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The Circus "NO SPIN ZONE": Cccciiiiirrrrrrcccccuuuussss Wwwwaaagggoooonnn Hhhhhiiiiissssttttoooorrrrryyyyy
Dear Wade-
Attached is the photo you posted a
bit ago of the ex-Buchanan Hippo TAB which was on Cole Bros. The Hippo
TAB is a simple baggage wagon with carvings on the outside to dress it
up. The 2 photo's Bob Cline sent you were the ex-Buchanan Seal DEN which
is the short version of the wagon Cole used to haul the hippo. This
wagon had a 3 foot extension added to it and then ended up in a pig
field on 1 of the Bradley farms near Rochester, IN.
The second photo Bob sent you was the ex-Robinson hippo DEN that
replaced the wagon mentioned above in 1940. This wagon was used to the
end of the Cole show and ended up at the Kelly Farm in Peru, IN. It was
later converted to semi truck use for the Kelly Morris outfit.
If you compare the carvings with the attached photo of the Hippo
TAB to the paintings/carvings on the Barnes wagon you should see the
similarity.
FLINT
Flint,
Thank you. Now it all makes sense, and the carvings are similar, but I don't see the cover board connection. Are they those painted boards in front of the Barnes Den picture you sent "cover boards?" I assume you have already been served paper's, because you sure flipped and indicted Bobby as the sole conspirator fast. :) But the fact is, the day you chose to ignore my inquiring mind(see comment's below) and left me flopping on the riverbank, gasping for air like a bass that you had just jerked out off the water, played a part in the shenanigans. I didn't realize I had a picture of the ex-Buchanan Hippo Tab, which is actually the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab, which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab(originally on a Kelly-Springfield truck chassis) which was neither. Yes, the ex-Buchanan Seal Den which is similar to the wagon Cole used to haul a hippo before making it a pigsty and the ex-Robinson hippo den which wasn't used to house pigs also sent by Bobby instead of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab, which I requested which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab which wasn't, which was actually the ex-Buchanan Hippo Den, which I didn't realize I had a picture of so wouldn't have had to request a copy of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab which wasn't the ex Buchanan Hippo Den or the US Motorized Hippo Tab like I thought it was and receive a ex-Buchanan Seal Den and an ex-Robinson hippo den because I already had a picture of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab which wasn't instead it was the ex-Buchanan Hippo Den which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab, which wasn't and as far as I know never housed pigs, did cause some confusion. I hope I got that right, as I intend on going back to Boo City to see something that carried hippos and not pigs. :) All due respect, you gentlemen have to play easy with me. I am a mere amateur, and no where near the circus history league any of you are in. You folks are batting them out of Miller Park and Turner Field and I am still playing T Ball here.
Thank you. Now it all makes sense, and the carvings are similar, but I don't see the cover board connection. Are they those painted boards in front of the Barnes Den picture you sent "cover boards?" I assume you have already been served paper's, because you sure flipped and indicted Bobby as the sole conspirator fast. :) But the fact is, the day you chose to ignore my inquiring mind(see comment's below) and left me flopping on the riverbank, gasping for air like a bass that you had just jerked out off the water, played a part in the shenanigans. I didn't realize I had a picture of the ex-Buchanan Hippo Tab, which is actually the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab, which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab(originally on a Kelly-Springfield truck chassis) which was neither. Yes, the ex-Buchanan Seal Den which is similar to the wagon Cole used to haul a hippo before making it a pigsty and the ex-Robinson hippo den which wasn't used to house pigs also sent by Bobby instead of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab, which I requested which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab which wasn't, which was actually the ex-Buchanan Hippo Den, which I didn't realize I had a picture of so wouldn't have had to request a copy of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab which wasn't the ex Buchanan Hippo Den or the US Motorized Hippo Tab like I thought it was and receive a ex-Buchanan Seal Den and an ex-Robinson hippo den because I already had a picture of the Cole/Robbins Hippo Tab which wasn't instead it was the ex-Buchanan Hippo Den which I thought was the US Motorized Hippo Tab, which wasn't and as far as I know never housed pigs, did cause some confusion. I hope I got that right, as I intend on going back to Boo City to see something that carried hippos and not pigs. :) All due respect, you gentlemen have to play easy with me. I am a mere amateur, and no where near the circus history league any of you are in. You folks are batting them out of Miller Park and Turner Field and I am still playing T Ball here.
Wade
Posts
Incidentally, this photo is from 1939, the only year the Statue Corner Tab was painted red while on Cole Bros.
FLINT
Gosh, it seems some of the most beautiful of these wagons have been lost forever, and we are left with that Arthur Bros. nonsense. :) Cage/animal wagons, naturally are among my favorites. When I first read your comment, I got excited at the word "hippo" and thinking "hippo den/wagon quick clicked on the picture. It didn't look like the traditional "hippo den" with the dropped bottom water pool. I reread your comment and realized "hippo tab." Why "hippo" tab? Is that a hippo in the upper left? I can't quite make it out. Or was there a hippo carved somewhere else on the body?
Wade