Tag: Entertainment

Fratman Hall

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn Entertainment, Mr. Burl's Writing, OwingsvilleLeave a comment
 
There used to be a place in Owingsville where actors would gather and put on grand performances.  Seriously.
From the journals:
“Chick” is in there selling nuts and bolts, paints and varnishes, and most anything you need in the hardware line but what does that have to do with Fratman Hall?  That’s right – the Smith and Son building was originally an entertainment emporium. 
Mr. Fratman was the owner and manager of the upstairs auditorium.  The rear of the downstairs, which is presently occupied by the Maze Auction Company, housed a circular staircase such as those seen in movies of yesteryear.  The actors and actresses dressed in the rooms at the foot of the stairs and walked up to the stage.
Vaudeville type shows, plays, and other forms of show biz were the order of the day.  Often, young boys would hang around the entrance after the show started, and if the house was not full and the boys were deserving, they were permitted to enter free of charge.
We have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Burl was one of those boys who would hang around the entrance! 
~Ginger

 

A clipping from an old Owingsville Outlook (March 10, 1892). A show called “The World” is playing at Fratman Hall and it is mentioned twice in the left column and once in the right.

Circuses in Owingsville

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn Uncategorized2 Comments
Ticket for The Mighty Haag from the 1930’s (Photo from josephinesjournal.com).  

This week Don makes his blogging debut:

In 1972, Daddy and I went to see the Clyde Beatty/Cole Bros. Circus in Lexington in the Turfland Mall parking lot.  I was ten and had only been to see the lights, glamour and glitter of Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey.  When we arrived, the tent was a dull gray, but the side show barker was by no means dull: “It’s never out, never over, going on all the time!  See the circus side show, the bearded lady, the sword swallower….it’s never out and never over……step right up young man!”  Daddy was leery of the side show, concerned that I might see something I shouldn’t, but we did see the animals in the menagerie tent. 

The show had kept the name of the famous animal trainer Clyde Beatty.  The cat act was done by another man who imitated Beatty with the same costume, a whip, a chair and a gun.  Just for the hoot of it, he would fire off the gun!  We both laughed since it was really uncalled for and outdated.  It started raining outside and the tent leaked directly on me.  I didn’t miss anything though….just slid on down a seat or two.  Today the show is the Cole Bros. Circus and they have a beautiful new tent that doesn’t leak.

As you can tell, this is where my love for all circuses and the circus arts stems from.  Before Rupp Arena opened in 1976, he would drive us yearly in our big Buick to Louisville’s Freedom Hall to see the RBB&B show.  We probably ate cheap, but we always had front row seats for the show no matter the cost.  We were often late for church but never for the big show.  We were the first ones there and the last to leave.  I loved it! At any moment when things would slow down slightly, I would wonder around back stage and in the alley getting clowns’ autographs!

When Daddy grew up the circus was one of the main events of the year.  He met the show people and even remembered the elephants’ names.  This was one of his favorite stories, as it included both the circus and Big Band music:

Hey, it’s circus time and how thrilling it is!  Spine tingling, exciting – you add a few superlatives of you own.

Clowns, elephants, high-flyers, calliopes, brass-bands, cotton candy and excited happy crowds!

In the nineteen teens, twenties, thirties and forties, many small circuses criss-crossed this great country.  Small circuses were usually outstanding, and of course, most people could not travel any distance to attend the large ones.

Bath County had its share of small, good circuses.  Sharpsburg, Bethel, Salt Lick, and Owingsville welcomed some of these circuses most every summer.  One of the best circuses that was routed through this county was the Haag Brothers Circus or, as it was better known, “The Mighty Haag.”  This great, small circus had three large pachyderms which had to walk from one town to the next stand.  When the circus had played in Flemingsburg, the elephants walked from there to Owingsville’s Kimbrough Park.

The “Mighty Haag” had a crackerjack band directed by a man named George James.*  Please note that surname.  You are right!  Mr. James was the father of the great Harry James.  Harry, of course is considered as one of the greatest trumpet players of all time.

Harry played in the Haag band while still a young lad and played in Bath County many times.  Some true circus fans in the county knew George and Harry James.  Mr. Willie Lacy knew both of these musicians and really treasured that memory. 

The great trumpeter became iron lunged, as expressed by some musicians, but that in itself did not make him outstanding.  He later added finesse and played in jazz and/or swing bands.  Then Harry became an orchestra or dance band leader and then world famous.    

When any circus came to the area, whether a mud show,  a big top or in a big arena,  we went. ~ Don Kincaid

*Harry James’ father’s name was officially Everette Robert James, although my father  refers to him as George.

Mighty Haag Logo

A picture of Babe, Tip, and Alice of the Mighty Hagg!  Daddy new the name of the old handler walking beside carrying an elephant hook.   He said he never left the elephants.  In the background you can see paper with the “HAAG” name on it. 



Another picture, courtesy of bucklesw.blogspot.com.


Everette and Harry James, circa 1922
(Photo from circushistory.org)

Lyceum Courses

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Dixie Girls performed in Owingsville as part of a Lyceum course.

Last week’s excerpt was about the Chautauquas that came to Owingsville, and this week we follow up on that.


From the journals:

Lyceum Courses!!  What were they?  Lyceum courses were the cold weather counterparts of the Chautauquas.  They catered to the arts mostly, but their programs were similar to those of Chautauquas. 

In small towns such as those in Bath County, the Lyceums were almost always held in auditoriums.  In those days, there were few gymnasiums in Kentucky and none in Bath County.

The same procedure that was followed in acquiring the Chautauquas was also followed with the Lyceums.  Generally, a minimum number of season tickets had to be sold in advance.  Sometimes, there would be five performances spread over the winter months – sometimes more.

In an old issue of the Owingsville Outlook dated 1919, I found a notice regarding an upcoming Lyceum.   It was to be held at the City School Chapel, and on the program were Fanny May Baldridge (a soprano who presented “stories of Negro life . . . in a delightfully wholesome and natural manner” – Miss Baldridge was white, by the way) and Evelynne Murphey (who specialized in pianologues and whose voice had a “flutelike quality”).   When performing together they were billed as The Dixie Girls.  Season tickets were $1.50 for adults and $1.00 for children.   



The description of the Lyceum offering, especially that of Fanny Baldridge’s act, piqued my curiosity because I’m interested in how some have attempted to romanticize the Old South.  This attempt is officially referred to as the “Lost Cause Movement” and it’s fascinating. The grave markers in the Owingsville Cemetery that were funded by the Daughters of the Confederacy can be regarded as a part of this Lost Cause Movement. Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel Gone With the Wind stands as a literary example of the movement.   Can we consider the Dixie Girls’ act as an example of it too?  

And how would that have gone over in a place like Bath County?  After all, if your families are like ours, you can count both Johnny Rebs and Billy Yanks in your family tree.  We have one handed down story of an ancestor helping a slave escape, while one of those markers from the Daughters of the Confederacy sits upon the grave of another ancestor (and thanks to my brother-in-law, Bill Kincaid, for his research on those markers and the Daughters – hopefully he can share some of what he’s learned with all of us in a future post).  

The 1919 clipping I refer to.
Sorry it’s a bit hard to read.

If you want to learn more about the Lost Cause Movement, click here.  
To read a bit more about Fanny Baldridge, click here.

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm.   When the weather pretties up, I’ll try to take some pictures of those Confederate markers and then post them on here. ~ Ginger

Another clipping about an upcoming Lyceum from 
a 1910 edition of the Owingsville Outllook.

Chautauqua in Owingsville

On By Ginger Karrick KincaidIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
     

Inside a Chautauqua tent, circa 1910.

         This is the first in a series of excerpts about the various forms of entertainment that passed through Owingsville and Bath County during the early 1900’s.   We hope you enjoy it and the ones that will follow!
        From the journals: 

        Do you wonder how folks were entertained years ago?  Most people back then did not have the transportation and especially the financial means to go to a distant city for entertainment.  Top entertainment was available for rural communities but it did strain many folks’ resources to attend some of the functions.
       Chautauquas were among the highest type of entertainment.  Believe it or not, Chautauquas usually were shows under a tent.  Several Chautauquas showed across the United States during the warm months of the year.  Two of the better known ones were the Redpath and the White and Brown.
         The Chautauquas came to Bath County and for many years pitched tent in several different lots in Owingsville.  They showed on Wells Avenue when there was only one house on that street.  Joe Bailey’s home now stands on the lot on Slate Avenue where they showed for several years.
        High class entertainment was the claim of a Chautauqua.  Bands, magicians, lecturers, and the best novelty acts were among programs presented. William Jennings Bryan, who was thrice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States, spoke to a capacity crowd on Well’s Avenue.  Mr. Bryan spent the day in Owingsville, having the noon meal with Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Perry on High Street.   Many local citizens, not having seen a president or even a candidate for president before, made an effort to come and see the former presidential nominee.
         There are a few things to note in regard to this excerpt.  First, the Perry House, as my husband and his brother still refer to it, is currently owned by the Raleigh family and it is located across the street from the home of Barry and Jill Toy (or across the alley from our home).    Some of you might not know this, but there is a cemetery just beside that house.   There are no markers, as they were taken up years and years ago.  Second,  the house Mr. Burl refers to as Joe Bailey’s is the one to the right of Rob and Mandy Kiskaden’s home (My husband, Don, says there is a flat piece of ground behind that house that would have been suitable ground for the erection of a tent).   Third, we think Bryan’s visit happened in 1922 but are still trying to confirm that date. ~Ginger 

William Jennings Bryan.  This master of oratory was a favorite of the Chautauqua circuits, drawing huge crowds with his populist speeches.

A Chautauqua program printed in the Owingsville Outlook in 1921.  Note how season tickets were sold.

Chautauquas didn’t just appear in a community and set up – they required the hard work and support of many people.  Guarantors promised to promote the show and signed their names on the contract, with the expectation that the public’s purchase of tickets would pay for the programming in the long run (this didn’t always pan out in some communities, causing the guarantors to have to pay out of their own pockets).  Note how the Woman’s Club was in charge of decorations.   


Links:
To hear a recording of Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech, click here.
For an overview of the Chautauqua movement, click here.
To read more about Chautauquas and theater in Kentucky, take a look at Marilyn Casto’s Actors, Audiences, and Historic Theaters of Kentucky by clicking here.