Amusements in the Twentieth Century....

The story of the small town carnival is deeply engrained in American culture.  Once a staple it survives after a fashion at County Fairs and similar retro gatherings that still carry on in an on-line, digital, CGI age.  But were they as we imagine?  Were they a sort of gypsy enterprise with a whiff of the disreputable and even of the dangerous?   Come with me for a brief peek through the keyhole of history.  In true show biz fashion it will give you a view of center stage but only glimpses of what is going on Stage Left and Behind the Curtain.....

I ran across the story of the Twentieth Century Amusement Company entirely by accident.  I was looking into the particulars of a "Madam Rose" and her combination hat shop and cosmetics business.  In the process I figured out that she was married to a certain David Jones who ran a carnival.  Also an early movie theater.  

Above you see the two principals in the organization along with a couple of their main assets, a Ferris Wheel and a Merry Go Round. 

On the left is R.F. Cosgriff.  He was an Irish immigrant who moved by stages to Wisconsin by the late 1850's.  Although he is usually referred to as "Colonel Cosgriff" this seems to be the sort of honorific often accorded to showmen in this era.  But he was a Civil War veteran and while only a Private he did serve with distinction and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Interestingly this was for actions after surrender of the main Confederate army at Appomattox.  Here's a bit more on the man.

On the right is "Major" Dave Jones.  Certainly an honorific in this case he was born in 1865.  That would make him 45 years old in this picture.  I don't know as much about him.  The common first and last name sure don't help.  He and his wife Rose appear in the 1900 census living in Chippewa Falls.  They are both "boarders" in a large household.  Mr. Jones is an electrician.  The 1910 census shows them living with her parents and lists his occupation as "Carnival Co.".

In trying to relate the story of the Twentieth Century Amusement Company it is necessary to rely on mentions in the newspapers.  The home town Chippewa Falls paper is uniformly complimentary.  Papers from other communities are a bit more honest.

The enterprise seems to have been started in either 1908 or '09.  The earlier date reflects Cosgriff and Jones starting the Gem Theater in town, the latter is when references to the carnival touring begin.  At various times they performed in Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Mondovi, Augusta, Bloomer, Boyd, New Richmond, Wausau and at least once further afield in Missouri.  They had a base of sorts at Elroy Wisconsin where their rides were stored over winter.

One of their more interesting venues came in the Spring of 1910 when they contracted with the Chippewa Valley Railway, Light and Power Company to provide two weeks of entertainment to patrons at "Electric Park" at Lake Hallie.  In addition to the Ferris Wheel and Merry Go Round they were said to have "...a number of high class, clean and wholesome shows."

High class, clean and wholesome....well perhaps.  They had a reptile show.  They had a contortionist named Margaret Ritter who was billed as "the boneless girl".  They had a nice popcorn wagon supposedly just like the one a certain John Hoffer kept at the corner of Bridge Street and Spring in Chippewa Falls.  It is worth noting that the horse that pulled it ended up being stolen from a livery stable.

But the most dramatic feature of their shows were the aeronauts.  

Hot air balloons were not exactly new in the early 20th century but still a draw, and at their engagements Cosgriff and Jones would send them up daily.  Remarkably the procedure was to run the balloon up on a tether several thousand feet up....and have the balloonist parachute out!

If this sounds risky well it sure was. 

In July of 1910 a pole used to support the balloon on the ground broke free at an exhibition in Mondovi.  It struck 12 year old Palmer Olson on the head killing him instantly.

In October the same balloon burst into flames at a show in Arcadia, severely burning the aeronaut, a certain James Slowey.  An unsympathetic Eau Claire paper says that it "...seems an ill fated contrivance."

And the bad luck continued as another of their balloons went up in flames in Chippewa Falls in September while being prepared for the fair.

And then to make matters even worse Colonel Cosgriff died of pneumonia in November.

The troupe carried on for a while longer.  There is notice in 1911 that Cosgriff's son had arrived to take matters in hand and various mentions of the Twentieth Century Amusement Company do turn up in that year.  By 1912 the company seems to have been owned by a man named Crooks, with Jones as Secretary.  They appear to have toured farther away, out into "the Rockies".  They also appear to have gotten into making movies but that tale will have to be told another day.

In 1913 David Jones moved to Toledo Ohio to become manager of the Great North Western Carnival Company.  Rose Jones moves to Minneapolis the same year with no mention of her husband.   

During its brief heyday the Twentieth Century Amusement Company seems to have been a going concern.  It is said to have had 18 employees and business was steady in 1909 and 1910.  But did it fit our image of the small town carnival?

Pretty much.  There were stories of the county sheriff hauling away two girls under confusing circumstances.  A bunch of poodles got sold. Aerialists came and went.  A certain "Professor" Pearl Stuckey seems to have started the 1910 season but literally bailed out before things got tragic.  Flaming balloons, stolen pop corn wagon horse, death defying parachute drops.  If anything our mental images of traveling carnivals may be a bit too tame.

Deer Hunting 2022

The firearms season for deer opens at dawn on Saturday.  In a sense we are already "on the board" as my oldest son got a nice deer bowhunting last week.  

We've been slowly picking up assorted gear at thrift sales and such so we can now put out a few extra tree stands in case our primary spots don't pan out.  

There are a lot of things to do to get ready.  Dog safety gear, especially important for brown ones with big ears...

The master map has to be updated with new stand locations....

The map shows both our locations and the locations, where known, of other hunters.  We are the little yellow guys, game pieces from Lord of the Rings Risk.

Here is another hunter.....The Black Orc.  Probably a totally nice guy.

As it happens we will be having a 4th Birthday/Deer Camp/Tea Party.  I'm not sure there is any template for doing something like this so I just decided to make my own Tea Party Tiara out of blaze orange ribbon.

Well that makes it seem as if we are not taking it seriously this year.  But we are.  I've been out a half dozen times for target practice.  I've noted that my accuracy, while generally pretty good, gets less good as I send more lead down range.  I think 65 year old arms just don't hold as steady when they get tired.  So I went out yesterday with my youngest son who is a phenomenal marksman.  I set up at 75 yards, told him which of the several targets I was aiming at....and hit dead on with three in a row.

At that point I quit.  I've never fired more than three rounds in a season yet.

T'aint Natural I say.....

 November 10th, 7Am....

Approaching 60 degrees.  Mid day it brushed up against 70.  This is very unusual in Wisconsin this time of year.  As I remind my UK friends, we are next door to Canada.

Later in the day I had a small household task up on our roof.  For those who don't own an older house these fall into two main categories:  Current Rodent Entry Points and Future Ones.  But it was so darn nice I sat up there doing my work in shirt sleeves.  And barefoot.

Earlier I'd gone off on my usual three mile morning walk.  I heard a cricket.  There were bugs flying in the air.  A worm was painstakingly trying to cross a wet side walk.  I always pick them up and toss them where I think they are headed.  Who knows when we'll need that extra Karma Point.  I just hope I did not toss it to the wrong side of the sidewalk undoing hours of labor.  If I come up a few Karmic points short and end up reincarnated as a worm that's probably what will happen to me repeatedly.

But I've seen the forecast.  Time to run the gas out of the lawnmower, roll out the snow blower and make sure it will start up when needed.  Goodbye false spring.  

Assorted Robot Progress

Biggest robotics team ever.  Unusually we don't do any recruiting to speak of any more.  The kids just find us.  Some recent walk-ons:

"Hi, I'm ______ remember me?  I was in your robotics class six years ago."   Or....

"I'm Evan".  

"Ah, Evan _____."

"No, I'm a different Evan."

So we have many newbies, many of them named Evan, working and learning in the run up to another FIRST Robotics campaign.

Building an enclosure for the 3D printers that were assembled in previous sessions.  Powered rivet drivers must be listed among the supreme accomplishments of our species.

Final result.  Oh, not competition robot quality but more than sufficient as a learning tool.  They'll put the polycarbonate sides on next time.

Also a new video is out.  We basically found an abandoned CNC router and upgraded it for our use.  This will seriously help with prototyping and final fabrication.

Today we found out that we got a nice grant from 3M for the season ahead.  We already had a thank you video in the can and ready!

The biggest team we've had in prior years topped out at about 28, although a few were marginal members we did not see often.  This year for a recent and entirely optional pre-season session we had 35.   Amazing.

Deer Hunting 2022 - Preview while its still warm!

It's been a busy fall and as such more difficult to get things organized for the late November Extended Family Deer Hunt.  We think we'll have five or six hunters, assorted non hunting people, and two or three dogs on hand.

Deer numbers appear to be sufficient.  My major contribution to the pre-season has been frequent walks near - but usually not stomping right through - areas we are planning on hunting.  On a recent fall day I took two overlapping walks.  Total game count was 19 deer, 8 turkeys, four grouse.  One of the deer strolled by as I quietly sat at the base of a tree.  At a range of perhaps 30 yards it would have been an easy shot with a bow.

And in fact one of our party does have a bow license so we are technically allowed to put up stands now that the archery season is open.

This should be my view on Opening Day.  One area of public land we will be on has some quirky rules.  Anything non natural has to be taken down at the end of the day.  Also, there is no access for ATVs, so anybody hunting there has a quarter mile to haul themselves in, and hopefully a deer out.  I think I'll have it to myself.  This photo is from a natural blind that three generations of us built on a fine autumn day.  My grand daughter contributed lots of milkweed fluff; it grows all over the place.  I'll have to bring my trusty lawn chair and some blaze orange fabric panels.

Looks like pretty effective camo.  Hope I am sneaky enough to get there without stepping on every dry stick for a quarter of a mile.

We have a couple of circumstances where it would be useful to have two hunters working in close proximity.  This is a new set up for us.  Obviously safety belts and meticulous firearms safety will be necessary here.  I went up there once to tighten a bolt on the upper stand.  Once was enough.

I prefer a tree stand that is closer to terra firma and way more stable.  Back where I saw the clueless deer at 30 yards I put up this stand.  Oddly the area is crawling with deer most evenings but you seldom see one any other time.  Deer night club I guess.

To the experienced eye this stand looks very stable.  Wedged between two diverging trunks and held on with both strap and safety chain.  It also looks a bit improvised.  I'm not the inveterate dumpster diver I once was, but when you get a tree stand really cheap but with a torn canvas seat you have to be creative.  The leather straps are off a fifty year old Duluth pack I used to take on trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe area.  Back in the days when - despite far less on board padding - it was realistic to sleep on the ground.

Unlike that prospect the comfort level of this set up is quite acceptable.

Enigma Four (2022)

 

School schedules have their own quirks so no Enigma class last week.  That gave me two weeks to work on a suitable challenge.

Each group of students has their own strengths and weaknesses.  This year's bunch is big on foreign languages.  Last year's could not do a crossword if their lives depended on it.  

Another quirk this year is that there were significant staff changes in the program so it started a couple of weeks later.  That means only four working sessions, one for prep and one for Staff Challenge.  So what to do with our last working session?

Time to bring back our old pal Anastasia Ottendorf.....

If you don't know what an Ottendorf cipher is I'm not gonna tell you.  

They also liked a little side project we did in week one with a cipher "grill".  That could be made trickier.  Square versus rectangular gives more possible permutations.  And can I actually suggest wrong answers with subtle cues?

Well our last teaching session went pretty well.  I am pleased when the challenges I put to them can be solved with a bit of concentration.  Honestly, we worked on relaxation techniques to clear your mind!  I'm also pleased when they fall for a cleverly laid trap.  Because next week is prep time for the Staff Challenge, and the week after that we'll have a team of administrators and teachers trying to solve this stuff.

I took the precaution again of including a counselor on the list of invitees....to help the staff with their issues.  Alas she could not make it so they are On Their Own.

The Bag is never unpacked....

Well it is Game On for another season of excavating at Vindolanda.  Pints and barrows will be emptied again.  The latter is more likely to cause addiction than the former.

See some of you at The Bowes, 7pm GMT, 30 April.