Michael Skidgell - The Hartford Circus Fire: Tragedy Under the Big Top

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2014 by Michael Skidgell

All rights reserved

First published 2014

e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978.1.62584.522.1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Skidgell, Michael.

The Hartford Circus Fire : tragedy under the big top / Michael Skidgell.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

print edition ISBN 978-1-62619-069-6

1. Hartford Circus Fire, Hartford, Conn., 1944. 2. Fires--Connecticut--Hartford--History. 3. Arson--Connecticut--Hartford--History. 4. Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows--History. 5. Dead--Identification--Case studies 6. Hartford (Conn.)--History--20th century. I. Title.

F104.H3S58 2014

974.63043--dc23

2014006744

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It was a typical hot July day in 2001. I had just picked up my son from a sleepover at his friends house on Church Street in Plainville, and I was taking the boys to my moms house to swim in her pool. As the kids swam, I spent the day in my mothers basement going through some things that belonged to my father, who had died about six months earlier. Mixed in with my dads things were some old newspapers, the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Times, from the day he was born, July 8, 1944, just two days after the Hartford circus fire. Of course, many of the stories in these newspapers were about the fire and the victims, and I read every word of these old stories, enthralled by them all. One surprising coincidence for me that day was that while reading Miss Ann Berubes obituary, I discovered that she had lived in the very same house where my son had just spent the night. I had even been given a tour of the house, which the family was renovating, the night before. That was the day that the Hartford circus fire drew me in and captivated me; the more I read about the fire, the more I wanted to learn.

I would like to dedicate this book to my father, Robert B. Skidgell, born in Hartford Hospital two days after the fire and taken from us many years too soon in 2001; I am sure he would have been proud to see this book. I would like to thank my mother, my sister and my son, Alex, for lending me their untiring ears during my years of researching the Hartford circus fire. Whether they genuinely enjoyed hearing me share new bits of information or they were just too kind to tell me otherwise, I love them all dearly.

I would also like to thank the numerous people with whom I have corresponded over the years that Ive been studying the circus fire, particularly those whose families were forever affected by the tragedy. Some of those people include Laura Winzler Aldrich, James Bushnell and Mary Wallace Bushnell, Laura Hager DePuy, Donald Derby, Rosie Franz Geer, Edmund Hall Hindle, Diane Jacques, Lisa Kalish, Judy Roberts May, Carol Snelgrove McOmber, Janet Moore Sapolis, Charlotte Roberts Savino, Dennis Sullivan, Arthur Surdam, Steve Toth, Stephanie Logan Trombley, David de la Vergne, Tom de la Vergne, Jevan Walker, Linda Walkins and Charles R. Wallace.

Chapter 1

A TICKET TO TRAGEDY

Someone went to an usher and explained my mothers fear of heights, and he came up and took her to another seat. When she got to the seat she stood and waved to us. After the fire started, my father slid down the ropes, and Jacks father dropped us into his arms; then he slid down the rope.

Our fathers identified my mother at the Armory, by her wedding ring, and returned home late in the night.

DAVID DE LA VERGNE

The matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey (Ringling) show at Hartfords Barbour Street circus grounds on July 6, 1944, was well attended. Patrons entered the grounds from Barbour Street, walking from their homes nearby or riding the city bus. Those who had saved up enough ration tickets to purchase the gasoline required for the trip drove to the site and found parking available on the lawns of local residents, a convenient way for homeowners to make a few dollars and help ease their displeasure from the commotion caused by the circus invading their neighborhood. From the street entrance, children and adults alike were tempted by a variety of concessions offered by circus vendors and sideshow attractions, including the living skeleton, the sword swallower, jugglers, the tattooed strong man and the worlds smallest people, in the midway area. Past the sideshow was the animal menagerie, where elephants, giraffes and other corralled animals were available for everyone to see up close. White canvas walls, fifteen feet tall and attached to wagons, led the way through it all to the main entrance of the big top, with banners posted along the path illustrating the most exotic attractions that the circus had to offer.

Children enjoy some food in the sideshow area before the fire at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus performance in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 6, 1944. Photo courtesy of Connecticut State Library, State Police Investigation Files, RG 161.

Topless enclosures for the mens and womens toiletsin yellow canvas to distinguish them from the white sidewalls of the main tentwere installed close to the big top, mens to the right of the main entrance and womens to the left. No attendants were on duty at the toilet facilities, but Ringling employees checked on them periodically during the show. Between the toilet enclosures stood a grand canvas canopy marking the main entrance to the Greatest Show on Earth. Before entering the big top, patrons would be required to visit the ticket wagons outside to purchase general admission tickets, pay the taxes due for free tickets or upgrade their tickets to the $1.20 reserved seats (tickets could also be upgraded inside). Vouchers for free tickets were handed out to area youths who helped during set-up and purchasers of U.S. war bonds, while handfuls of complimentary passes had been left with shop owners around the city several days earlier in exchange for displaying posters promoting the circus in their stores.

Ringlings big top was 200 feet wide by 450 feet long, with sidewalls that were 15 feet high. The waterproofed snow-white canvas roof of the big top sloped upward from the tops of the sidewalls to a towering 48 feet, the peak of which was topped with an American flag. The tent was erected over freshly mowed grass, dry from the summer heat, and dirt that had to be watered down and covered with hay and wood shavings to control the dust. Inside the massive tent, three rings and two stages were in place for the performers to show their talents, with a 25-foot-wide oval Hippodrome track separating the performance area from the spectators seats. Patrons were allowed on the Hippodrome track up until the show began, at which time the ushers stationed around the tent would see that the spectators remained behind the railings in the seating areas. General admission bleacher seats, painted blue, were available at the east and west ends of the big top and were separated by an exit. The four sections of bleacher seats, enough for about 3,400 spectators, offered a spectacular view of one performance ring, but the other stages and rings were obstructed from view for those sitting in these seats. About 6,000 reserved seats, consisting of unsecured wooden folding chairs, painted red, were provided along the north and south sides of the big top and were divided into ten sections, providing a better view of all rings and stages. Exiting the tent could be done via the main entrance or by eight other smaller exits located around the big top. Many of these alternative exits, however, were used primarily by the performers and were blocked on the outside by circus wagons; patrons were encouraged to use other exits during the show. Nearly 7,000 spectators would fill the seats in the big top for the matinee show.