Milwaukee PBS Specials

(gentle music) - Children of all ages.

Welcome to Milwaukee.

For the greatest extravagant of all time.

You are going to see the spectacle of an old time circus street parade.

And setting the mood with the music for today's parade is Jim Robeck and the Great Circus Parade Band.

(lively band music) - [Announcer] Milwaukee PBS presents, "Remembering the Great Circus Parade."

(lively band music) - [Narrator] Pageant from an era gone by, in kaleidoscopic color, the Great Circus Parade winds its way through the thoroughfares of downtown Milwaukee.

- Welcome to "Remembering the Great Circus Parade."

I'm your host, Sandy Maxx.

Join me as we look back at the history and pageantry of an amazing extravaganza and how the vision of two men, CP 'Chappie' Fox and Ben Barkin, brought the Great Circus Parade to the streets of Milwaukee.

At one time, this parade was the third largest parade in America.

Following Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and the Tournament of Roses parade.

It had a national audience on PBS, as well as a global audience in over 80 countries, as well as the Armed Forces Radio and Television Network.

"Remembering the Great Circus Parade" explores the video archives of Milwaukee PBS with special highlights and segments from our broadcasts, beginning in 1964 and ending with the final parade in 2009.

We'll meet Captain Kangaroo, Ernie Borgnine and his wife, the lovely Tova, learn how wagons are restored, ride the circus train, and of course get a curbside seat on the streets of Milwaukee for the Great Circus Parade.

So let's get started by going back in time to an era when the circus came to town all across America.

(marching band music) - [Narrator 1] The circus as a form of entertainment is almost as old as America itself.

John Rickett started the first circus, that can be identified as such, in a Philadelphia arena in 1793.

- [Narrator 2] Then during the early 1800s, the shows began to tour pulled by horses and playing open fields.

In 1826, the first circus played under canvas, spawning the one day stand and the beginnings of the sparkle and flavor we know today.

- [Narrator 1] Throughout its history, the circus has been a top form of entertainment.

From the one ring show, traveling with horse drawn wagons, to the mighty shows under canvas, then moved overland by rail and then back to the arenas for the mighty spectaculars staged today.

This thing known as the circus has appealed to children of all ages.

- [Narrator 2] Names like Forepaugh.

- [Narrator 1] PT Barnum.

- [Narrator 2] Sells Brothers.

- [Narrator 1] Hagenbeck-Wallace.

- [Narrator 2] Sells Floto.

- [Narrator 1] Barnum and Bailey.

- [Narrator 2] And John Robinson's shows, recall fond memories for children of yesteryear.

- [Narrator 1] As much as the current giants hold a dazzling image for children of today.

- [Narrator 2] When circuses began to tour in the early 1830s, drawn by horses, they were often trapped in the mud of fields and roads alike.

But that ended in the 1870s when the circus took to rails.

- [Narrator 1] On rolling stock owned by each show, powered by mighty steam locomotives leased from the various railroads being traveled, the circuses crisscrossed the country.

- [Narrator 2] In 1956, the era of the rail show playing big tops was over.

The last two big ones folded their canvas for the last time and returned to winter quarters, concluding a golden era in circus history.

- [Narrator 1] However, Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin recreated the traveling circus for a special trip to Milwaukee for a 4th of July parade.

- From 1884 until 1918, Baraboo, Wisconsin was the headquarters and winter home of the Ringling Brothers Circus.

In 1954, John M. Kelly had a vision of forming a museum in Baraboo at the former circus grounds where several Ringling buildings remained.

The Circus World Museum opened on July 1st, 1959.

The museum included a collection of circus wagons.

Circus World Museum director, Chappie Fox wanted to have a parade in Baraboo, both to showcase the wagons and to bring people to the museum.

This idea was embraced by Ben Barkin, a Milwaukee advertising executive and promoter.

Ben tells us more about meeting Chappie Fox and the beginning of the Great Circus Parade.

- How did that idea get started, by the way?

- Well, this character, Chappie Fox, who's truly my inspiration, he came to me in 1962 and he said, "Ben, if we could," he was the director of the museum in Baraboo, because the five Ringling brothers were raised there and so forth.

And he said, "Ben, if we could do a parade."

A circus parade was really advertising for circuses coming to a town.

"If we could do a parade the way they did it at the turn of the century all the way through 1930," he said, "We'd draw thousands and thousands of people to Baraboo."

And I was intrigued.

He showed me some pictures of 1905, 1910, and it really looked good to me.

And I said, "Chappie, I like the idea.

But if it's true that you'll draw thousands and thousands of people in Baraboo, you won't have enough bathroom restrooms to accommodate the crowd."

- Ever the pragmatist.

- You know?

But I said, "I like the idea.

Let's go over and see Bob Uihlein."

Bob Uihlein was chairman of Schlitz and he loved the animals and he was a polo player, loved horses and so forth.

And in 20 minutes when Chappie presented that to him, Bob turned to me and said, "Ben, how do you feel?"

I said, "As long as we do it to Milwaukee, it'll be terrific."

And Bob said to me, "Ben, let's go for it."

- [Sandy] On July 4th, 1963, the first "A Day in Old Milwaukee," also known as the Schlitz Circus Parade, and later The Great Circus Parade recreated the excitement and pageantry of an old time circus parade and WMVS Channel 10 was there at the start.

In searching our archives, we recently discovered the 1964 parade, which is in black and white.

As you enjoy the sights and sounds of this extravaganza, make sure to notice the city landscape and how downtown Milwaukee has changed.

Here's a segment from that parade.

- [Announcer] From Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Channel 10 television presents live coverage of the historic Circus World Museum's Circus Parade, annual 4th of July spectacle of color, music and nostalgia.

This circus parade, part of the "Day in Old Milwaukee" celebration is the largest authentic collection of circus wagons in the world.

For an entire year, preparations have been going on to make this year's parade even bigger and better than last year's event.

And in just a few minutes, you will see the finest and largest circus display assembled anywhere.

The parade is not only unique locally, but is already an event of nationwide interest.

Today, channel 10 is prepared to present the entire parade with all its wagons, animals, antique automobiles, mounted riders, clowns, and vans.

- [Commentator 1] Here come the elephants, 19 ponderous pachyderms, elegantly robed.

There are those robes that you were talking about before.

- [Commentator 2] Yes.

And look at the little elephants next to them.

Aren't they cute?

- Those fellas really rock too on top.

- Yes.

(marching band music) - [Commentator 1] These boys you're looking at here are some of our nation's finest young men from the Great Lakes Naval training station recruit command.

(lively calliope music) - When the steam, when the calliope came into the parade at the very end, that meant that that's all there is, sir, not any more.

If you wanna see any more, you've got to come to the circus itself.

(lively calliope music) Steam calliope is being played by Mrs. Ethel Rommefanger of Baraboo, Wisconsin.

The wagon was built by the Sebastian Wagonworks, New York in 1903 as a tableau wagon for the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

And this is one of a group of wagons having continents and countries for names.

It was used on the Barnum and Bailey Circus through 1918.

- [Sandy] In the early years of the Great Circus Parade, the wagons and animals were transported from Baraboo to Milwaukee by truck.

Well, this changed in 1965 when the Circus World Museum revived the 19th century tradition of the circus traveling by train.

(lively band music) - Well, Lord God, listen favorably to our prayers and bless this train.

Send your holy angel so that all who all who- - All aboard.

Please.

- As you know John, the wagons are part of the collection of the State Historical Society Circus World Museum at Baraboo.

Baraboo is about 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

Each year, thousands of people gather along the route of the circus train to see it go by.

They've seen it pulled by diesel locomotives since 1969.

This year, a mighty steamer was put into use for the first time since 1968.

(train whistles) (train whistles) - [Narrator] Early in the morning on June 29th, the piercing whistle of the Southern Railway's 4501 awakened the countryside along picturesque Lake Wisconsin.

It is a powerful, nostalgic duo.

The whistle of the steam engine and the musical sounds of the steam calliope.

(calliope music) (train chuffing) (train whistling) (train whistling) The old Milwaukee special chugged through central Wisconsin pulling the 160,000 pounds of precious circus cargo.

In addition to two stock cars, all of the 68 parade wagons and support units are loaded on the 29 double length circus flat cars.

Also aboard the five passenger cars are special friends of the Great Circus Parade.

The passengers have made a ritual out of this yearly train ride, and they engage in a special kind of communication with the thousands of people who line the tracks waiting for those moments of pleasure the train seems to give them.

(train whistling) The crowds swell when the train stops in small Wisconsin towns like Oconomowoc.

(train whistling) (crowds chattering) And in Madison, the state capital, the train stops longer to allow new passengers to board, and more importantly for water to be added to the steam engine.

(people chattering) (signals dinging) Nine hours and 122 miles after the journey began in Baraboo, the old Milwaukee special arrives under partly cloudy skies at Milwaukee's lakefront showgrounds.

For five days anyway, reality gives way to the nostalgic world of the circus.

(train rumbling) (train rumbling) - I know what a thrill it is to ride that train and feel it chug across the countryside, 'cause believe it or not fellas, I had the chance to learn how to drive a steam engine in my latest picture "The Emperor of the North Pole."

Talk about a kid's dream come true.

Oh boy!

And another bit of Americana that's been lost.

That steam whistle.

Did you hear it?

Wheee!

Oh boy.

- No sound like it.

- Listen.

Oh, let's get down to the street now and see the real parade.

(lively marching band music) (lively marching band music continues) - [Commentator 1] You can see sailboats out on Lake Michigan, huge throngs, and the bands coming right at you.

- [Ernest] And would you believe they even put the sailboats out there for us today?

Aren't they great?

(laughs) I'm kidding.

Folks.

(bugles trumpeting) - [Commentator] This group of mounted buglers wears red and silver costumes all made in the wardrobe department of the Circus World Museum.

The riders are all members of the Fox River Saddle Club of Muskego, Wisconsin.

The parade keeps moving at all times.

- [Ernest] And one of my boys out there blowing the bugle.

- [Commentator] Look at the magnificent carvings on the mirror, the lion.

The wagons basically green and the carvings are silver.

- [Ernest] You know this wagon is 23 feet, three inches long and 10 feet high and weighs five tons.

Oh, look at that beautiful sight there.

Isn't that beautiful.

- [Commentator] Chappie Fox once said that the circus parade combined all the centuries, smell and sound and eyesight.

- Wonderful.

Now here we have the Beauty Tableau number 89.

It's red with white sides and silver trim, ridden by Schlitz beauties and pulled by six Belgian horses.

Beautiful!

(upbeat band music) (upbeat band music) Cage wagon 81, orange with silver carvings.

It contains two tigers owned by the Clyde brothers, pulled by four Belgians, owned by Earl Prochno of Athens, Wisconsin.

And fellas, this is the one I rode in the 1970 parade.

- [Commentator] First time ever at the circus?

- [Ernest] Yes sir.

First time I ever appeared as a circus clown.

I rode the top of that wagon with veteran Ringling Brothers clown, Lou Jacobs.

- [Commentator] This first time parade feature honors the memory of Ephraim Williams, a Milwaukee shoeshine boy.

Who some call the closest thing this country has ever had to a black PT Barnum.

Robert Barnett of Milwaukee is portraying this black circus owner of the 1890s.

Williams began his career doing small magic acts to attract customers to his boot blacking business.

After becoming a porter in a downtown Milwaukee hotel, he bought a horse and trained it to solve arithmetic problems by stomping its hoof to give the answer.

- [Commentator] This dragon represents a fish, and the cloth body is supported by a series of rattan rings inside through which poles are strong and the 18 men are carrying through those poles.

- A few years after the 1963 parade, Ben Barkin was home watching "The Tonight Show."

One of Johnny Carson's guests that evening was the Oscar winning actor, Ernest Borgnine.

- I was on Johnny Carson program one day pushing one of my films, you know, and he said, "Ernie," he says, "You seem to have done everything in show business, what's left?"

And I said, "Well, I have lots of things."

He said, making conversation.

"Oh yeah, like what?"

Pinning me down.

I said, "Well, I've never been a clown."

"Boy!"

He says, "You're gonna get letters."

Sure enough, Ben Barkin, whom we'll see you later called me the next day, he says, "You want to be a clown kid?

We got the greatest circus parade in the world."

Well, you'll see for yourselves, it is the greatest circus parade in the world.

- Starting in 1970 and for the next three decades, Borgnine and his wife Tova, were true ambassadors of this Wisconsin national treasure.

Another personality who became the Channel 10 television host of the Great Circus Parade starting in 1986, was Bob Keeshan, better known to millions of fans as Captain Kangaroo.

The Captain and Ernest Borgnine gave the parade an extra sparkle due to both their genuine love of the parade and for the city of Milwaukee.

And with them, the fame of the parade even reached the White House.

- And you have some greetings for us, Mr. Secretary, do you not?

- Absolutely do.

- From a very, very special leader of ours.

- Certainly do.

Let me just read a couple of sentences.

"I'm delighted to send greetings to all the participants and spectators at the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee.

It seems like only yesterday that the circus came to my home town.

Your parade celebrates a world of magical memories and offers new generations a glimpse of even more great memories in the making.

Nancy joins me in sending best wishes for an outstanding day.

God bless you.

Ronald Reagan, President of the United States."

- Isn't that wonderful?

Well, Mr. President, thank you for sending those greetings and we hope that you'll enjoy this parade as much as us.

Mr. Secretary, you go and enjoy the parade with your son and your wife.

- Thank you, Captain.

- Mrs. Bennett.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

John, say hello to the elephants for me.

Well now we have two wonderful performers.

Milwaukee is home to you two people.

We have, of course, the wonderful Ernest Borgnine and his wonderful wife, Tova.

This parade is just all old hat to you, isn't it?

- Well, you know, it's not old hat.

It's new every time, Captain Kangaroo.

And I want to tell you what a double pleasure it is to have you here.

- Well it's just a thrill, Ernie, as you well know.

And so do you enjoy riding in this parade as much as Ernie.

- Oh, are you kidding?

I believe honestly that Milwaukee has captured the true American spirit, Captain, and just, and I conclude with Ernie that to be here with you is a thrill for me because now I can really see that you're a wonderful captain.

- Well, Ernie, you performed in just about every role an actor can perform in.

You've won so many awards, so many great awards, and here you are as a clown and you find great satisfaction in meeting the people as a clown, don't you?

- I think that it's the only way to meet people because you see people at their level.

Believe me, they are all kids at heart.

Everyone wants to play an adult, but they're all kids at heart.

And that's why I say if Ronald Reagan, our dear president and Gorbachev would put on some clown costumes, I think we'd have the most pleasant world in the world to live in.

- Ernie Borgnine, you may have a real idea there.

(Ernest laughs) Thank you very much, Tova.

Thank you, Ernie.

- Thank you sir.

- Thank you.

- And we'll go back and you have to go back to your people.

I know how much you enjoy meeting the people.

- Next year, you all be here.

- Yes, we will.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Bye-bye.

- [Narrator] Of course, we all knew Bob Keeshan from his beloved children's show on PBS, "Captain Kangaroo."

But you may not know that he started his career as a clown.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] In 1987, Delavan, Wisconsin became the home of the Clown Hall of Fame.

Some 3000 visitors passed through its doors that first year.

The following year, four major clown organizations came together to select nominees for induction into the Hall of Fame.

Red Skelton, Lou Jacobs, Emmett Kelly, Sr. Mark Anthony, Felix Adler, and Otto Griebling were the first inductees.

The latest edition is Bob Keeshan, better known as television's Captain Kangaroo.

Keeshan started off pursuing a law degree at Fordham University, then spent over 40 years improving the quality of television for children.

He began as Clarabell the Clown on the Howdy Doody show.

Most folks still remember him as Captain Kangaroo now on public television.

It's hard to imagine TV without Bob Keeshan.

Now his career is preserved for posterity in the clown Hall of Fame.

- Part of becoming a clown is creating your character with your makeup.

Trapper the Clown tells us about this transformation process.

- My name is Dick Kalal and I reside in Brookfield.

And my clown name is Trapper.

I've been clowning five years.

My daughter's also a clown.

She lives in Illinois.

She's been doing it about 10 years.

I went to University of Wisconsin Lacrosse.

They have the world's largest clown camp.

The trademark of the, his own personal trademark is his makeup and his face.

And no other clown can make up or dress exactly the same way.

The hardest part are the lines, the lines that you have to take the time with.

The greatest thrill is the amount of people that come down to watch the parade and to be part of it with all the other clowns.

No clowning around.

I get that a lot.

People say, "Hey, stop clowning around."

I say, "I have to.

It's in my job description."

When I'm all finished with the complete face and I look in the mirror and put on my wig and hat and everything, and I say, "Okay, here we are.

It's Trapper!"

- Chappie Fox's vision was to recreate the old time circus parade.

And in addition to clowns and circus acts, circus wagons were an essential element to this goal.

Chappie's nephew, Bill Fox and Jack McKeithan, who brought back the Great Circus Parade in 2009, talk about Chappie's search for wagons as the foundation for the parade.

- Chappie had visions that very few people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing could put together and then go and get other people.

Sometimes it was a challenge, but he could get other people eventually to come along and help him achieve his goal.

And so he spotted and knew where a lot of these former circus wagons were, which were rotting and decaying in different parts of the world.

And he set out to find people to help him rebuild them once he got 'em located and all he needed then was money to get it going.

- He did a tremendous amount of research and moved out across the country trying to find out, really across the the world, in a sense, interconnecting with circus fans of America, circus fans everywhere he could find, asking if they knew of the whereabouts of wagons that he might go and photograph and include in his book.

And through that research, and he kept copious notes, his files are just enormous over the years, when it came time, when the real nut got cutting, which was in 1960, he knew where these were, in good or bad shape, most of them in pretty bad shape.

(upbeat band music) - [Narrator 1] Through the years, one of the big undertakings of the Circus World Museum has been wagon restoration.

Every acquisition comes to Baraboo in different conditions.

Those units who have had movie careers were in excellent shape.

But then there are others that were in deplorable condition.

Sometimes while the staff is able to find good blueprints and working plans to help them out.

But for others, all that exists is an old picture.

- [Narrator 2] All the old paint is removed.

Sometimes a blowtorch is needed.

If the wood is badly damaged, then either new carvings need to be made or filler added to bring them back to true form.

Frequently the only part of a carving exists and craftsmen need to recreate a whole new harmonizing piece.

After all the pieces are complete, the unit is reassembled on the framework.

- [Narrator 1] Most of the time the undercarriage exists, but usually the minimum work needed is a new set of brakes.

Even wheels sometimes have to be restored and repaired.

- [Narrator 2] Once assembled, the painting begins.

Sometimes there's difficulty determining which is gold paint and which is gold leaf, which color is which with an old black and white photo.

Even with new acquisitions not top priority, there is constant maintenance needed for the large feet of wagons owned by the museum.

- Once a wagon is restored, you need something to pull it.

And one of the most spectacular versions of this is the 40 horse hitch.

It was not seen in a parade since 1904, but was revived in 1972 by Dick Sparrow and the Sparrow family.

- [Commentator] Dick Sparrow drives the biggest hitch down the streets.

Now he has recreated the 40, it was last seen in 1904, driven by the now legendary Jake Posey.

But even though the responsibility of driving can only fall on one person at a time, it's still the task of the whole family and lots of volunteer friends.

- Oh yes, it's a family undertaking.

It's something that before Dick ever went to meet the first time with Mr. Barkin and Mr. Uihlein had been given a great deal of serious consideration and a lot of thought.

I think we probably revised the budget three or four times before we submitted a budget after they decided that they would go with it.

It was a decision that we knew would change our lives.

It just wasn't something you did this year and forgot about.

And our children are gonna have something to tell their grandchildren and several generations beyond that.

- [Narrator 1] But children grow up.

Paul, the oldest is his dad's relief driver.

Robert, the other son, is the person running about helping every which way.

The three girls, Rose, Suzanne and Elaine help with all those myriad of details that make the job easier.

- [Narrator 2] Most of the people are seen by the gigantic crowds who come out to see the 40.

But one who stays in the background is wife, mother, and handy worker- - Without all - Joy Sparrow.

- The people who help work with the horses, that are volunteers, we couldn't do this kind of a thing.

There are people that have very special talents and simply enjoy working with the horses or they wouldn't be doing it.

'Cause they all have full-time demanding jobs elsewhere that require their time and talents.

We're quite a homogenized mixture of people.

We have a veterinarian, of course, an optometrist, a dentist, an electrician, a telephone man, farmers, laboring men, truck drivers.

I think just about all walks of life are covered, at least for this part of the country.

- I've been asked many times why we drive Belgians and how we got them.

And it's really very simple.

We've always had Belgian horses, first off.

And secondly, it's impossible to get any other color or any other breed in the numbers that I need to choose from.

For instance, we went to a sale in Waverly and bought 15 head of horses last spring.

There was 500 head of draft horses there, probably 300 Belgians of the color I wanted.

And I could only buy 15.

I wanted to buy 25.

And using the best selection to the best of my ability, I have to buy three horses to get one that'll work in the hitch.

I need a very quiet horse that doesn't rattle and the exact opposite of what I like to show and have shown over the years.

Take 'em left, take 'em left.

Can't see the, take 'em left.

Not too much though.

- [Narrator 1] Eventually all is in readiness and the big team of 40 goes on practice runs.

Now it won't be the same as Milwaukee.

Country roads aren't lined with thousands of people, and gravel is different than hard surface streets.

The corners turn differently, but everything falls together for the big parade down Milwaukee streets.

- (indistinct) You got it back too far now.

- [Narrator 1] The crowd looks on in eager anticipation to see what new wrinkle Dick has added this year.

(crowds cheering) - [Ernest] Now we wanna show you something of this 40 horse hitch turning around a corner.

Watch this, with Dick Sparrow.

Look at them come.

Dick told me yesterday, he said, "You know," it's a statement that he made last year.

And he said, he reiterated again.

He said, "I don't know whether I'll be able to make it or not."

But he said, "If I can't drive 'em, I'll herd 'em."

(people laughing) And there they come.

Look at them.

40 horses, ladies and gentlemen, making that turn with that tremendous wagon.

- Another visual element of recreating the look of an old time circus parade are the costumes.

Not only for the humans in the parade, but the animals as well.

(marching band music) - [Narrator] Although for nearly 100 years, street parades were part of Americana, it was former director of the Circus World Museum, CP 'Chappie' Fox who instigated its revival and recreation by the Joseph Schlitz family company.

His ever present Fedora, although not a costume, was as much a part of the old Milwaukee days tradition as the costumes created by former aerialist then seamstress and costume designer, the late Mamie Walker.

- There's only two things that I don't lie about.

- [Chappie] What's that?

- Well, one is I don't dye my hair and I don't lie about my age.

- You're 76.

- Yes sir.

And it'll be 77 pretty soon.

And I'm still going.

- How long are you gonna keep going?

- Until you fire me.

- Did you ride in a parade on a wagon?

A real one, Sells Floto or (indistinct).

- Oh yes.

Rode horses and I rode wagons and everything.

- What's the difference between that kind of a parade and the parade that we put on in Milwaukee?

- Well, really the basic form is all about the same.

But of course this one is so much more elaborate and so much bigger and so many more people in it.

I think everybody should come and see the parade.

My goodness!

After you go to all this work and trouble and expense, why, people should come and see it.

- Well, I think there's plenty of 'em do.

- [Narrator] Mamie Ward did work until the end.

She died while preparation was underway for the last Great Circus Parade in 1973.

- Building on the professionalism of Mamie Ward, Circus World Museum wardrobe designer, Peg Coburn continued the tradition of creating colorful costumes for all parade participants.

- This building is, I would think, there's approximately 1,000 costumes in it.

Of which, of that 1,000, maybe 500 are custom hand stitch costumes.

Peggy has designed and created all of those costumes.

She's unique in the business in that she not only sews well, she designs well.

- [Narrator] Peg is a modest woman who doesn't boast about the number of costumes she makes.

But what are her concerns when she's designing costumes for the Great Circus Parade?

- It has to relate to history.

It has to be typical of a type or you know, a period type costume.

Well, I don't have time to get into making all the under bustles and everything that you should.

So let's say I cheat.

- When she makes costumes, and she has inserted in them an inordinate amount of gold braided jewels.

And it is an attractive appearance in the sunshine.

She will literally work year round and there she has to order the right materials, competitively price 'em, find the newest fabrics, the newest embellishments and so forth.

It's about a six to seven month process.

And when you're done, you have something that in the private theater business would probably be valued at $3,000 a costume.

- [Narrator] At that price it seems incredible that many of her costumes end up being worn by elephants.

After fitting costumes on numerous elephants, Peg respects each as an individual.

- Those animals are so smart.

Their heads are what are so different.

Elephant's heads, some of 'em sink in and you never think about it until you start fooling with them.

And then some will be real round on the top.

They all look alike, but they're not.

And they have their own personality.

- [Narrator] This warm and intriguing woman has found a niche few could fill.

Hardworking, creative, Peg Coburn really knows how to dress up the parade.

- I think it's fun to plan it and then to follow through with it.

- All of these elements along with the countless volunteers combined to create the event that was to become known as Wisconsin's National Treasure.

The Great Circus Parade.

In 2000, Channel 10, then known as Milwaukee Public Television, produced and broadcast the first ever live event in high definition TV that aired nationally on the PBS Network of stations.

(logo chimes) - [Announcer] Welcome to the future.

(dramatic music) PBS Digital.

(upbeat marching band music) (upbeat marching band music continues) (upbeat marching band music continues) - [Commentator 1] Welcome to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the first live high definition program offered by PBS.

First parade was staged in 1963 and since 1985 has been staged annually.

Riders are noted circus performers, including Barry Lubin, better known as New York's Grandma the Clown.

- [Commentator 2] Clowns of course, we get clowns of all ages, all sizes, all makes, - [Commentator 1] And lots of horses.

- [Commentator 2] This is the continental soldiers with their patriotic section banners.

(lively band music) (crowd cheering) - And there's Ernie himself.

- There's Ernie Borgnine.

- [Commentator] Inside there, you see that?

That is a giant buffalo.

- [Commentator 2] Boy, look at that guy.

- [Commentator 1] And that feature, by the way, was created at the 101 Wild West Show, which purchased the Our Country Wagon in 1910.

It featured a live buffalo.

- Absolutely wonderful.

- By the way, those of you who've watched the parade in years past, wait until you see the Lion Tableau Wagon this year.

You and I got a chance to see that down at the lake front.

- [Commentator 1] Yeah, that's really unbelievable.

- [Commentator 2] (whistles) Unbelievable what they have done.

- [Commentator 1] There are the tigers.

- [Commentator 2] Yep.

Nice breezy day for them.

And the folks love to see the animals.

- [Commentator 1] Now as they come out of the shadow there into the sun.

You can really see how lovely they are.

- [Commentator 2] Yeah, they are beautiful to watch.

- [Commentator 1] Now here we go.

This is the Haggett Peck Wallace Tableau.

They call themselves the Ringling Brothers terrible clown band.

(laughs) (bells chiming) Oh, look at this.

- Well if that's impressive.

Look at this one.

- Whoa.

- [Commentator 2] Can you imagine a team of, how many horses is this?

- [Commentator 1] Eight.

Eight Clydesdales.

- Wow.

- And this wagon was billed by the Ringling Brothers as the Grand Russian cathedral chimes, the musical bells of Moscow.

It has nine bells, by the way they weigh a total of 4,300 pounds.

(bells chiming) - Wow.

- [Commentator 1] And I hear some music coming up.

And there it is, The JH Eschman bandwagon.

(marching band music) A couple of quiet, unassuming people.

Look at the strong man up here.

Boy!

It'd be Mr. America.

I entered Mr. America contest one year.

They took away my citizenship.

Look at the bicycles!

The Wheel Men from Glendale, Wisconsin, my hometown.

And that's an international organization.

More than 800 members dedicated to preserving the history of the early days of bicycles.

Isn't that amazing?

In every case, these bikes in today's parade are restored originals.

People actually went out and thought they looked pretty neat on those.

- [Commentator 2] And here comes the Lake Band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Yes.

Director James Wilson.

Heidi Joy is the assistant director.

This band was founded in 1952.

And their sole purpose was to have fun with music.

- [Commentator 1] I like that.

Members of the Lake Band, by the way, are between the ages of 10 and 20, come from all over the Milwaukee metropolitan area.

Whom do we have here?

- [Commentator 2] Well, we have the equestrians coming up behind that wagon.

16 of them.

16 mounted equestrians.

- [Commentator 1] Inspiration for this unit came from Ringling Brothers riding troupe in 1911.

It featured 16 equestrians in different colored dresses.

Oh listen to this.

(calliope music) This is the air calliope.

- [Commentator 2] Wow.

From Cole Brothers.

- [Commentator 1] And that is the right way to pronounce it, isn't it?

Calliope?

- Calliope, yes.

- [Commentator 1] This was built in 1910 for the Yankee Robinson Circus.

In the 20s was used by the Robins brothers, also used in the mid 30s by the Cole Brothers Circus.

- [Commentator 2] It's being pulled by six Welsh ponies today.

- [Commentator 1] And there's, oh boy, we get our trick roper there.

He's gonna get tired before the day is out.

Wouldn't you love to be able to do that?

- [Commentator 2] Boy, I've always wanted to do that.

- [Commentator 1] This is the Ginette telescoping tableau.

It's one of the most interesting wagons, sometimes referred to as the twin lions.

- Twin lions.

- Easy for me to say.

- [Commentator 2] Oh, look at those two lions on top there, pretty spectacular.

It's called a telescoping tableau.

Because the center section can be raised or lowered through an ingenious series of bevel and warren gears.

- [Commentator 1] The lions on the upper platform can be lowered completely into the body of the wagon.

That was usually done when, of course, when the circus would go from town to town.

They'd just lower that and either stick it on a flat car or pull it.

- [Commentator 2] The next wagon that we're going to be seeing here is going to be the Barnum and Bailey Golden Age of Chivalry.

This is one of 13 magnificent wagons that were built for the Barnum and Bailey show when it returned from Europe in 1903.

It's really one of the most fantastic wagons ever built.

It never carried any baggage.

It was only for the parade.

And strangely enough, it only was used for the years 1903 to 1908 And then again from 1908 to 1913.

You can see here that there's some beautiful ladies in distress and they're being rescued by the men in waiting.

- The Great Circus Parade continued for three more years.

Due to lack of funding, it was officially canceled after the 2003 parade.

But the efforts led by Bill Fox, Chappie Fox's nephew, and by Jack McKeathen brought the parade back to the streets of Milwaukee in 2009 for one final show.

And Milwaukee PBS was there to broadcast the Great Circus Parade to the nation one last time.

- [Announcer] It's stupendous, it's colossal, it's sensational.

Experience the horse drawn pageantry of 50 fully restored, hand carved circus wagons, exotic animals, crazy clowns, and a seemingly endless supply of lavishly costumed performers.

Bringing joy and excitement to children of all ages.

One of the most anticipated events of the year.

A spectacle like no other.

It's the Great Circus Parade.

(intriguing music) - [Commentator] I just wanna mention the Great Circus Parade introductory wagon is pulled by four chestnut Haflingers, And the teamster is David and Margaret Kraus of Stratford, Wisconsin.

They're top riders, they're circus world performers.

Los Antons and Dua Fusiosio.

Now this is a great thing.

This is the Navy band from Great Lakes and it's a marching band from Great Lakes Naval Training Station at Great Lakes, Illinois.

And the theme is Pride in Service.

(crowd applauding) And of course they're doing the Navy theme.

- [Fred] Right.

"Anchors Away."

- [Commentator 1] Now here comes the grand clown of our parade, Ernie Borgnine.

- [Commentator 3] And he is coming to the parade this year, all pro bono.

And we asked him if he wanted to be in a carriage as he and his wife Tova had done.

And she's coming also, in the past.

And he said "No."

He said, "You gotta remember, I'm 92 now.

My knees are a little weak, but everything else works.

So get me a golf cart.

I'll be in the parade, but I'll go on a golf cart."

- [Commentator 1] It is a gorgeous day for a parade.

And Fred, tell us about this magnificent wagon.

- [Fred] This is the United States bandwagon.

That was one of six wagons that were built for the Ringling Brothers Circus by the Bode Wagon Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

And this wagon, we have a lot of records on this.

And it was built in, it cost $1,500 when it was built.

It cost a little more than that now.

- You think?

- Yeah, just a bit.

And you can see on there.

Look at the carving on that.

Bode Wagon Company's probably the third best wagon, had the third best wood carvers in the country at the time.

There were a couple of firms in New York, we'll see examples of their work soon, that probably were a little better.

But Bode did a wonderful job.

Ringling bought these wagons for 1903 plus a number of smaller floats that were named after nations like Persia and Egypt and Turkey and Spain.

And that was in response to the Barnum and Bailey Circus returning from a five year tour of Europe in 1903.

And the Barnum show bought 13 magnificent wagons in probably the greatest order ever for a circus that cost $44,000 in 1903.

And we're gonna see- - [Commentator 1] That was a lot of money in 1903.

- [Fred] Oh, it was a tremendous amount of money.

- [Commentator 1] It is indeed.

That's one of the best right there.

This is the Christy Brothers, Beauty Tableau number 76.

Mr. Pfening, tell me about it.

- [Fred] This wagon started in many different locations.

Some of the carvings on it go back to the 1880s on the Barnum and London Circus and others were probably carved at the South Houston, Texas winter quarters of the Christy Brothers Circus.

As I said, elements of this started on the Barnum Show.

They were also used on a little circus called Jones Brothers and Wilson about 1950.

And then George Christy bought it.

And then this wagon at one time was owned by Walt Disney in 1955.

- Really?

- Yeah.

In 1955, he bought a number of wagons that he wanted to use in what he called the Mickey Mouse Club Circus that was at Disneyland in 1955.

And they had the Mouseketeers actually participated in the performance there.

And these cages, these corporation cages were very, very heavily engineered.

You can look, see how sturdy those are.

You could drop that out of an airplane and it wouldn't break.

It's just great what they did on- - [Commentator 1] I'm more concerned with anything inside getting out.

- [Fred] Yeah, yeah.

No, I don't know about that.

- [Commentator 1] This is the Wild West section.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Wild West show- - Can I segue or what?

- Yes.

Very good.

- Thank you.

- Hi everybody.

Thanks for coming to the parade.

- [Commentator 1] She doesn't look like she's from the Wild West.

- [Fred] No, she just looks wild.

- [Commentator 1] But the Wild West section, was that something that was normally done in parades or just with- - [Fred] Certain circuses did.

The Wild West shows and circuses had a very commonality of entertainers that were with it and performers.

This is a wagon they call the Adam Forepaugh Stringer wagon.

And I think they've got a cowboy band on there.

And that's kind of a replication.

On the Buffalo Bill Wild West they had Sweeney's Cowboy band for a number of years and they'd all dress up like this, as cowboys.

The reason this is in the Wild West section, as you can see here, it was owned by Ken Maynard, who was one of many movie cowboys that made the mistake of trying to go into the circus or wild west business in the 1930s.

And even the late twenties.

Buck Jones, Tom Mix, Tim McCoy and Maynard all owned circuses and they were all unsuccessful.

- [Commentator 1] That's too bad.

I remember seeing Ken Maynard perform here in Milwaukee when I was a little kid.

'Cause I was a big fan of his from television.

- [Fred] Yeah, poor old Ken Maynard ended up in B movies and his last one was "Bigfoot Returns."

- [Commentator 1] You know, they're not making him like that anymore.

- [Fred] No, no.

Poor old Ken Maynard.

- And his horse?

- His horse was Tarzan.

- Tarzan.

That's right.

You don't get this stuff on the commercial networks folks.

You have to watch PBS.

- [Fred] This is the Pawnee Bill bandwagon.

This is probably, this is my second favorite wagon in the show.

Look at how big that was.

- Wow.

- [Fred] That's built in 1902 by the Sebastian Wagon Company in New York City.

In contrast to those Bode wagons, it cost 1500.

We have the bill of sale for this still exists and it was 4,500 for this wagon.

- (whistles) Woof.

- Yeah.

- [Commentator 1] About how heavy is something like that?

- [Fred] You know, I can't tell you off the top of my head, But it's a lot.

- But it's heavy.

- [Fred] And Pawnee Bill was the maiden competitor to Buffalo Bill.

And they finally, in 1909, they combined and called it Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Pawnee Bill's Far East.

And they had elephants on it and tumblers.

And it was about a half a circus.

And this is a odd wagon too, in that it has different carvings on different sides of the center tableau.

And that's a real good example of what you would say is a tableau wagon.

And what we're seeing here is a tableau of Pocahontas saving John Smith's life.

- [Commentator 1] This is the largest circus parade in the world.

- Yes.

- [Commentator 1] This is this year, the third largest parade that you will see no matter where you go in America.

Boy, these guys are, they're brave too.

'cause they're walking after a lot of the horses have already been here.

- [Fred] Yes.

And that was always an issue with circuses.

- [Commentator 1] And that's why you don't put the elephants first, isn't it?

- [Fred] Yeah.

Well, that's part of it.

The other part is, is that they're, you know, they don't call 'em ponderous pachyderms for nothing.

- I see.

- They're a little slower.

And if they were at the beginning of the parade, we'd be here for quite a while.

- [Commentator 1] It'd be the only eight hour parade in history other than the one in Washington.

- It'd be like the GAR parade.

This is the Ringling Giraffe Wagon.

- Oh, look at that.

- Yeah.

They're great, you know, giraffes were first exhibited in America in 1837 and they had a difficult time for a long time.

And in the 1880s, the Forepaugh Circus, which I mentioned before, had a number of giraffes that were trained that would pull carts around in the tent.

- [Commentator 1] There is something intrinsically amusing about a giraffe.

They just have a way of looking at you.

There's a lady with snakes around her.

- [Fred] Yes.

This was another feature that was on circuses.

In fact, Lou Ringling, Al Ringling's wife was a snake charmer on the show.

Now you see an albino python that has become very popular in the last few years.

- [Commentator 1] Oh yeah, I can understand that.

- [Fred] Yeah.

It's easy to grasp that one.

I was reading an article recently.

There was a fellow, this very wagon, this was from Ringling Brothers and was part of that Bode bunch that we talked about before in 1903.

Anyhow, in 1910 he joined the show late in the year and they didn't have enough space on the train.

So he and a couple of other guys slept with the snakes in that wagon.

- I beg your pardon, Fred, it sounds as if you said they slept with the snakes?

- [Fred] Yes, they did.

And they did not like that.

- [Commentator 1] There the children's section.

Now, would there have been a children's section in most circus parades?

- [Fred] A number of them started doing that, particularly in the early 1900s when the circus had evolved into becoming more entertainment for children.

(upbeat marching band music) - [Commentator 1] And this is the Baraboo High School marching clown band.

- [Fred] Yeah, they've been in this parade many, many times and they always wear these clown uniforms.

- [Commentator 1] There's the air calliope.

- [Fred] Right.

And that's a great picture of showing you how to do that.

How that's played.

These things run on a much, much lower pressure than the steam calliope does.

And to be a good steam calliope player, you really had to have a lot of hand strength.

And there were certain guys that could do this, that became famous that'd go from show to show doing it.

And the thing that's interesting to me about Mexican circus performers is that they generally have flying trapeze acts.

And some of the greatest flying trapeze artists in the world's history come from Mexico, particularly Alfredo Codona, and also a fellow named Miguel Vazquez, who's the only person, I believe still, to have done a quadruple somersault.

- [Commentator 1] And we are talking about the elephants coming.

And what did you tell me earlier about when the elephants come?

- I don't remember.

- It's the end of the parade.

- [Fred] Near that, you could see that they move at a slower gait than certainly the horses.

Yeah.

This is another one of my favorite wagons.

This was built in the 1880s for the Barnum and London Circus.

And this represents Cinderella.

this was a set of a number of wagons that were built for the Barnum and London Circus.

And there were others that were built for Ringling and for Adam Forepaugh and another one called John Robinson.

But they were all very popular in the, they were all built in the 1880s and 1890s.

- Champie Fox had a vision of recreating the circus parades of old complete with restored circus wagons.

Ben Barkin led the effort to acquire the funding and bring this vision to life.

The Great Circus Parade was created and staged 37 times by the Circus World Museum.

30 of these spectaculars were on the streets of Milwaukee.

Captain Kangaroo gave this salute to Ben Barkin for his contribution to the Milwaukee parades.

- We're gonna meet the man who has made all of this possible.

I'd introduce to you, Mr. Ben Barkin, who has worked very hard today, worked very hard for many months, worked very hard for many years to bring this wonderful circus parade through the streets of Milwaukee.

Ben, congratulations.

You're a wonderful man.

- I have to tell you what a joy it is to just see hundreds of thousands of people enjoying themselves.

You know, Ernie Borgnine really described that when he said this parade is just miles of smiles.

And it's such a joy.

It's not only the parade, but we have the train going from Baraboo to Madison to Janesville, then to the suburbs of Chicago, and then all the way back into Wisconsin.

And to see thousands and thousands of people at the crossroads and the highways with American flags and cheering and whistling and with signs which say, "Welcome."

All I can tell you is it's a unique bit of Americana and something which gives me such added joy.

(lively music) - [Narrator] Milwaukee PBS remembers the Great Circus Parade.

July 4th, 1963, Schlitz begins their sponsorship of "A Day in Old Milwaukee."

And the Great Circus Parade was born.

With a collection of circus wagons attempting to recreate the authenticity, splendor and pageantry of circus parades of old.

1965, the circus train first transports wagons and animals from Baraboo to Milwaukee.

1968, due to civil unrest in cities across America, the Great Circus Parade was canceled for one year and replaced by a circus show at Milwaukee's Lakefront.

1970, Ernest Borgnine makes his first appearance as a clown on the Great Circus Parade.

1971, Channel 10 produces the first national telecast from the parade.

1972, Dick Sparrow brings the 40 horse hitch wagon to the streets of Milwaukee.

1973, final year of the Schlitz sponsorship of the Great Circus Parade.

1974 to 1979, the parade was not held due to lack of funding.

1980, the Great Circus Parade was held in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

1981 and 1982, the Great Circus Parade moves to Chicago.

1984, the parade returns to Baraboo for the Ringling Centennial Celebration.

1985, the Great Circus Parade returns to Milwaukee.

Ernest Borgnine named the official Grand Clown of the Great Circus Parade.

The parade is held in Milwaukee for the next 18 years.

1986, Bob Keeshan, better known as Captain Kangaroo, begins hosting the Great Circus Parade on Channel 10.

1988, WMVS Channel 10 tapes the Parade in experimental high definition.

In 2000, Milwaukee public television presents The Great Circus Parade as the first live high definition event on the PBS network of stations.

2001, Ben Barkin passes away.

After the 2003 parade, the Great Circus Parade was officially canceled due to lack of sponsorships.

Chappie Fox passes away later that year.

2009, Bill Fox, Chappie's nephew, along with Jack McKeithan, lead the effort to raise $1.5 million to bring the Great Circus Parade back to the streets of Milwaukee one last time.

(chiming music)