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Wednesday, June 25, 2008 

Wednesday June 25th, 2008. Berkley, MA. 69 miles. Warm Grass lot.

Live music from Boston area fans of circus music at the shows today. I gather these windjammers have played with Big Apple in the past. In Berkley we are crowded on to the old Village Common, the parks that make some small New England towns so pretty. Hard not to imagine Longfellow’s village smithy set up on the edge of the common. Have been thinking about Barnum’s FeeGee Mermaid today. Barnum sold the mermaid tale to his museum going public in New York as a story of adventure and romace from the South Seas. The gaffed “mermaid” was in fact probably the head, torso, and arms and paws of a small monkey stitched to the body of a fish. The Japanese created such oddities in the 18th & 19th Centuries. Despite his claims to the contrary, Barnum wasn’t the first to display his particular mermaid. It was first exhibited in a popular museum here in Boston. Today a number of sideshows display mermaids. Brent DeWitt has one on the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus midway billed as “The Strangest Thing You’ve Ever Seen.” Looks a bit like one of the great gaffs built in Southern California by Doug Higley.

Rumor has it that based on advancved ticket sales, Kelly Miller will continue to do good business here in Mass over the next couple days. Looks like short jumps through the end of the week.

what? a mud show having good crowds?????
WHO WOULD OF THOUGHT!!!
some one go get the elephant guy to the midway RIGHT NOW....
there are riders in need of rides..

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About me

  • I'm B.E.Trumble
  • From Everywhere, United States
  • Ben Trumble works in circus, carnival, and media relations
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