"The Greatest Show on Earth" no more

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calmloki Ya know - sometimes I think women get a raw deal. First female ringmaster, aaaannd we're closed. Kinda like Mary Barra being named GM CEO just in time for the big ignition switch scandal and the opportunity to let the senators take pot shots at her.

Well, it would have been worse if she hadn't been the first female ringmaster, and then they closed. She was lucky, because she got a chance to experience her dream job, though brief.

[Mr._Graybeard]

Thirty-some years ago I lived in Baraboo, Wis., original home of the Ringling Brothers' and several other circuses. The old RB winter quarters is Circus World Museum, a rich collection of circus artifacts. During their heyday the museum would load up their wagons, animals and other truck to parade through downtown Milwaukee every July.

I remember hearing the museum's steam calliope through my open windows in the summer. Unfortunately, even then the museum was always scraping for cash because people's interest in the circus was dwindling.