Circus World

– The following program is a PBS Wisconsin Original Production.

– Angela Fitzgerald: Coming up on Wisconsin Life:.. Meet a mother and son team who race… pigeons, [pigeons flapping wings] a treasure hunter keeping up with the Joneses, [whip cracks] an artist restoring circus wagons, and a dance coach with all the right moves.

That’s all ahead on Wisconsin Life!

[girls cheering] [uplifting guitars, strings, piano, and drums] – Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, the A.C.V.

and Mary Elston Family, the Obrodovich Family Foundation, the Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW Health, donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

[upbeat music] – Angela Fitzgerald: Thank you.

– Driver: Have a good day!

– Angela: Have a good day!

Welcome to Wisconsin Life.

I’m your host, Angela Fitzgerald, and I’ve run away with the circus here at Circus World.

Nestled along the river in Baraboo, this site was originally home to the Ringling Bros.

Circus, beginning in the late 1800s.

[fast tempo circus march] Today, Circus World offers high-flying acts, [audience gasps] exciting stunts, and animal tricks, all while offering a look into the past when circuses were huge traveling productions that were wildly popular.

– Announcer: Give her a round of applause while she goes into the barrel.

Three, two, one!

[cannon pops, musical fanfare] – As a Wisconsin Historical Society site, guests can tour exhibits, walk through the historic Ringling Bros.’ Winter Quarters, and check out the largest collection of circus wagons in the world.

Every summer, the annual Big Top Parade puts some of those wagons on display, weaving through the streets of Baraboo.

Before we step deeper into the ring here, let’s dive into our first story… [shimmery music] …where we fly to New Richmond to catch up with a mother and son team preparing their flocks for race day.

[gentle music] [ethereal music] [acoustic guitar] Waking up to greet the day… – 4:20 every morning, my alarm goes off.

I catch all the birds and get them in the truck.

– Liz Beukema has had this same routine for more than a decade.

– Liz Beukema: That may be why… [laughs] May be why it’s a low-participation sport.

– Pigeon racing became popular in Belgium 200 years ago, and has spread worldwide.

– Fond du Lac has a really active pigeon community.

Milwaukee… La Crosse has a big club down there.

– But for Liz, finding other female racers is not very common.

– It’s actually fairly rare.

There’s not many of us, but it’s fun to find each other.

[laughs] So, they’re gonna come out.

I’m gonna start with this first one.

[Liz claps] We release birds about half an hour after sun up, ideally.

– Garrett Beukema: I guess it’s sort of a rare sport, and it’s always changing.

– Even more rare… – We’re the only ones I know of.

– A mom and son competing against each other.

– Garrett: This is one of our young birds.

– Garrett got his start after someone gifted him racing pigeons.

– We started with 10, and now we have 200.

[chuckles] – For Garrett and Liz, life on the farm would never be the same.

– I started because Garrett was 10, and he couldn’t drive his birds down the road to train.

I was just kind of along for the ride.

I never had a team at first.

Garrett flew for two years without me having a team.

I try to get all scientific, and Garrett’s just like, “Ah, it’s all good.”

And then, he ends up winning every week.

– Winning also requires a lot of time spent with your birds.

– Garrett: You’re up every morning and training, and every weekend, you’re racing.

And it gets pretty busy.

– But we start out slow.

We’ll go half a mile, we’ll go two miles, we’ll go five miles, and just practice.

They flew 90 miles this morning on a training run.

– Pigeon racing can sometimes cover 400 miles, and the first bird home in the fastest time wins.

– We want them to have visual clues.

I want them to see the river and know that “I need to get across the river in order to get home.”

– On race day, the farm is quiet until the pigeons start arriving back home.

– You get a message saying, “Yep, the birds were released from, let’s say, Ames, Iowa, at 7 a.m.” And then, you sit in the silence in the yard and wait for birds to land on Saturday morning.

When they come in, ideally, they hear me whistle from across the yard, and they land immediately and go in to eat.

[pigeons cooing, Liz whistling] We whistle every time they’re fed from the time they’re born.

Come on, baby.

Young birds, food is their motivation.

They’re coming home for food.

– The science behind how the pigeons actually navigate their way home remains a mystery.

– Liz: It’s magic.

The scientists still– to this day– don’t know.

– A lot of people say they use the sun.

A lot of people say landmarks and maybe it’s a little bit of both.

During pigeon racing, you’re just releasing them up in the sky and praying that they come back.

– When they return home, a sensor records the time each bird enters the loft.

– We’re always looking to see whose bird comes home first.

– On race day, it’s kind of exciting to figure out where you sit.

– Garrett: I guess we get pretty competitive some days.

I believe I won my first race in… gosh, I don’t know what year it was, but I was pretty young.

– Garrett was on a streak at one point where he had beat me in every race for 16 straight races.

So, that needed to come to an end really quickly.

[laughs] – Through the years, the birds got better.

– They double in size every day.

By 30 days, they’re fully grown.

– The bond between mom and son grew stronger.

– We spent a lot of invaluable time together, the two of us, with these birds over the years.

– And the need for Garrett to spread his wings took flight.

– I think I’ll miss race day the most.

Sitting out on the porch and just waiting for the birds to fly over.

– Garrett is heading off to school, leaving Mom to fly solo.

– A lot of the guys at the club have kind of kidded me about that, how I lost all my good help and all my… all my magic.

To me, it’s very interesting.

[laughs] They’re just amazing animals.

I’m talking to the other guys in the club to see if I won or lost.

[laughs] I love it!

[pigeons chirping] [shimmery music] – Next up, we meet a Sheboygan collector with a treasure trove fit for the silver screen.

[traffic] [background conversations, playful music] – At an afternoon matine in Sheboygan, you’ll find moviegoers seeking thrills on the silver screen.

[neon light sizzles] – Mike Miller: There’s some movies where it’s like, you know, pack them in.

It’s a group experience.

[chorus of laughter] But there is something to be said about a small theater, and it’s just you.

Me and this movie that I’m watching, it’s like there is a connection.

[film projector clicks, buzzes] – Before the credits roll, Mike Miller knows he’ll be back here again.

– Mike: The first time that I see the movie, I know I miss so much.

I was easily on the 15th time, and I caught somebody doing something on the screen.

So, I really didn’t see the whole movie yet.

– For Mike, just one set of films inspired his own real-life passion.

– Mike: I couldn’t fathom what it would feel like the first time a stranger came up to me and been like, “Hey, are you that Indiana Jones guy?”

Well, that was really neat.

That was pretty cool.

Yeah.

[“Indiana Jones” style music] [horse galloping, gunshot] [whip, swords clanging] – Mike has his own temple of treasures dedicated to Harrison Ford and the globetrotting archaeologist.

– Mike: When people ask me, “What do you collect?”

I collect Indiana Jones memorabilia.

“Well, what exactly?”

Everything.

There’s usually three reactions.

[cash register] “How much money is in this room?”

[arcade game] “How many items are in this room?”

[clock ticking] “And how long did it take you to create this room?”

I have absolutely no idea.

– From books and banners to movie props and pinball machines, [pinball machine pulses] this collection has sent Mike and his wife, Martha, on their own expeditions.

– Martha Miller: He’s definitely taken me along on the adventure.

I mean, there’s pieces I know I’ve never even seen.

But then, there’s other pieces where, “Oh, I remember going to get that piece.”

– This standee is from Applebee’s.

And in here actually, on the computer, and all of a sudden, I hear, “Applebee’s, or whatever, go see the new Indiana Jones!”

[makes startled sound] I fell out of my chair almost, running.

What, what, what, what?!?

They all complement each other.

It’s one collection.

– Like his onscreen hero, Mike has his own origin tale.

It started at a family gathering with his dad.

– I heard him laugh like I had never heard him laugh before.

[burst of laughter] He was actually watching Raiders of the Lost Ark.

But once I found out what that movie was and everything, who the actor was, again, it just started coming all together.

– His parents bought him an Indiana Jones video cassette that sparked his curiosity, and then, the rest was history.

– That might have actually been when the collector was born in me.

And I just didn’t know it yet.

I became more conscious of wanting to surround myself with those movies.

– The magic of these movies quickly connected with Mike.

– Mike: The humor, the adventure, and how it seemed to kind of relate to my life, things that I was missing in my life.

– Several years after Indy’s Last Crusade, Mike was ready for the surprising twist at the box office– two film sequels.

– Mike: Crystal Skull was the first movie I actually saw with both my parents.

I got to hear my dad laugh again like he did when he was watching Raiders .

Every time I watch the movie, when a certain scene comes up, it’s always gonna be about that laugh.

[warm synthesizer] – More films brought more memories and memorabilia and less house space.

– Martha: When we got our wedding picture framed, well, of course, it’s going to go above the fireplace.

And then, there’s a fourth movie coming out.

Well, that means more collecting.

– Mike: I get this standee one day in the mail.

So, I started looking around the house, trying to figure out a spot where it can go.

Couldn’t figure it out.

Sat down on the couch, was watching a little TV, and all of a sudden, my eyes just kind of went over to the fireplace.

I just got to see what it looks like.

Took down the wedding picture, put up the standee on top of the fireplace.

– From then on, I was basically staring at the Crystal Skull movie poster– only on a huge, huge scale.

So, I always have to give him a hard time ‘cuz that’s just my way of saying, “Hey, honey, I love you.”

– As the collection grew… [clattering, pulling tape off a roller] they agreed it was time for a new home, [jackhammer, drill whirring] including his specially built room you see today– packed with nostalgia.

– Martha: It’s like, “No, I don’t want my home to be my museum; I want my museum to be in my home.”

I was excited ‘cuz it was just another adventure.

– Mike can’t point to a favorite Indiana Jones piece, but there are a few he considers absolute gems.

– Mike: That is a signed photo from Harrison Ford.

I don’t display it yet because it’s almost like I’m waiting.

Once I meet him, then I’ll put it up.

There’s a banner that’s hanging up in my room that my dad and I got to go get together.

And the wedding ring.

She’s like, “Well, what kind of ring do you want?”

I’m like, “Just get me a simple band… that says ‘Indy’ on it.”

– For Martha, it’s a reminder that she’s along for the ride, too.

– I enjoy it just as much as he does.

Well, not just as much as he does, but…

I do enjoy it.

It’s gotten me to do a couple of things that I never would have otherwise ever done.

Got us to get to go to Disney World, Disneyland.

– I can’t even fathom some of the things that I would have gotten through if it wasn’t for her.

The bobblehead?

That was at my first Brewer game.

They had an Indiana Jones Day.

She put it all together, made all the arrangements.

– In the past, Mike debated whether to continue this quest.

But now, he’s certain about his future.

– Mike: I’m an Indiana Jones collector.

The movies may be over, but there’ll always be stuff to collect.

I don’t really know if I would pitch these movies to anybody.

They’re my thing.

They’ll always be my thing till the very end.

My hope for everybody would be: get out there, watch the movies, and see if you can make that magical connection like I did.

[triumphant Indiana Jones theme] [shimmery music] – I’m having a blast at Circus World while trapezing through the historic treasures found here.

[whistle blowing] – Ringleader: Welcome to Circus World!

[circus music] – Come one, come all to enjoy camels, clowns, and a human cannonball [cannon pops] here at Circus World.

To learn a bit more about the history here, I met up with Scott O’Donnell, who wasn’t clowning around… just yet.

– Scott O’Donnell: So, we opened July 1st, 1959, to celebrate the state of Wisconsin’s vibrant circus heritage.

We’re here in Baraboo because it was the hometown of the Ringling Bros., who started their circus here in 1884, and their personal attorney, John M. Kelly, at the tender age of 93, decided that this state needed to celebrate its vibrant circus heritage.

– So, would you say Wisconsin has been the lead contributor, historically, to circuses around the nation?

– Without a doubt!

It’s been the incubator and the cultural epicenter for this art form that has been around as part of the American experience longer than Coca-Cola, the Kentucky Derby, and baseball in America.

Really, if you take the map, and you throw a dart at it, you’re gonna get on it really close to a town where a circus came from in this great state.

– So, connect us to what that means when we come to Circus World.

Like, what should I expect to experience?

– Scott O’Donnell: Well, 64 acres of a living history museum.

The Big Top Show is our signature piece, where you get to sit under a big, billowing, red and white big top tent, as people have done for generations in America, and it’s filled to the gills with talent.

We have singing ringmasters and funny clowns.

We have daring aerialists which are 40 feet up in the air.

We have jugglers and acrobats and contortionists, and some amazing animal partners with us, as well.

But there’s six other performances outside of the Big Top Show, plus seven buildings to explore, filled to the gills with the largest collection of circus artifacts and ephemera in the entire world.

So there’s lots to do, whether you’re three to 103.

You got a full day here at Circus World.

– A full day traveling through what is known as “the greatest show on earth,” all while learning about Wisconsin’s rich circus history.

We continue our parade through Circus World here in Baraboo as we join an artist working to restore the wagons found here.

[relaxed acoustic music] Visit Sauk County, and there’s a good chance of coming across artwork by Joan Stevens.

– I did a sign for the Baraboo-Dells Airport.

I love driving by that sign.

Roy’s Classic Cars.

It looks like a 1950s Shell station, and did some pinstriping on a couple of features in there.

There’s an airplane hangar in the corner.

I had to put the lettering up on top of it that said “Luther Field,” which was really cool.

– And in downtown Baraboo, home of the Circus Parade… – I painted a 15-foot wagon wheel on the pavement in front of the AL.

Ringling Theater.

It’s held up pretty good.

– Circus art is Joan’s specialty, where her precision brushwork is helping restore and preserve the past.

– I am passionate about what I do.

I say that I specialize in restoration because I use the old trade skills that I’ve learned over the years– still hand painting and antiquing and gold gilding.

A good day is when I can stay in my grubby blue jeans and come out to the shop and sling some paint.

[laughs] I have to smell turpentine and have paint on my hands pretty much every day.

Otherwise, it feels like something’s missing.

– She also had a brush with fame, restoring wagons that appeared in the 2011 award-winning movie Water for Elephants.

– I was able to do the Sells Floto Ticket Wagon down at Circus World, #62.

– Joan’s personal storyline mirrors the movie as she found herself seeking adventure.

– I kind of ran away with the carnival.

It sounds good when you say it that way, but I took a job.

I took off with a bag of clothes and enough money to get back home.

I was surrounded by hand-painted signs and images, and the rides were still hand-painted at that time.

And it just kind of was an immediate connection that I had.

– Joan ran away in search of her dreams and then discovered them right in her hometown of Baraboo.

– When I came home, I was determined to continue to paint signs.

And Circus World seemed like a pretty good fit.

And I’ve been there ever since, which is, I think 37 years if…

But who’s counting?

[laughs] – Joan is currently putting the finishing touches on a wagon for Circus World.

– Ta-da!

We’re gonna go down to the wagon shop, get to come in, and start decorating.

– So, these are the skyboards off of #44, Gollmar Lion and Tiger Tableau.

It was a cage wagon turned into a baggage wagon, and then they used it in parades.

– When they started to restore the wagon, took the old panels off and uncovered these beautiful paintings.

And I’m reproducing them to put back on the wagon.

I love to see the finished project.

– On any given day, in the winter storage barn at Circus World… – I think there’s around 260 wagons, give or take.

– Joan’s artwork can be found around every turn.

– The old woman who lives in a shoe wagon was quite lengthy because it had to be taken apart layer by layer and recarved, ’cause there was a lot missing.

To just do the gilding, I think I probably had around five, six months in it.

I was in tears, wondering if I was ever gonna get through it.

I swore I’d never do another one, but bring it on.

I’d love to do another one.

[laughs] When the gold shines, nothing shines brighter.

I like the Buffalo Bill wagon.

It’s hard to really say which one is my favorite piece.

– Throughout the years, Joan says her appreciation for the artistry of circus wagons has grown.

– It’s amazing what the guys can do in the wagon shop as far as rebuilding the wagons.

And then, I come in, and I’m the happy painter.

I get to make it shine with the finishing details.

Pretty soon, you’ve got 30, 40 years of projects behind you.

I never know what’s gonna come through the door.

It’s exciting!

I think they move together, too.

Oh, yeah, look at ’em go.

[laughs] I just think it’s so rewarding to see people enjoying what I do.

[shimmery music] – For our last story, we head to Appleton to visit a dance coach stepping up to help preserve her culture.

[in Hmong] – Duabci Crystal Vang: Nyob zoo.

Kuv lub npe yog Duabci Vang.

Kuv muaj 24 xyoo, kuv nyob lub nroog Appleton xeev Wisconsin tuaj.

Kuv niam thiab kuv txiv lub npe hu ua Sivblong Vang, Vam Yaj Lis thiab Song Yang.

– What that means is, “Hello, my name is Duabci Vang.

“I am 24 years old.

“I’m from Appleton, Wisconsin.

My parents’ names are Song Yang, Sivblong Vang.”

That’s basically the introduction that you need to know to kind of get around and really meet people.

When I was four years old, I started Hmong dancing.

And I just never stopped dancing.

Or once I got off stage, then I started teaching.

[“Peb Haiv Hmoob” Pajkub Tsab] Los yog Australia Nyob thiab teb suav teb Thiab los tsuas Hmong dancing is really defined by where we came from, different regions.

So, there isn’t a specific type of Hmong dancing, but it was inspired by, like, Thai and Lao dancing.

So, if you notice, in traditional Hmong dancing that sometimes our hand movements are similar to Thai and Lao dancing.

But then, we also incorporated Chinese dancing because that’s also where we came from, too.

Txawm yuav ruam thiab ntse Txawm yuav muaj thiab pluag Peb tsis txhob sib thuam So, like, currently right now, we’re in the United States.

So now, we’re trying to adapt to where we’re at.

We’re now more like hip-hoppy, very, like, energetic, and very sharp with our movements.

[“Peb Haiv Hmoob” Pajkub Tsab] Oh… oh… One of the main people that taught me to be who I am today is definitely my dad because he was so involved in Hmong community.

And then, when I turned 13, my dad passed away.

And I remember him always telling us, like, “Hey, like remember, like these are your people, and no one’s going to love you unless you love them.

You guys have to love each other.”

One thing that I’ve learned through dance is definitely knowing the language.

[Duabci speaking in Hmong] Kuv yog ib tug ntxhais seev ce.

I think that when you Hmong dance so much, you really learn the language, and you really learn to appreciate all the small, little things that people put into music to make you be able to go and perform in those dances.

So, like, simply as when the song’s talking about Hmong people, they’ll tell you like, “Oh, we used to live like this.”

And then, we, as the dancers reenact those movements.

So then, we can see how our parents once lived.

That helps every dancer realize what our families have gone through to get to where we are today.

[cheering] – Two, three, who — are — we?

Duab Ci!

[cheers] – Duabci: It is disappearing faster and faster per generation.

Even my generation doesn’t know that much Hmong anymore.

And so, even me, I try to help my dancers preserve the language.

[speaking in Hmong] – Diamond Thao: Ka Vang and Fong Thao.

You get so personal with everyone.

And every dancer that goes through the doors, even though they leave, I still feel connection with every one of my dancers.

– Alivia Yang: She’s been my, like, first-ever coach.

So, I feel very close with her, and I feel very comfortable around her.

I feel very safe around her.

She’s just a loving, caring person.

– Aeriyanna Xiong: I love her.

She’s super funny and she’s a really great teacher.

She’s just like a friend.

– Claire Yang: She’s a little childish.

She likes to jump and dance when she’s dancing.

– Ila Xiong: It doesn’t matter if she messes up or stuff.

Everyone makes mistakes.

And if she tries something, try something new.

– The beginning of the year, they tell me, “Crystal, I hate what I do.

“I hate this.

Why do I have to be here?”

And I’m just like, “Well, because you’re signed up.

“You have to be here, right?

You wanna learn, right?”

“No, my mom forced me to be here.”

But then at the end of the year, they’re the one that’s like, “Crystal, when is next year gonna happen?

Oh, my gosh, I already miss everyone.”

Once you get the taste of competition– I tell all my dancers this– is that you never wanna stop.

You just crave for it.

You just keep going, like, “Oh, my gosh, “that was so stressful, but it was so fun.

Let’s do it again.”

[dancers cheering and laughing] – We’ve clowned around Circus World while sharing the stories from across our exquisite state.

To view more TV and radio stories, visit WisconsinLife.org.

Email us at [email protected] or connect with us on our social media channels.

From under the Big Top, I’m your host, Angela Fitzgerald, and this is our Wisconsin Life.

Bye.

[uplifting guitars, strings, piano, and drums] – Announcer: Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, the A.C.V.

and Mary Elston Family, the Obrodovich Family Foundation, the Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW Health, donors to the Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programs and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.