indian cures of all sorts.

There were several locations in or near Bedford where circuses were held. One was in a field south of Watson and east of South Bedford Streets and where the Bedford Township elementary school now stands.

One person recalls a time when she was a young girl, her father took her and a friend to a circus at the Watson Street location. A severe rainstorm passed over the town. The large tent, not being waterproof, let the rainfall down on all the spectators. Women, who wore pleated skirts, no longer had pleats, and the men who wore cheap woolen suits suddenly found the suits had become too small. It made no difference whether one had an umbrella at this circus. Everyone got to see the circus and got a bath at the same time.