Coca-Cola Fair Ad (1920)

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Interesting artwork, state fair theme, with the midway, featuring favorites of the sideshow, Cora the Fat Woman (450 lbs.), the Smallest Man Alive, Mazye the Snake Handler, and who knows what all else. A barker calls to patrons, barefoot children share a bottle of Coke, and everyone seems to be having a great time. It's August, a hot summer day on the midway!

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 2. Approx. 4-1/8" x 7", the heavy black border's dimensions.

Proofs of Prosperity

1916

Mr. Boyce's Talks

If there is any one who is in doubt about the general prosperity of the farmers, let him go to the county or State fairs and have his eyes opened. "Seeing is believing," and at the annual agricultural exhibits being held in all parts of the country there is plenty of proof of prosperity and progress.

Where the hitch-racks used to be, the visitor sees parking places for automobiles, filled with cars and frequently "overflowing." In fact, providing adequate facilities for the parking of autos has become one of the big problems at county and State fairs. As an instance of what the auto is doing for the fair, seven cars filled with representatives of twelve families came in a bunch from the little town of Loretto, Neb., to the State fair at Lincoln, a distance of 125 miles. Probably not half of that number of people would have come by train, yet they felt no hesitancy about making the long trip in the autos. This is only one instance. There is no doubt that in many other cases longer journeys are being made, over good roads which the autos have helped to provide.

Attendance has been large at all the fairs that have been held this month and the others which are to open between now and the middle of October are making preparations for record-breaking crowds. This in itself is a big proof of prosperity, to which may be added the reports from manufacturers and merchants telling of unusually good business in the placing of orders, now that the harvests are over.

More and more each season, stress has been laid on quality at the fairs, and progress in quality is especially noticeable in this year of good prices for all farm products. Not only is it to be seen in the exhibits and in the increased number of the educational features of the fairs but in the amusements, which have been put on a much higher plane. "Barkers" still "bark," but the shows that remain are of better class, as a rule, than the old-time tent entertainments. "Bosco, the Snake Eater" has disappeared, along with the sword swallowers and other freaks that used to contest with each other for the dimes and quarters of amusement seekers. Carnival companies which furnish entertainment at many of the fairs have eliminated most of the old objectionable features. Good bands are engaged, to give the people the kind of music they want. Many of the big fairs hire aviators to make day and night flights for the crowds and some of the fairs this year have put on elaborate historical pageants in which the schools have assisted.

For those who view the fairs with understanding and appreciation, the farm exhibits are, of course, the big features of interest. These tell the story of progress not only in methods of raising crops and stock but in the improvement of life on the farm. A visit to the machinery exhibits is an education for the city dweller who may not have kept in touch with the advances that have been made. Thruout these exhibits he will see how the power of motors is being applied to agriculture, to facilitate work, lighten labor and improve results in hundreds of different ways. He will see 1 horse power gasoline engines, selling as low as $25, for pumping water and running electric light plants, and big tractors that do heavy work, such as pulling gang plows. He will see electrical devices for thrashing, cutting up feed, cutting grass, pumping water and for many other purposes, including the family washing and similar domestic uses. He will see how gasoline engines and electrical plants have brought comforts and conveniences to the farmhouse and made it the equal of any city home — and a better place to live in than the average city home.

Then there is the automobile show, which is a feature of every big fair. These exhibits are larger this year than ever before, and the reports on orders, like those of other manufacturers who are selling to the farmer, are proofs of the prosperity of the country.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 6.

Did You Ever See a Calf Like This?

1916

It Lived Six Months and Could Eat With Either Mouth or Both, Just as It Liked, Until It Caught Cold.

We often see calves with more than their normal share of legs, but did you ever see such a calf as this?

This freak was born on the farm of Charles Brunson, near Dayton, Ohio, and was of Jersey parentage. The little fellow was perfectly healthy and could eat with either mouth or with both, just as it liked. The heads were perfect, and performed every function that such heads would be called upon to do.

For nearly six months the calf lived and seemed to be happy, but grew very little. Then it developed a cold and died, in spite of the efforts of three veterinarians to save it. The calf was mounted and is being preserved as a curiosity.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 7.

Freaks Entitled to Fame

1919

European Families That Had More Than Ordinary Claims to World's Attention

There is living at Bilbao, Spain, a family of seven who between them possess no fewer than 164 fingers. One of them has 23 fingers, another 21, while of the remaining five each can boast a couple of hands with 12 fingers apiece.

At Koshilivo, Russia, a very similar phenomenon exists in the fifty or more descendants of a peasant with extra fingers on his hands, who married at the beginning of the last century, all of whom are dowered with from one to five fingers in excess of the normal number.

The last surviving member of what was perhaps the record family with regard to weight was, in the person of Charles Atkins, a few years back interred at Harrow, England. He weighed 476 pounds, his brothers, who predeceased him, being no less than 504 and 560 pounds.

The family record for longevity has not been beaten since Robert Parr, the great-grandson of the celebrated Thomas Parr, died in 1737 at the age of one hundred and twenty-four. His father lived to celebrate his one hundred and ninth birthday, his grandfather reached one hundred and thirteen, while his great-grandfather was 152 at the time of his death.

There is mentioned in the Harleian Miscellany a Scotch weaver and his wife who were the proud parents of 62 children, 50 of whom reached their majority.

Large as this family was, its fame pales before that of a Russian, one Ivan Wassilig, who was the proud father of 87. By his first wife he had 69 children in the following order: Four times quadruplets at a birth, seven times triplets and 16 times twins. By his second spouse he had twice triplets and six times twins.

Undoubtedly the record for misfortune belongs to a Belgian family named Adnet. The father, Jean Adnet, was drowned; his wife committed suicide, while of his two sisters one was killed by the kick of a horse and the other by a blow received from a falling scaffold.

Jean Adnet had six children, four sons and two daughters. Of these the latter perished through the overturning of a pleasure boat. One of the sons was stabbed in a drunken brawl, another was crushed to death by a heavy wagon, while the remaining two, who emigrated to America, were slain in 1891 while fighting for Balmaceda against congressists. — Stray Stories.


Don't Sneeze; You May Die

Scientists say that we are never nearer death than when we sneeze, the act causing a momentary convulsion of the brain.

Owns Two Wonderful Pigs

1915

Pair of Jersey Reds That People Come Miles to See

GOSHEN, Ind., Dec. 16 — Two pigs, thought to be the most curious specimens of their kind ever born, altho dead are being preserved in alcohol by their owner, Frank Baker, of West Goshen. Scores of people have come miles to see the freak pigs, which were born with a litter of fifteen.

One has two bodies, but only one head; also has eight legs, two tails, four ears, one having a horn growing from it. The other pig has a trunk similar to that of a baby elephant; has one large eye in the center of its forehead, with a three-inch tail just above the eye, also a long tail at the natural place. The pigs are Jersey Reds.



Dinner Dish 167 Years Old

Owner Has Traced Meat Platter Back That Far

LEWISTOWN, Pa., Dec. 16. — Mrs. B. Ballentine, of this place, has in her possession a large steak platter that is over 167 years old. She can trace its existence back that many years.

The Freaks Must Go

1915

The secretary of the Minnesota state fair is the authority for the statement that the "freak" show and the sensational side show will not have a place in the state fairs of 1915. This form of entertainment is to be replaced by educational exhibitions, the step having been decided on by the American Association of Fairs and Expositions in convention at Chicago.

It will be a great relief if the minds of children are not to be abnormally stimulated by these morbid, not to say revolting, sights. The idea that the poor monstrosities of nature should be exploited by means of their deformities is repulsive and productive of no good. The practice of allowing fakers to grow fat off proceeds from "showing" these unfortunates is a species of barbarism.

The atmosphere that pervades state fairs is as wholesome as that which surrounds any of our national institutions, and it has always been a wrong to vitiate it by the clinical features of a freak show. — Minneapolis Journal.


1911

Easy

"Does it cost much to clothe a family? asked the economical man.
"Not mine," replied Mr. Sirius Barker. "My only daughter is a barefoot dancer and my only son is a marathon runner."

Freaks in Circuses — The Attraction of Monstrosities

1910

FREAKS IN CIRCUSES

People Are Strangely Fascinated by the Monstrosities

When the "Domesticated Gorilla" Got the Show Into Trouble — Hot Water Spoils a "Mermaid" to Uncover Fake

London — It seems strange that freaks, from the legless wonder to the two-headed calf, should possess such a strange fascination for nine people out of ten, yet this is undoubtedly the case.

Of course, there are many so-called freaks which have no business to be called by such an unpleasant name, for if one argues from the dictionary a freak is a monstrosity, and a monstrosity, in the generally accepted sense of the word, is something horrible. The giant and the dwarf are interesting and unusual, but certainly should not be called "freaks."

Hunchbacks were an exception to the rule, for all kinds of powers were attributed to them. There are some very sensitive people to whom the sight of anything in the nature of a monstrosity is absolute pain, and women are fortunately few and far between who fall in love with a monster because of his monstrosity, as in the case of Victor Hugo's "L'homme qui Rit."

The ordinary individual comes across very few physical freaks, and one cannot but wonder whence the showman's rank and file are recruited. Perhaps, if the truth were known, more than half of the show freaks are "fakes." There are many good stories told of these sham freaks, who, owing to some contretemps, have "given the show away." The two following are good examples:

Among the freaks of a certain show was a "domesticated gorilla," to quote the handbills, and he proved one of the finest draws the show had ever had. After the performance no one could have recognized the gorilla, as he then took the shape of a very quiet, ordinary little man. The public particularly enjoyed seeing the gorilla swing from the horizontal bar by his tail, an appendage which is very slightly developed in the species as a rule.

This tail was a masterpiece of ingenuity. It was made of flexible steel, and so contrived that when it took a turn around anything it locked into position until it was released by the gorilla touching a spring concealed somewhere near his waist. The thing worked splendidly for a long time, until one day the gorilla put his tail through the bars of his cage, and a lady standing by took hold of it. Well, the tail acted automatically, as usual, and of course when she felt it tighten around her wrist the lady screamed. The gorilla pressed the hidden spring to no purpose. To make a long story short, the men standing by came to the lady's rescue, took hold of the tail and pulled it off. When the people saw the leather fastenings and buckles they "cleaned out the establishment."

The second story concerns a mermaid. She was no ordinary mermaid, but a "really high-class article," a very handsome young woman encased from the waist down in blue and gold fishskin. The water in which she smoked, and sang, and sat on a rock combing her hair was kept tepid so as not to give her a chill, and this was what gave her enemies — the beautiful Circassian girl and the dwarf — a chance to injure her.

They were jealous because she attracted more attention than they did, so they hatched a plot, which the dwarf carried out successfully. One day he pretended to be ill, and got a day off, and just before the mermaid's performance he hid himself in the boiler-room. After the man had been down to see that there was not too big a fire, the dwarf set to and stoked for all he was worth.

The mermaid soon felt that something was wrong, but she stood it as long as she could. At last, however, she had to choose between being boiled or giving the thing away, and naturally she preferred the latter alternative; but, as the showman put it, the public said things that were "very discouraging" and the show had to move on.

Sideshow: The Wild Australian Children and the English Giant

1915

Side Lights On The Circus Business
By D. W. Watt

In the review of side show freaks and curiosities of last week, there were two great features of side shows [*] years ago that were overlooked, and these were Tom and Hattie, known as the wild Australian children, and Henry Cooper, the English giant.

Tom and Hattie perhaps made more money for their employers than any attraction in the business. They were called the wild Australian children, and were supposed to have been captured after a long excited chase in the wilds of Australia, but as I did not participate in the capture, I will not vouch for the truth of this statement.

Tom and Hattie were the one great feature in the side show of the Adam Forepaugh show for many years. They were brother and sister, and both had the same attendants, whose business it was to look after them and see that they were cared for in the best possible way.

Hattie had a bright disposition and everything seemed to please her, and she was everybody's friend, but Tom, the brother was quite different. He was naturally a grouch, and hard to please, and for some unknown reason he took a great dislike to me from the first time I ever saw him. Any time when I happened to walk in the side show, while Tom could not talk, he would give me a bad look, grit his teeth and clinch his fists, which meant that I had better keep my distance.

One day John A. Forepaugh, who was manager of the show and owner of the privileges as well, came to the ticket wagon and said: "Dave, you talk about standing room, you could not put a dozen more people in the side show, unless you put the press on them. I never saw such a big crowd. Run over and take look."

I went to the side show, and was just able to get inside, when Tom away across the tent spied me and he seemed to be wild with rage, and without thinking, I clinched one of my fists and shook it at him and he immediately jumped from the stand on which he was exhibited into the crowd and let a yell out of him, and in ten minutes everybody had made their escape from under the side walls. Tom was put back on his platform and sat down hard, with instructions to never get up until he was told.

I also made my escape to the ticket wagon, and a minute later had orders from Mr. Forepaugh from then on to keep out of the side show.

Henry Cooper the English giant was brought to this country by Adam Forepaugh on a three year contract. Cooper stood about eight foot four, and while he was not fleshy, he weighed around 400 pounds. Everything Cooper wore had to be made to order, and his boots were a sight to look at. Cooper once told a story about an old lady visiting him in the side show and after looking him over carefully, she said, "Young man, can you tell me how tall you are?" Cooper said, "No madam, not in feet and inches, but I am so tall that I cannot tell when my feet get cold."

The old lady took a look at Cooper's ponderous feet for a few seconds, and then said, "You are certainly fortunate," and without a smile on her face, passed on to the next stand to take a look at the fat woman.

For some years in this country Henry Cooper was a feature in the side shows, and in the winter in a dime museum.

A few days ago Mary A. Forepaugh, wife of the late John Forepaugh, died at her home in Philadelphia. Her husband, John Forepaugh, was the youngest brother of the great showmen, and Aunt Mary, as she was known around the show, was a bright cheery woman, and a great favorite of her brother-in-law, Adam Forepaugh, and at the opening in Philadelphia every spring, Aunt Mary could be found in the private box of Adam Forepaugh. At the close of the engagement there she made it her business to visit everyone around the show, and bid them farewell, always saying that she hoped to see them there the next spring. Many an old timer in the business will mourn her loss.

One of the wittiest and most original of the old-time circus jesters was Johnny Paterson, the self styled "Rambler from Clare," who was a true son of the "Land of the Shamrock" and racy of the old sod. He was not a tumbling clown, knockabout or a pantomimic buffoon; but he was a talking and singing jester, who relied upon his fund of natural humor and glib flit of repartee to excite the hilarity of his listeners.

Patterson came to this country, direct from Ireland, about 1879, under contract to the Cooper & Bailey Great London show, and after remaining one season with that organization, he joined the forces of John B. Doris and toured for four seasons with the Doris Inter-Ocean show. Although "blessed with the cause of conviviality" — as they say in Ireland, Patterson managed to accumulate a tidy sum out of his weekly wage, and with this he returned to his native land and bought a half interest in a small circus managed by a man named Keely.

The show was re-christened the Keely & Patterson shows, and enjoyed deserved popularity, playing in the small Irish towns and cities. After the death of his partner, Patterson married Mrs. Keely. He continued to delight his countrymen with his songs and witticisms until he was laid low with the quick consumption after a brief illness. He died in August 1889, at the small town of Tralee, in the south of Ireland, while the rain poured in torrents upon the canvas roof of the dressing tent. Despite the pleadings of his faithful wife, he refused to be moved to the hotel or local hospital, declaring with the true circus spirit that if death was coming to meet him "on the lot."

Johnny Patterson was one of the first clowns to impress himself on my juvenile memory. I saw him with the Doris show, and many years after I had an interesting talk about him with the late John B. Doris. What made Patterson so unique a figure among the clown of his day was the spontaneity of his wit and his fresh and unconventional humor. He did not peddle around a stale bag of hackneyed jokes. Often, as Mr. Doris told me, he would bound into the ring and take the ringmaster by surprise with a batch of unpremeditated jokes that sprang from his Celtic imagination on the spur of the moment, and as fast as he could utter them. Possessed of a fine light baritone voice that would not have been amiss in romantic opera, he sang with excellent effect such songs of his own composition as "Bridget Donoughue," "The Rambler from Clare," "The Garden Where the Praties Grow," and "There Never was a Coward Where the Shamrock Grows."

Even when death was staring him in the face, Patterson retained his flow of fun and philosophy. He was in very truth the Sir Lucius O'Trigger of the circus arena. The doctor who attended him in the dressing tent the night he died, remarked: "Well, Patterson, I'll be around and see you in the morning."

"Ah, yes, Doctor, you'll see me," said Johnny, "but will I see you?" The dying clown's words were prophetically true, for when the doctor came to the circus lot in the morning Johnny Patterson's eyes were closed in the eternal sleep.

—Janesville Daily Gazette, Janesville, Wisconsin, January 2, 1915, page 3.

[*]The article says "80 years ago" but that hardly sounds possible, since these are the author's memories, and in another article he says he was traveling in the 1870s. Probably should be 40.]

Four-Legged Chicken Hatched, Freak May Be Exhibited

1911

THIS CHICKEN A QUADRUPED.

Stands on Two Legs While it Scratches With the Other Two.

Chicken stories are like snake stories: some of them are untrue. This one is true and can be verified by those who are skeptical.

Gus Yuckenberg, of South Sixth street, has some Black Minorcas of which he is exceptionally proud and it is an egg from a setting of this favorite breed that produced the freak.

The chicken has a body just like any normal chicken but it has more than the usual allowance of legs, having four instead of just two. It is indeed a strange sight to see the chicken standing on two legs and scratching with the other two which have but two claws. The extra pair of legs are just behind the two normal legs and are of the same length. Yukenberg is thinking of putting the chicken on exhibition. The chicken otherwise is perfectly normal and healthy and was latched on Decoration Day.



Tramp Resisted Arrest

Although Indiana is particularly free from tramps this year, an occasional hobo drifts into town, and is promptly ordered by the police to skedaddle. One of them came to town on Monday and was seen by Chief of Police Keller Harris, who promptly ordered him to leave or go to work on the streets. It was thought he had left. Instead, he took on a heavy load of the fluid that cheers and went to sleep along the railroad near School street. Chief Harris found him and was bringing him to jail, when the tramp resisted with might and main. The officer used his club which had much to do with subduing the pugilistic proclivities of the tramp, and he was finally landed in jail.

—Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, Pennsylvania, June 6, 1911, page 1.