Under the Big Top

Under the Big Top

When three elephants come sauntering trunk-to-tail down the streets of Baraboo, Wis. (pop. 12,134), parade-watchers burst into applause. Young onlookers stare as a tapir and two lions in separate antique, horse-drawn circus wagons roll by.

In all, more than 60,000 people witnessed last year’s Great Circus Parade, a procession of clowns, marching bands and dozens of satin-costumed riders astride well-groomed horses in downtown Baraboo. The scene, however, didn’t come as a big surprise to residents, who have quite literally grown up in the shadow of the town’s big top heritage.

The annual two-hour parade—scheduled June 25 in Baraboo—is part of the Great Circus Festival, presented by the town’s landmark Circus World Museum.

The museum’s location once served as the winter home of the Ringling Bros. Circus from the late 1800s until 1918, the year before it merged with the Barnum & Bailey Show. Incorporated in 1954 by John M. Kelley, a longtime attorney for the Ringlings, the museum has welcomed more than 7 million guests since opening to the public in 1959.

Today, the museum’s 39 buildings house more than 1 million artifacts, including well-worn trapeze artist costumes, oversize clown shoes, rare circus posters and hand-carved circus wagons.

"We are not a closet of curiosities or an attic where artifacts are squirreled away," says Larry Fisher, the museum’s executive director. "The museum preserves circus tradition and performance."

Museum employee Karen DeSanto can attest to that. She relocated to Baraboo after spending 13 years as a clown for the Ringling Bros. and Big Apple circuses. She and husband Greg, who also is a clown, now work at Circus World Museum as an act in the Big Top Circus, an actual working circus held on the grounds. "When we moved to Baraboo, we bought a home with no wheels on it," says DeSanto, laughing.

The museum’s Big Top performance season runs from late May to Labor Day. In preparation, Boy Scouts from all over Wisconsin camp at the Sauk County Fairgrounds and volunteer their time getting the outdoor grounds ready for the summer season. They raise the poles on the big circus tent, learn circus knot work and pound stakes to hold the ropes.

Besides the DeSantos’ side-splitting act, museum visitors can see elephants, goats and horses perform tricks, and Russian magicians change costumes in the blink of an eye.

Baraboo’s circus legacy began in the late 19th century when more than 100 traveling tent shows, including the Ringling Bros., spent considerable time in the area. The town owes much of that circus legacy to Baraboo residents Marie Salome, Katherine and Mary Juliar, three sisters who met and married three young men with future big top connections, August Ringling, Gottlieb Gollmar and Henry Moeller. The Gollmar Brothers, cousins to the Ringlings, formed their own circus. Moeller’s business included making wagons for the circus. "The Juliar sisters really created the circus empire," says Paul Wolter, president of the Sauk County Historical Society’s board of directors.

August and Salome Ringling’s eldest son, August Albrecht (known as Al), convinced his brothers, John, Charles, Otto and Alfred T., to join him in creating an entertainment organization that became known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, and made Baraboo its seasonal home in 1884.

More than a century later, the Ringling presence still is evident in Baraboo. Before his death, Albrecht spent $100,000 to build the palatial, 874-seat Al Ringling Theatre as a gift to the town. Traveling shows and local productions still use the facility and films are shown there regularly.

"Drive around Baraboo and you can see the hand of the Ringling Bros. at work," Fisher says. In fact, Albrecht’s former home in Baraboo is now the local chapter of the Elk’s Club. A stone wall running the perimeter of the Sauk County Courthouse square memorializes circus performers. Even the local cemetery has big top links as the final resting place for many circus notables.

"Baraboo is a great place," DeSanto says. "It’s a gem. When people see it, they can’t believe it’s here."

The Great Circus Parade highlights this year’s Great Circus Festival, scheduled June 24-26. Log on to www.circusworldmuseum.com or call (608) 356-8341 for more information.

Mary Lou Santovec is a freelancer writer from Jefferson, Wis.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article