"Remarkable Redfield"

Circus Extraordinaire: The day more than 7,000 people came to Redfield to see the  first combined circus show by the Sells Floto, Al G. Barnes and Ringling Brothers circuses.

By Shiloh Appel

July of 1938 was a truly historic time in Redfield. Excitement and anticipation was in the air and it marked townsfolk and countryfolk alike for miles around. During a time when families were reeling from the Great Depression and struggling to keep food on the table, the headlines in the paper were a refreshing promise of  "great amusement." A promise of a day that families could set aside their work and worry for a time and become lost in awe at the sight of exotic animals, dancing acrobats, and seemingly impossible feats performed by sparkling and bedazzled performers. The circus was coming to town. But not just any circus. Two of the largest circuses of the time, the combined Sells Floto and Al G. Barnes Circus and the Ringling Brothers Circus were merging in Redfield for their very first show together.

"This season 1,000 new wonders are offered. They range all the way from five herds of elephants to the world famous Rieffenach Troupe of riders, making their American debut," states an original Redfield Press newspaper article from July of 1938. "Mabel Stark, world's only woman tiger and lion trainer, after two years of Hollywood picture making, has returned to her first love, the Al G. Barnes and Sells Floto Combined Circus. Her act eclipses all her former triumphs. Hundreds of the world's foremost arenic stars, a menagerie that includes 900 furred and feathered creatures and glorious pageantry all combine to make the program outstanding."

Peeking into circus history in the US, we can see that, originally, the Sells Floto Circus was a fusion of the Floto Dog and Pony Show and Sells Brothers Circus that toured the US during the 1900's. By 1929, the Sells Floto circus was bought by the American Circus Corporation, which also purchased the Al G. Barnes Circus as well as the John Robinson Shows, Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and Sparks Circus. Soon enough, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, owned by John Ringling, bought the American Circus Corporation before the end of 1929. Five of the circuses owned by John Ringling closed during the Great Depression and in 1937, Al G. Barnes and Sells Floto were combined into one. However, after all of the merging and closing and merging again, the circus was not yet finished. It seemed to be a last-minute decision for the Ringling Circus to join the Al G. Barnes and Sells Floto Circus in a final merge in Redfield.

"A late announcement states a 21-car train carrying performers and equipment of the Ringling Circus, forced by labor trouble to cut short its summer tour, was enroute Tuesday to Redfield to join the Barnes Circus for July 11," states a Redfield Press article from July of 1938. "This will give Redfield people an opportunity to witness the largest circus on the road today and should draw crowds here from miles around. The western show's seating capacity will be doubled by tents and seats aboard the train."

Doors to the big show opened at 1p.m. and 7p.m. on July 11th, 1938 to a large crowd. According to newspaper reports, the crowd exceeded 7,000 people, more than twice as many as the current population of Redfield. Some of the acts that were featured at the show included the Yom Kam Chinese Troupe, Janet May, Mitzi Rose Sisters, Anna Merkel, Olvera Brothers, Flying Artonys, Martha Joyce and the Panneau Troupe, the Rieffenach Troupe, classically trained horses "of the haute ecole" and many others. A favorite among the audience seemed to be the animal acts, which "came in for a large share of the applause," according to one report, and the clowns were "the enjoyment of the children." Frank (Bring 'Em Back Alive) Buck and his giant gorilla, Gargantua, had been a much-anticipated sight to see as circus fliers advertised Gargantua as "the largest and fiercest gorilla ever brought before the eyes of civilized man," and the act did not disappoint. After all of the excitement of the day, Spink County residents looked back with pride as hosts of such a historic event.

"The circus has come and gone, and the residents of Redfield and surrounding community realize they were privileged to witness one of the greatest spectacles in circusdom ever to be presented to the public. Redfield was indeed fortunate as being the first city in which the combined Barnes, Sells-Floto, Ringling and Barnum and Bailey shows presented their first combined show. Details of the merger were worked out in business meetings held in this city and Redfield gave the management of this great show 'good luck' when the cars pulled out for Watertown this morning," stated an article in the Redfield Press.

According to circus history records, the combined Al. G. Barnes and Sells-Floto caravan of circus cars pulled out the the very next morning and performed in Watertown on the 12th of July, 1938 and in Huron on the 13th of July before crossing the state line into Minnesota.

Indeed, it was a show that would not soon be forgotten.