Ever wonder what could bring Oneonta to a near standstill for a day in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries? Just bring the circus to town.
It was 55 years ago this week that one of those temporary halts took place in Oneonta. This wasn't just any old circus that came to town "" it was The Greatest Show on Earth, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known simply as the Big Show. It was its first appearance in Oneonta in 21 years.
The circus advance agents, called "Twenty-Four Hour Men" arrived on Wednesday, June 16, 1954. They were here making final preparations for the arrival of the Big Show, dark and early Thursday morning.
Oneonta police got busy setting up no-parking signs on streets the procession of circus vehicles would take from the D&H yards near the old freight house and depot, to the circus grounds at the Sixth Ward Booster Club playground on River Street.
Wilcox Flats, where today's Riverside Elementary School and Swart-Wilcox House are found, was a site of many circuses in the past.
The circus advance personnel also were busy plotting the grounds to accommodate the nearly 20 tents that housed the Big Show. The circus visit was a boost to the local economy, as food was purchased for nearly 1,000 people and several hundred animals in the show.
Then, of course, came the advance publicity to sell the tickets. Some of the new attractions for the 1954 show included "the Four Nocks, stratosphere artists performing atop 60-foot swaying spars; The Great Logano, a high altitude contortionist; La Petite Antonioette, chic blond trapeze thriller, and the Rioxos, who stunt at dizzy heights on unsupported ladders."
Show time was nearing. The first section of the 74-car circus train pulled into the D&H station at 4:27 a.m. Thursday, "to the cheers and curious excitement of some 1,000 spectators "" young and younger alike," reported The Oneonta Star.
Many compared this arrival and set-up to the time the Big Show came to Oneonta in 1931. They noticed how diesel tractors and stake pounders had taken the place of work horses and muscle men pounding stakes for the tents. There wasn't the huge parade along Broad and Main streets through downtown as before, as the procession to the Sixth Ward efficiently moved along Market Street, over the Main Street viaduct and on to River Street. The only animals people saw were the elephants and horses. Everything else was boarded up, moving on wheels.
"But for many, there was the fascination of watching the circus unload in quick, methodical time, car after car, wagon after wagon," The Star reported.
The Sixth Ward Booster Club field was ready. Reserved tickets were $5 and $4, depending on the seating location, and $1 unreserved. An estimated 13,000 saw the two performances at 2:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m.
Apparently, there were no disappointed spectators. Among some of the comments made in The Star's review, "The playground lot was praised as one of the best ever seen "¦ Performers were neat, clean and courteous "¦ The circus pulled out about 2 a.m. bound for Binghamton, then Elmira, Geneva, Syracuse "¦"
Oneonta got back into its routine, as circus fans, after a long day, returned to a good night's sleep.
This weekend: A new neighbor comes to South Worcester.
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City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. Contact him at simmark@stny.rr.com.
His website is www.oneontahistorian.com.
