Memoirs:
In the fall of 1941, a fellow acrobat, by the name of Eddie Kohl, came back to visit Detroit during the Christmas holidays. He had worked with our group of performers that previous year, but had left to join the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. During the time we worked together as performers we had become good friends and worked doing club dates while he was home. One time while rushing from one club to another in Eddy's car, we were stopped by a police officer for speeding. Eddy tried to explain to the officer why they were driving so fast and let it be known to the officer that he was with the "Ringling Show!"
The police officer said "I don't believe you." So Eddy said, "I will show you, OK?" With that Eddy and I were out of the car. We did a complete acrobatic routine there in the middle of the street. All traffic had stopped and people were out of their cars watching us. When we had finished and taken our bows, everyone applauded, including the officer who said, "OK, I believe you. Now get out of here before I give you a ticket for blocking traffic!"
Eddy and I worked many shows together. He was blonde and with a well muscled body and I was dark with the same athletic build. We both had a sense of humor that kept us in and out of trouble. Our biggest problem was we almost always like the same girl.
I was 17 at the time and in March of the next year would be 18, which meant having to register for the draft. At that time I had to do some thinking and planning to figure out a way to make some future income. When it was time for Eddy to return to Sarasota, Florida and the Ringling Brothers Show for circus practice and rehearsals, he felt he could get me on the show, if I would go with him. I let him know I would think about it.
In the meantime Eddy knew of a family called "The Flying Melzores" who wintered on their farm in upper Michigan. He decided to visit them and asked me to go along. This turned out to be a life changing trip for me.
When we arrived at the Melzore's farm, we saw a nice, well-kept farmhouse with a very large, high barn in the back. In the barn was a complete flying trapeze set up with all the rigging and a safety net underneath. The barn also had heat and fan air-conditioning. The Melzores were overjoyed that we had made the trip to visit with them. Ma, Buster, Ray and Ray's wife made up the team of "The Flying Melzores." Ma put some coffee on, sandwiches were made and we all sat around talking and listening to the stories of their lives and the fun they had. After a few hours of this, Ma said it was time for daily practice, so Eddy and I followed them out to the barn.
To my surprise, Ma, who weighed no more than 115 lbs., was the one who went up into the "catcher's cradle." That left Buster, who was at least 6 ft. tall and weighing about 180 lbs., Ray, who weighed about 165 lbs., and had a wooden leg that started above the knee and Ray's wife, who was the smallest at 110 lbs. They were the flyers on the team and would leap or fly from the fly-bar to Ma, who would then catch them and make one swing and throw them back to the fly-bar. I asked Ma how she could catch the boys who weighed so much more than she did?
She told me she had been catching them since they were small boys and by timing the catch just right, she never felt their weight.
When they finished with their practice, Ma was still in the "catcher's cradle," so she told Eddy and me to get up on the pedestal board and swing a couple of times each. Without a second thought , we both climbed up the trapeze rigging. After she was satisfied with our swings and had our timing right, she said, "OK, throw me a couple of tricks." With the help of others in the family we finally made the leaps across to Ma and returned to the pedestal board. We soon found that Ma was right, it was not about the strength, it was 95% timing. After that we all went back into the house where Ma fixed lunch and told us more stories of their experiences.
Eddy and I hated to leave, but had to return to Detroit that night. During the drive home, I began thinking about the Melzores, and about how happy they were and how they had welcomed us into their home without a second thought. We were two boys just starting out in life, and were not sure what we really wanted from it. The Melzores had welcomed us with open arms and hearts and showed us that we could do anything we chose to do if we were willing to work at it. Loyalty and love with unselfishness thrown in was a way of life for the Melzores and that was the life I wanted. They were "show people!" My mind was suddenly made up! Ringling Brothers, here I come! I knew from what I had heard, the pay would be good and the circus provided room and board, therefore, I would be able to send more money home to the family.
(Driving to Sarasota) to be continued......
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus Memories
Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus And the War After
A memoir by: Robert Lewis Martin
with: C. Lee Martin
Prologue:
Robert Lewis Martin arrived in this world on March 21, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Lewis Wesley Martin, born April 1, 1898 and Emma Butterman Martin, born March 26, 1898. The birth of both parents was registered in the State of Indiana.
Lewis and Emma met and fell in love in Brazil, Indiana, when Emma was working as a nurse. Lewis, who had been injured during World War 1, while serving in the Army Air Corps, was sent to this same hospital for treatment for his injuries.
The union of these two people would have been an unlikely one anywhere else. He came from an aristocratic long line of an old American family and she was descended from German immigrants who arrived here from Sedantland, Germany. Emma came from a large family and her grandmother was part of the Cherokee Indian tribe.. Emma, as rumor would have it, also had a Civil War deserter in her ancestry.
Lewis on the other hand, was descended from Francis Cooke, who came over on the Mayflower. Francis Cooke was one of the men who signed the original Mayflower Compact. This was the first step the colonists took to help achieve independence from the British and establish religious freedom in the new world.
Some of the more famous descendants of Francis Cooke include three presidents; Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Bush and George W. Bush. Artists and entertainers; Grandma Moses, Richard Gere, and the Beach Boys.
One of the ancestors of the Martin clan was James Tappan, who fought in the Revolutionary War and their descendants have been involved in every major battle up to the Korean War when my dad's younger brother, Jack Wesley Martin was involved. That was the end of the military men in battle in the Martin clan, but it seems as if, that is enough. Although Jack Wesley Martin the 2nd, my younger brother, was in the army but never had to go into battle.
Lewis Martin's military service in the Army Air Corp was with the 148th Aerosquadron with Captain Elliott White Springs of the Springmaid family in South Carolina. For years I remember my grandfather visiting the Myrtle Beach area and reuniting with the remaining members of his squadron until they finally were all too old and started dying. Colonel Springmaid, as he was called, left a codicil in his will that the squadron would be able to meet there as long as they wanted to, after his death. The old homestead that used to belong to the Springmaid family is now an art museum on the Atlantic Ocean, the Franklin B. Burroughs - Simeon B. Chapman art museum. Don't know why it isn't the Springmaid Museum? That would seem more appropriate to me.
While Lewis and Emma were living in Detroit, Michigan, they established a home and two more children were born into the family. Joan Martin, who was born February 3, 1928 and Jack Wesley, born September 9, 1931. Thus making Robert (Bobby as he was called then) the oldest of three. During the 1930 census Lewis was working as a superintendent at the General Motors plant.
In 1940, when Lewis left the family, my grandparents were divorced. I don't think my grandmother ever forgot it, although she did marry again many years later. The first 3 years of my life were spent in the house her and grandad bought for only $3,000.00 and my brother Robert Wesley (Butch) Martin was born in Detroit on October 17, 1946. I had been born in St. Petersburg, Fla during the war, where my mother was staying with her parents, while dad was in Europe fighting the Nazi's.
After Lewis left the family home, Robert as the eldest at 15, left school. He had only completed the ninth grade, but had to help support the family. The money his dad sent did not appear to be enough to support his mother and two younger children, so it fell to him to work and make up the difference. He worked at various jobs in the Detroit area including the following: Loading cement blocks on a truck at a cement factory, pumping gas at a service station, working as a helper in a car repair garage, and on an assembly line in one of the automotive plants. He also worked with an acrobatic group doing shows in bars, nightclubs, burlesque houses, theaters and other show places. He did tumbling, teeterboard, adagio dancing (a combination of acrobatics and ballet), along with chorus numbers. That must have given Robert his first taste of performing for an audience and eventually became a part of his lifestyle. He never lost the performing aspect of his personality and in some way or other was always "on stage!"
Next: The Circus years. to be continued.......
A memoir by: Robert Lewis Martin
with: C. Lee Martin
Prologue:
Robert Lewis Martin arrived in this world on March 21, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan. His parents were Lewis Wesley Martin, born April 1, 1898 and Emma Butterman Martin, born March 26, 1898. The birth of both parents was registered in the State of Indiana.
Lewis and Emma met and fell in love in Brazil, Indiana, when Emma was working as a nurse. Lewis, who had been injured during World War 1, while serving in the Army Air Corps, was sent to this same hospital for treatment for his injuries.
The union of these two people would have been an unlikely one anywhere else. He came from an aristocratic long line of an old American family and she was descended from German immigrants who arrived here from Sedantland, Germany. Emma came from a large family and her grandmother was part of the Cherokee Indian tribe.. Emma, as rumor would have it, also had a Civil War deserter in her ancestry.
Lewis on the other hand, was descended from Francis Cooke, who came over on the Mayflower. Francis Cooke was one of the men who signed the original Mayflower Compact. This was the first step the colonists took to help achieve independence from the British and establish religious freedom in the new world.
Some of the more famous descendants of Francis Cooke include three presidents; Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Bush and George W. Bush. Artists and entertainers; Grandma Moses, Richard Gere, and the Beach Boys.
One of the ancestors of the Martin clan was James Tappan, who fought in the Revolutionary War and their descendants have been involved in every major battle up to the Korean War when my dad's younger brother, Jack Wesley Martin was involved. That was the end of the military men in battle in the Martin clan, but it seems as if, that is enough. Although Jack Wesley Martin the 2nd, my younger brother, was in the army but never had to go into battle.
Lewis Martin's military service in the Army Air Corp was with the 148th Aerosquadron with Captain Elliott White Springs of the Springmaid family in South Carolina. For years I remember my grandfather visiting the Myrtle Beach area and reuniting with the remaining members of his squadron until they finally were all too old and started dying. Colonel Springmaid, as he was called, left a codicil in his will that the squadron would be able to meet there as long as they wanted to, after his death. The old homestead that used to belong to the Springmaid family is now an art museum on the Atlantic Ocean, the Franklin B. Burroughs - Simeon B. Chapman art museum. Don't know why it isn't the Springmaid Museum? That would seem more appropriate to me.
While Lewis and Emma were living in Detroit, Michigan, they established a home and two more children were born into the family. Joan Martin, who was born February 3, 1928 and Jack Wesley, born September 9, 1931. Thus making Robert (Bobby as he was called then) the oldest of three. During the 1930 census Lewis was working as a superintendent at the General Motors plant.
In 1940, when Lewis left the family, my grandparents were divorced. I don't think my grandmother ever forgot it, although she did marry again many years later. The first 3 years of my life were spent in the house her and grandad bought for only $3,000.00 and my brother Robert Wesley (Butch) Martin was born in Detroit on October 17, 1946. I had been born in St. Petersburg, Fla during the war, where my mother was staying with her parents, while dad was in Europe fighting the Nazi's.
After Lewis left the family home, Robert as the eldest at 15, left school. He had only completed the ninth grade, but had to help support the family. The money his dad sent did not appear to be enough to support his mother and two younger children, so it fell to him to work and make up the difference. He worked at various jobs in the Detroit area including the following: Loading cement blocks on a truck at a cement factory, pumping gas at a service station, working as a helper in a car repair garage, and on an assembly line in one of the automotive plants. He also worked with an acrobatic group doing shows in bars, nightclubs, burlesque houses, theaters and other show places. He did tumbling, teeterboard, adagio dancing (a combination of acrobatics and ballet), along with chorus numbers. That must have given Robert his first taste of performing for an audience and eventually became a part of his lifestyle. He never lost the performing aspect of his personality and in some way or other was always "on stage!"
Next: The Circus years. to be continued.......
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus memories
Welcome to my new blog site. I will be posting a memoir written by my father about his years in the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus and his time during World War 11. He was a trapeze artist and when the war broke out he was drafted into the military as a army paratrooper. His memoir is a fascinating account of a day and time that no longer exists, the circus traveling under the Big Top. His memories of the war are well documented and he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his military achievements. (He never received his medal, by the way)
I hope you enjoy the trip back in time.
I will be starting the memoir with information or a prologue to introduce you to his remarkable family.
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