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Summer circusSummer, by the calendar, is slipping away, but the heat persists and the crops continue to grow in this later than normal year of 2008. I’ve attended every agricultural show in the area and seen the flash of new paint and the allure of emerging technology. Quite frankly, I’m numb from the glitz of the exhibits and the extreme measures taken to capture the attention of the target audience. Last night, Gail and I attended an old-fashioned tent circus and it brought me back to how little it took to sweep our ancestors into a fantasy world. The trucks and trailers arrived sometime early in the day and the laborers sized up the recently mowed field where they popped up the big top in romantic fashion with the help of two elephants. I didn’t actually see the elephants do the work but I couldn’t find a Bobcat (loader) on the grounds so I assume the task was done by pachyderm power. This is the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus based at Hugo, Okla., per the truck registration. I’d always heard of a circus that wintered in Oklahoma’s tropical southeast but I’d never seen it. Good reason, they needed to go where people have money to spend! However, the back lot of the Catholic Church is not the best venue in town. That didn’t seem to be an issue as the signs had been out for a couple of weeks and the local people buzzed a bit about this quaint form of entertainment coming to town. There was a time in rural America when the arrival of the circus was anticipated all summer and, when it came to town, the excitement was at fever pitch. Arriving by train or by truck the animals, acrobats and clowns were shown in a parade down Main Street with a huge “band wagon” urging everyone to “jump on” and follow them to watch the setup or come down for the evening performance. My father told us stories of how the circus would dupe people by offering free tickets to boys who would help them set up the tent and get things ready for the show. Many would jump in and work for hours until they realized the job would never be done. Only a few hearty souls would work until after the performance started, when they were finally given a ticket to see the rest of the show. This circus harkened back to those days as I think they had the same tent. It must have been 50 years old and had more area that was repaired than was original. Near dusk, looking up through it to a bright sky, there was the sparkle of a thousand holes and worn spots. It would not have been a good place to be in a rainstorm. The performers were few, but versatile. A clown led off and showed up two more times. A father with four daughters had a unicycle act followed by the oldest daughter being the trapeze artist and later the ring mistress. The second daughter had a bird act and dad did duty in all of them as the spotter for the flying trapeze, throwing pigeons in the air and moving apparatus. One lion and two aging tigers put on their show in a cage that was little more than livestock panels stood on end. It came down a little too easily for comfort after the animals had been put back in their trailer. All the music was recorded and the lighting was four halogen stands that glared from every angle. There was an intermission for elephant rides, refreshments and marketing of toys and T-shirts. Finally, a balancing and juggling duo tossed rings, Indian clubs and swords into the air, and to each other, with the ring mistress adding glamour and “ta-da” to each exhibition of skill. Then it was over and the roustabouts had half the items loaded with their eye on the tent once it was empty. They departed in a few hours and will repeat the show, in similar surroundings, two hundred times during the season. This circus appears to be a small family enterprise that requires a lot of sweat and repetition to bring a show to small audiences (there were 60 of us) in dirt floored venues. The performers must be people who love the life and the workers must be trapped with nothing better available than daily performances and weekly paychecks. The thing that amazed me was that I enjoyed it. I’ve watched the Olympics on television and been up and down every aisle at the Farm Progress show, but I still found that sitting on rickety bleachers under an ancient big top was satisfying and even a little bit exciting. Every life needs some excitement and a break from monotony of work and sameness of place. Like everything else, we take it to the extreme in how far we will go to capture attention. Yet, a simple pleasure of civilization, the circus, can make us realize it doesn’t take that much to satisfy our needs. Editor’s Note: This is Ken Root’s 34th year as an agricultural reporter. He grew up on a small farm in central Oklahoma and started his career as a vocational agriculture teacher. He worked in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri as a broadcaster and was the original host of AgriTalk. He has also been the executive director of the National AgriChemical Retailers Association in Washington, D.C. and the National Association of Farm Broadcasters in Kansas City. Ken is now the lead farm broadcaster at WHO and WMT Radio based in Des Moines, Iowa. He has been a columnist for HPJ and Midwest Ag Journal for seven years. 9/8/08 Date: 9/4/08 Advertisement
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