THE GENTRY CIRCUS

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History The Gentry Brothers Circus was developed by four Gentry brothers from Bloomington, Indiana and was probably the greatest dog and pony show ever developed in the United States. The brothers' father was Richard Henry Gentry - number 202 in the 1909 book on the family. Richard Henry Gentry' was born in Stokes County, North Carolina, September 23, 1825; moved to Indiana with his father William when he was a child, and later married Frances Umbarger. The children of this marriage were Wallace, Henry, William, Frank, Lillie, and Jesse. Henry B. (H.B.) Gentry was the moving force among the brothers. In 1900, acts using humans and elephants were added to the program. During 1902, the Gentry Brothers Circus switched from a car show setup to flat cars. Twenty baby elephants were purchased in this period which allowed a distribution of five for each of the units. An elaborate route book for 1902 was published which listed a total of 72 railroad cars, 22 elephants, 12 camels, 12 sacred cattle, and 50 big horses. By 1910, the Gentry Brothers Circus was considered the largest traveling show in the U.S. It had 7 elephants and 4 camels. The Sideshow The circus had an entertaining sideshow cast which was a popular norm in that period.The cast included members like the Strong Man; with the very muscular frame of Emory Bonesettis, the amazing Sword Swallower (Clarence Hildebrand), the mystical Snake Charmer (Ethelinda Kelley), the Tattoed Man (Frederick Gruberg) ,the Fire Eater (Vesta), the Contortionist (Alonso Rodriguez) and the extremely popular Fortune Teller - Leota. The Parade The year 1922 Gentry Bros. as usual presented a very pleasing street parade. The parade consisted of the No. 1 and 2 bandwagons with the big top band split in two sections; the clown bandwagon; sideshow bandwagon; a small bagpipe, fife, and drum band riding a cage; the unifon; a wagon carrying a pony and some dogs; the cages, elephants, lead stock, numerous mounted people, and the steam calliope bringing up the rear. The coach dancers from the sideshow also made their appearance in the parade riding one of the wagons. The late Deacon Albright, one of the best known steam calliope players of all time, played the steamer that brought up the rear of the street parade. This wagon was one of the famous Gentry 'twin' calliope wagons that were built by Sullivan & Eagle in 1902 for the Gentry show and had served continuously on the show since then. At times one or both of the highly carved ticket wagons which had also been built by Sullivan & Eagle about 1902 paraded. Photos of the Gentry show in earlier years show these wagons being used as bandwagons as well as tableaus in the street parade. Dogs rode many of the pony-drawn cross-cages in the parade and these little wagons were always favorites of the children. The Performance AIthough during the early years of the Gentry shows the performance was put on almost entirely by trained ponies, dogs, horses, and monkeys, steadily during the final years regular circus type aerial, ring, and track acts had been added. Still in 1922 the show had many of the canine and equine routines that had built the show into one of the best known in the country. The 1922 performance had trained ponies, liberty horses, many trained dog acts, trained monkeys, and elephants. Also present were many track and ring equestrian numbers. The show had a ballet of several young ladies who rode in spec and other numbers and performed on web and ladders. Mrs. Henry Emgard worked a pleasing act of trained pigeons. Arthur Burson was one of the featured acts and did a slack wire act in the performance. Burson also presented as an outside free act a fine tight wire routine performed on a wire from a center pole to a wire jack anchored to the ground. Another featured performing duo was K. Riley Malthuse and his wife who did a double trapeze act, while he appeared in another solo trap act and his wife in a swinging ladder routine. The show also had good clowning and other acrobatic and aerial acts. In the beginning the Gentry show was known principally in the Mid West throughout the years, especially when at times there were as many as 4 different Gentry shows touring the country. The title soon became known from coast to coast and by the time Austin and Newman got the show there was no particular 'Gentry territory'. For the past few years the show had wintered in Houston, Texas, and had played heavily throughout that state. In 1921 the show played 35 stands in Texas. The fortunes of the show had pretty well followed the general business patterns of World War I and the immediate post-war years. The big post-war boom year of 1920 was a big one for the show which played a route throughout the Southwest similar in parts to the final season route of 1922. The show also evidently liked their home state in 1920 because the official route lists some 94 stands in Texas. In 1921 the show played a more Easterly route with stands in Texas, La., Ark., Okla., Kan., Mo., IIl., Ky., W. Va., Ohio, Va., Tenn., and N.C., and although it made a full season it wasn't a good year. Opening April 4 at Houston and closing Nov. 12 at Groesbeck, Texas, the sharp depression that followed so quickly on the heels of the post-war boom hit the show very hard. By the end of 1921 and during the winter following it was evident the show was in some trouble. Marital troubles of Newman also added to the show's woes. The Jan. 14, 1922 Billboard stated that Judge Erwin Byrd of Houston had issued a temporary order restraining J. D. Newman of Gentry Bros. from selling any community property and the order restrained the First National Bank from paying out any funds to Newman, or Gentry Bros., or any company in which Newman had an interest. In the Jan. 28, 1922, Billboard Newman stated that although papers were served on him they did not in any way tie up or enjoin Gentry Bros. Shows from doing business. Practically no items concerning the Gentry show appeared in the 1922 Billboard columns, usually an indication that things are not well with a show. No roster or opening program was printed and just a few short notices appeared to the effect that the show would go out as usual on 15 cars and would open at Houston. Several ads were carried then and later in the season wanting personnel or performers. Austin, who was a good general agent and knew his business well, routed the show again into the Southwest territory that was so good to the show in 1920. The late E. W. A dams, who furnished me the 1922 route some years ago, said that this kind of route was referred to as the. 'dry' or 'starvation' route. Finding good towns at the right time required a first class general agent in those days. Very few places could be found without competition from other shows. In 1922 railroad circuses, flat car type, in addition to Gentry Bros. were Ringling-Barnum, Sells-Floto, Hagenbeck-Wallace, John Robinson, Al G. Barnes, Gollmar Bros., Welter L. Main, Rhoda Royal, Sparks, Howes Great London, Pattersons Trained Wild AnimaIs, CampbelI-Bailey-Hutchinson, and Christy Bros. All paraded except Ringling-Barnum. Also in competition in the smaller towns could be found several gilly type railroad circuses plus a score or more of mud shows. The 1922 season began in the winter quarters town of Houston, Texas, Sat., April 15. From there the show moved to Galveston on April 18, then to Mexia, Dallas and Ft. Worth, and then a long string of one-dayers across Texas going West. The show entered New Mexico May 12, at Carlsbad for the start of a total of 14 stands in New Mexico. At Belen on May 26, a storm flattened the big top and the show suffered it's first blowdown of the season. The show next went to Arizona May 28, at Holbrook. From there it moved to Winslow, Flagstaff, Williams, Prescott, Ashford, and Kingman, and then into California June 4, at Needles. The next stand was in the mining town of Johannesburg and the parade that day made a two or three mile trip across the desert to visit a little mining town. This most unusual parade route is shown very vividly in Mr. Morris' photos. A stand scheduled for and appearing on the official route for Victorville was blown out and the show made a long and hot jump from Barstow to Goldfield, Nevada, and then a string of dates through the Nevada mining towns over railroads which have now been abandoned. The show played two stands in. California again at Susanville and Westwood and then back into Nevada at Lovelock and more stands as the show headed East across the state toward Utah. From June 26 to July 18 the show traveled back and forth with brief stands in Utah, Idaho, Colorado and Wyoming. In the June 24, 1922 Billboard the show advertised wanting a magician or punch act for the sideshow, and also wanted a boss hostler and trainmaster which indicated some key personnel had left. In the July 22 issue the show wanted for the big show performance single and double traps wire, and iron jaw acts, and clowns. Also short were ticket sellers, a 24 hour man, and bosses for all departments, an inside man for stores, and punch and magic for the sideshow. The ads seem to point out that the show was somewhat shorthanded on personnel, both performers and staffers. After a July 18 stand at Wheatland, Wyo., the show moved into Nebraska the next day at Scottsbluff and after two more stands in that state entered South Dakota at Rapid City. Additional stands were played at Deadwood and Hot Springs and then the circus moved South through Nebraska and Colorado and entered New Mexico Aug. 1, at Des Moines, New Mexico. Western territory has always been a hard, tough, grind for any circus. Railroad jumps were usually long and many times slow. Lots were rocky and dusty and the weather either could be hot and dry or very cold and wet, and wind was always a disturbing factor. A reprint of the shows route Card No. 15 puts the show in 7 states in a two week period which was a record for the Gentry show. It also. indicates the length of jumps required of a show in western territory for even a medium sized show of that day. During the first two weeks of August the show made brief stands in New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma and Kansas, then moved on into it's home state of Texas Aug. 17, at Perrytown. Throughout the western tour it is believed the show had some bad weather at many stands. Gollmar Bros. Circus, operated by Mugivan and Bowers had a poor year in 1922 and played through much of the Gentry territory and in the Billboard columns were continually complaining of bad weather and business in the West. Sept. 14, at Brownsville, Texas, the show had another blowdown due to high winds. A total of 33 stands were played in Texas before the show closed Sept. 23, at Giddings. Facts indicate it closed quite suddenly and then moved immediately to it's quarters in Houston. That the personnel were not very happy with the closing situation is indicated by the following letter by Arthur Burson, one of the two top performers in the show, that appeared in Billboard. Walker Morris says the letter is true in every respect and that no members of the band or performers he knew of ever did get their holdback pay from the show. The Jan. 27, 1923 Billboard announced that the Gentry Bros. Famous Shows had been sold to James Patterson. The sale included the physical property to his quarters at Paola, Kan. Patterson was a well known figure in circus and carnival circles and had operated one or more carnivals for many years. In 1922 he had operated a 20-car circus titled Patterson's Big 4 Ring Wild Animal Circus. Since Patterson already had quite a bit of circus property on hand he sold the Gentry Bros. baggage stock, the ticket wagons, and cages to G. W. Christy. The rest of the property was stored, sold off, or put into the 15-car show he operated for the 1923-25 seasons under the title of Gentry Bros.-James Patterson Circus...... The late Frank Welter of Houston in the 30's acquired many of the little Gentry Bros. cross-cages that had served on the show. These came from several sources but the ones purchased from G. W. Christy should have a direct link to the 1922 Gentry show. The Waiter collection was scattered after his death although it is reported some of the cages are still around. The Gentry steam calliope that Deacon Albright played in 1922 put in many more years of service. The steamer is now temporarily 'lost'. After a short tour on the Blue Grass Shows in 1957 it was reportedly sold to a drive-in theater in Nebraska, and late reports now have it on some carnival on the West Coast. It is my fond hope that eventually this fine old relic, a living reminder of the old Gentry Bros. show, can some day be preserved in one of our ever growing circus museums.