The year was 1967. We lived in Milwaukee. Our family included Grasshoppers No.1, No.2 and No.3 (who was only 3 years old). I had been working 4 years at my first job as a Sales Engineer at Allis-Chalmers. Each summer, the World Circus Museum from Baraboo, Wisconsin would make a train trip to Milwaukee. Late in July, Milwaukee would hold it's annual Circus Parade along Wisconsin Avenue. It was almost impossible to get good seats along the parade route because of the masses of humanity.
So we did the next best thing. We took a one day trip on July 3, 1967 (we've got the pictures to prove it) in our '65 Chevrolet Bel-Air to Baraboo as a family about two weeks before the Circus Museum packed up for it's journey to the Milwaukee Parade.
The day at the Circus Museum in Baraboo turned out to be memorable. It exceeded expectations. The museum itself is a building with lots of ornate objects, carved totem poles, wooden Indians, costumes and "player pianos". There were even old pipe organs that had been restored to original condition. I remember buying hot dogs and sodas for an outdoor lunch. As we sat outside, we watched the Circus employees as they practiced loading the antique Circus wagons onto railroad cars using teams of horses. The crowds begain to swell. I think each railroad car held two Circus wagons. I remember the squeaking wheels of the creaking wagons. The wagons were designed to hold lions, tigers and bears (Oh my!) as well as equipment such as calliopies that played during parades. It was fun to watch.
Then we found out that there was a daily performance for free under the Big Top Tent located on the Museum grounds every day. The next performance was at 2:00 PM. By the time we gathered together popcorn and more sodas, we found seats near the top of the bleachers surrounding the floor of the tent. The Circus performance lasted for almost an hour. It included bareback horse riders performing tricks, clowns, trapeze artists and lots of different animals. I believe there were even a few elephants. So we were treated to an old time Circus tent performance that was the hi-light of the day.
By the time we headed home, everyone was tired but we had a terrific day. It was much more than we expected and as Grasshopper No.3 would say "we had created a memory".
We would make two more trips to the Circus Museum. You kids were anxious to go back so we made a return visit later that same month on July24th. This time Grandpa George and Nana joined us. Grandpa was always interested in old wagons, and horses and of course, anything that represented a family outing. It was a fun day but never quite as exciting as our first visit. The surprise and intrigue of our first visit was missing.
Our family would make one more trip to the Circus Museum in 1969 and Grandpa and Nana would again join us. We haven't been back since. It would be a shame to see such a treasure disappear. I think the tradition of moving the Circus by train to Milwaukee has returned (it had been discontinued for a period of time).
The Circus museum and the subsequent parades allow everyone to become a kid again. We've got the pictures to prove it. We even took a picture of you kids behind the bars of an animal Circus wagon.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that you never know when you are going to create a special moment. Our first visit to the Circus Museum certainly qualifies.
Love,
Dad