Who trained the Powers Elephants?

From the "history channel"
Jan. 20, 2010

I am researching George O'Brien (professionally known as George Power or George Powers), of Power's Dancing Elephant fame during the first half of the 20th century.
George's parents were Jeanette Lush O'Brien and John O'Brien.
John O'Brien was a famous horse trainer for the circuses of the time.
Jennie O'Brien was a high school equestrienne with the circus, and her husband trained her mounts.
After John's death in Baraboo in 1902, Jeanette (Jennie) O'Brien later married W.W. (Bill) Power, the elephant trainer, and young George learned the elephants from his stepfather.
George Power became famous for training the elephants to do amazing skits such as a mock baseball game, a war battle scene, a barbershop scene, bowling, and the waltz, two-step, Charleston, foxtrot, and hula dances.
Power's Elephants were at the New York Hippodrome from 1905-1922; in vaudeville from 1923-1926; in Europe with Bertram Mills Circus from 1926-1937; returned to the States in 1937; and worked fairs and circuses until George Power grew ill and the surviving elephants were sold in 1942.

I have done a lot of research on the Power family and the elephants. The mystery I am working on at the moment is:
What became of George Power's first wife and their child?
The wife may have been named Catherine, and the daughter may have been named Jeanette.
I have been deep into the old newspaper archives and Ancestry.com, but the trail grows cold on them after 1922.
I am told that the wife left George and took the child with her.
George later married Liselotte (the woman in the photo). They had not children together.
If anyone has any clues to the names of the first wife and child, and where they may have lived over the years, this would help me to continue my research.

Any other info on the Power family is also greatly appreciated, especially Bill Power's early years, and how he came to be in the circus business after being an innkeeper in Canada.

Here is a very informative newspaper article, from the year 1950, about Power's Elephants.


Famed Elephants Just Marchers Now

by Frank Tripp

May 21, 1950

The “queen” of America's greatest elephant act of four decades ago was reminiscing, and it had to be about elephants. Jeanne Power is in retirement now, after 40 years of intimate association with elephants, and owner of the best.

"Elephants are much like people," she declares. "They are not treacherous. They do have moods; they pout, they are jealous of one another. They are inquisitive and their old trunk is forever is mischief, like the hands of an active child. They will snoop, pull down lights, open water faucets and undo each other's chains, as children might, but that does not make them bad.

"Elephants are like goats too," she chuckled. "They will eat clothing, blankets and all manner of things. Our Roxie once sneaked, chewed and swallowed a quart jar of jam, the crushed glass and all. We gave her up for lost but she lived for many years. Our Jennie ate a bushel of coal, and another time gulped down a whole barrel of road oil. She was weeks recovering, suffered terrible agony and lost several hundred pounds. She's still alive, and 86.'"

Power's Elephants are the ones of which I wrote a recent story. In it I made two statements which Mrs. Power corrects. Ringlings never owned these elephants, and I could not have met the sole survivor on a Syracuse street because two of the originals are still living, on the west coast, she reveals.

When Luna Park's founders, Thompson and Dundy, opened the massive New York Hippodrome in 1905, elephants were at once indicated as a must feature of their colossal extravaganza. They engaged one William Walter Power, proud peer of Pachydermists, as their elephant impresario.

William, hereafter called "Bill," one of my show-days convivial pals, left the Walter L. Main circus, bought its four biggest and best elephants and took them with him to the Hippodrome, hereafter called "The Hip." His was the first American elephant act to appear on an indoor stage. Power's Elephants; vast ensembles of circus thrillers; Marceline, the clown; Annette Kellerman; a block-long under-stage lake of water into into which a gorgeous ballet danced down an incline, disappearing as if into eternity; were many-year magnets which repeatedly attracted 20 million thrill seekers. Power's Elephants became The Hip's forefront symbol of bigness.

At The Hip, Bill met a dashing young widow, Jeanne Lush O'Brien, a Brooklyn girl who was of the show. She had a young son, George. Bill married her and to them came another son, Tom. Bill, Jeanne, George and Tom and four knowing elephants, Lena, Jennie, Ada and Lou, were destined to approach worldwide fame. Julia and Roxie later replaced Ada and Lou — and George replaced good old Bill.

When Bill died in 1920, Jeanne carried on. George took Bill's last name, and long before Bill's death had become a greater trainer than his stepfather. It was George who taught Jeanne's elephants to play baseball, bowl, to waltz, two-step and do the Charleston. George taught them stunts of which Bill had never dreamed.

The story of Power's Dancing Elephants stands way but front in the saga of elephant wisdom. For two score years they entertained two continents. They played year 'round in theaters, circuses, fairs and bull rings at weekly salaries of $1,500 and $2,000. They yearly earned more than the president, and in their careers as much as Man ‘O War. They went to Europe in 1926 and remained eleven years, in England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Sweden and Denmark.

And now, Jeanne Power, great grandmother of twelve children, lives above the Hudson's Palisades with her cherished memories of the circus and theater; which go back to her girlhood, when she was a lithe equestrienne and rode for Barnum and Bailey on their European tour of 1897. Of her original elephants, Lena and Jennie still live. Ada and Lou died first of pneumonia. Roxie, a replacement, lived to be almost 100. Lena, 93 and Jennie, 86, with Julia, a youngster of 67, are the three with which Jeanne Power parted in 1944—with broken heart.

It meant the end of her exciting life. Her son George, whose sickness forced the parting, is at Will Rogers Memorial Hospital. Tom is in the army. Time, and three world-famed elephants march on.

March is the right word, for they do not dance any more. Without George, they only march and maybe their hearts are breaking too. "They are just herded circus elephants now. I cried when I saw them," Jeanne Power said to me. Then she smiled, as show folks must and added, "but they looked well fed."

If you have any information on Power’s Elephants or the Power family, please contact Melani Carty at cartychronicles@mac.com

From Yankee Clipper
March 19,1910

  Robert Orville Tyler, twenty-six years old, an elephant trainer, cut his throat last Thursday night, March 10, at his home, 254 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York City, just before guests arrived to have dinner with him, and died at Bellevue Hospital, Saturday, 12. Tyler had just returned from a trip on the road with his elephant, "Imogene," with "The Circus Man." His wife Leila Romber Tyler had invited about a dozen friends to dinner Thursday night, as a sort of welcome home party. He immediately went to his room and and cut his throat, severing the jugular vein. No reason was assigned for the act. Tyler started as an elephant trainer with Walter L. Main. He was later employed by Cummins' Wild West Show, and is well remembered as the trainer of Powers' elephants, which act was under his training when it appeared at the ___, Boston and New York Hippodrome. For awhile he had charge of the Luna Park elephants at Coney Island. Last July he took up the training of "Imogene" for her part in "The Circus Man." He worked hard and successfully with her, but his labors left his nerves broken. His wife is well known in musical comedy and dramatic lines of work. Tyler was a member of the Theatrical Mechanics' Association ___, and belonged to the Actor's Fund. . .

Ghost Aquarium--Alcan Aquarium and Dolphin Pavilion

From  Coolopolis:

The History of Dolphins in Montreal

So why does Montreal have no big aquarium where people can swim with dolphins, as they do in other cities?

Here's a splishy-splashy deconstruction of the watery history of such local establishments.

The Montreal Aquarium, also known as the Alcan Aquarium was built on St. Helen's Island for Expo 67, it was run by New Yorker Joseph Geraci.

After Expo, Drapeau didn't much care about the city aquarium. Much of top brass quit in 1975 as and the city didn't replace them. It hit the skids.

On 12 February 1980 the blue collar workers went on strike. The six people who took care of the dolphins refused to feed the lovable rascals. On May 21, 1980 Brigitte, 20, died of starvation and dehydration. She was three months pregnant.

A few hours earlier Fanny, another star dolphin attraction died in a similar fashion as did Judith. 

Aquarium management had tried on four occasions (17 January, 7, 14 February and 4 March) to demand the City of Montreal intervene and save the dolphins. The help came too late.

Geraci told La Presse at the time, "The animals were in their natural habitat. When we bring them into captivity the least we can do is to take care of them. It's a shame to let them die of hunger. I've never seen people who take care of animals going on strike and allowing them to die of hunger at their cost. What they need is affection and devotion."

The three surviving dolphins, Pierrot, Kim and Carole were brought in flying hammocks to the Flipper Sea School in Miami. There was no more talk of dolphins in Montreal for a long time.

The Montreal Aquarium was doomed in 1988 when the gov't hired François Doumenge from Paris, Theodore Reed from Washington, Greg Tarry from Calgary and Lorne Rendor from Toronto to analyze some of our facilities.

Their report slammed our beloved aquarium. It criticized the location on St. Helen Island and complained that there wasn't enough educational angle or research being done there.

On 30 September 1988 the federal government vowed to give $100 million to move the aquarium to a new facility at the Old Port.The plan included the building of a science museum and a marine museum and a the transfer of the train museum from St. Constant, as well as the aquarium. A new marina, a 120 hotel room hotel and 1,200 apartment or condo units would also be built. They wanted $250 mil from the private sector, $130 from the feds for this $480 mil project. They were anxious to get it done before 1992, the 350 th birthday of Montreal. It never happened, 1987 were bubbly times of optimism but by 1992 the city was mired in a major recession.

In August 1989 authorities announced that the Velodrome would become a zoo, with an aquarium, known as the Biodome. They were planning to pop big mammals in there, such as three beluga whales. But in July 1990 an international symposium in Geneva denounced the usage of such prisons for whales and dolphins.

So then on 15 September 91 the Montreal aquarium closed. Most of the fish were brought to the Biodome, but officials killed four sharks, one by banging it on the head with a sledgehammer.

Others have since wanted to build another aquarium. In June 2000, Canadian billionaire Jim Pattison, of the Ripley's Aquarium again announced that it would build a 100,000 square foot aquarium with $90 mil of its own money in the Old Port. They denied that it would undermine the Biodome because, as one of their officials cattily put it, unlike the Biodome, they'd have tens of thousands of fish.

Then in January 2001, the Granby Zoo promised a $50 million aquarium in Montreal either near the Biodome, St. Helen's Island or the Old Port. Granby Zoo's boss, Bernard Ricard claimed that three American companies were seeking to build an aquarium in Montreal, "why let the Americans do it?" he asked reporters. He then shifted his intentions of building the Delphinarium to Granby. Of course this never got built.

The usual animal rights/welfare types jumped in to denounce the cruelty of keeping such fish well-fed in safe waters. In July 2001 SPCA's Pierre Barnoti denounced the idea of swimming with dolphins as cruel. (One could argue that it's cruel to deny people the chance to swim with dolphins as well, but who cares about people these days?) He also suggested that it would be unhygienic to allow people to swim in waters that dolphins had pooping and peed in. (Dolphin diapers anyone?) Zoocheck Canada, whatever that is, said something similar and they continue to denounce the other places where dolphins swim in captivity in Canada, like Marineland and the Vancouver Aquarium.


 

Alcan Aquarium and Dolphin Pool Pavilion

A fascinating variety of marine life is revealed in the Alcan Pavilion and the Alcan Dolphin Pool which together form the Montreal Aquarium. The buildings, located only a few steps from La Ronde station of the Expo-Express, are harmoniously set in the Amusement Area of the Ile Sainte-Hélèn on the banks of Dolphin Lake.
These structures are two of the few buildings on the site which will remain open after Expo 67 closes. The Aluminum Company of Canada., principal subsidiary of Alcan Aluminum Ltd., built the project as a joint and permanent venture with the City of Montreal.
Immediately upon entering the Alcan Pavilion the visitor faces a colony of penguins in Antarctic conditions. The next spectacle is one of the most outstanding collections of salt water and fresh water life in North America. There are minute fish weighing less than one ounce and others ranging up to enormous 350 pound groupers. The south-sea coral reef exhibit is bathed in a fairyland of color.
The Alcan Dolphin Pool features a troupe of trained dolphins performing acrobatic feats above and below the water.
Click here to see a model to scale of the Alcan Aquarium.
Click here to see a map of the Alcan Aquarium and Dolphin pool floor plan.
Click here to see a photo of the construction of the Alcan Aquarium and Dolphin Pool.

Franklin Zoo Elephant Update

It could cost up to $1 million to get Mila the elephant to a Californian sanctuary, according to SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge.
But whether the animal will end up flying to the US or be put down has yet to be decided.
Zookeeper Helen Schofield was crushed to death by Mila at Franklin Zoo.

Ms Schofield had entered the enclosure in an effort to calm her down after Mila was seen acting erratically.
'Recall "acting erratically" was preceded by "throwing dust at the trainer....."

'And for all you fan's of the nitwit Jan Creamer ADI and her much elaborated "tazer demonstrations/theory's,' It then rushed toward Ms Schofield after reportedly brushing its tail on an electric fence.

 When she tried to run away, Ms Schofield tripped.(Or was she knocked down?)  She was picked up by Mila before being dropped and crushed.  'Crushed meaning "head stand" which is a deliberate, pre-meditated action.'

Mila’s fate is now up in the air as the SPCA decides whether to transport her to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in California, or put her down.
Mr Kerridge says the SPCA is currently in discussions with sanctuary officials, who say they will still take the elephant.
Founded in 1984 by former Hollywood animal trainer Pat Derby, PAWS describes itself as a sanctuary that is dedicated to protecting abused, abandoned and retired captive wildlife, as well as caring for former performing animals.
Mr Kerridge says the SPCA does not have experience in transporting large animals like Mila and will turn to specialists in determining what is best for the elephant.
“Experts will assess if she is ready, and if it is the right thing to do.”
Mr Kerridge says it was always in the long-terms plans to eventually send Mila to a sanctuary where she could live in a herd.

 Courtesy of Henry Schroer

Breaking Twist In The Toronto Elephant Saga. Who Beside Me Saw This Coming A Mile Away, After The Loss Of AZA Accreditation?

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti in China in 2010

The Toronto Zoo board and China have reached a deal to bring two pandas to Toronto.
They could cost as much as $20 million for the five years they will be here — not including all the bamboo shoots that they like to eat.

“It’s been an exciting ride for me,” said Toronto Zoo board member Giorgio Mammoliti. who has come under fire over the years for making expensive trips to China to negotiate the loan of the pandas.



TORONTO ELEPHANTS GET MORE SUPPORT

Concerned about the future health of Toronto’s elephants and the very existence of Toronto’s Zoo, Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti is urging the deal to send the pachyderms to a California sanctuary be thwarted.

The Ward 7 councillor and former Chair of the Toronto Zoo Board has written a letter Toronto Zoo CEO John Tracogna saying: “It is my belief, that we did not apply our due diligence and ensure that we receive all the appropriate information before a proper decision was made and the safety of the elephants should be at the heart of this discussion.”
He has asked for Tracogna to report back to the May 14 Executive Committee meeting with the answers to seven key questions.
“As we are working under a time restraint, your prompt attention and full cooperation towards this is appreciated,” said Mammoliti in his Thursday letter. “I am deeply disappointed that the Toronto Zoo has lost its accreditation status with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). I feel the need to intervene on a recent decision that was made to close down the elephant exhibit, having Thika, Toka, and Iringa relocated to the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in California.”

A decision was made to move the animals into retirement and there have been reports that legendary American game shot host Bob Barker would foot the $800,000 travel costs.
But Mammoliti wants to know if Barker owns “any shares, or have any interests” in the elephant sanctuary “and, were the necessary legal measures taken for our assurance?
He also asks “with the loss of the AZA accreditation, how will this affect the agreement to bring Chinese pandas to the Toronto Zoo?” and “if we cannot regain the accreditation with the AZA, how many more animals and programs that we are so proud of . . . be lost?”

The councillor also asks if “Bob Barker been asked to pay the $800,000.00 it will cost for us to redirect Thika, Toka, and Iringa from the PAWS sanctuary to an AZA accredited facility in the United States? If not, will he be asked?”
He wonders “has the Toronto Zoo received all health records from PAWS regarding the elephants in their collection and “did our experts visit not only the elephant site but all areas of the PAWS facility to ensure the safety and upkeep of the animals are to our satisfaction? Were we denied access to any area of the PAWS facility?”

Mammoliti also forwarded his letter to Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and to Mayor Rob Ford.
“The message I want to send Mr. Barker is that the price is wrong if it means our world class zoo does not get it’s accreditation back,” he said.
Mammoliti would prefer the elephants stay but if they must leave, he would like to see Barker pay for them to be sent to an accredited sanctuary so that they are safe and comfortable and so that Toronto keeps its world class status.

Board member, Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, said sending the elephants to PAWS “was the wrong decision” and “now, I just have to be certain we’re not sending them into something they’re going to get sick in and will shorten their life-span” since “because they’re not an accredited institution, they don’t really have any accountability.”
However Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, who led the charge to move them, said the elephants’ health and well-being is paramount.
She said all sides “except elephant trainers” agreed the elephants needed to be moved. “It’s unfortunate that our zoo staff have behaved the way they have,” she said. “I think it’s reprehensible and the smear campaign conducted on PAWS is absolutely appalling. It’s a black eye on the city of Toronto.”

But Mammoliti said the black eye will be if Toronto does not get the Chinese Pandas because of this.
Zookeepers and supporters also want their three beloved elephants to stay in Toronto if the zoo can spend money on facilities – or at the very least, sent them to an Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited facility.

On their Concerned Elephant Keepers Facebook page, keepers are slagging PAWS, especially after reported outbreaks of Tuberculosis among its Asian elephants.
“This is not a last ditch (effort), in fact information has been submitted to council and the zoo board now for the last four months,” a member of the group, said Thursday.
Another posting on the site condemned a Facebook update this week by Councillor Michelle Berardinetti – who led council in the elephant vote – applauding the PAWS Sanctuary and giving background on the issue.
“You did not even visit the Toronto Zoo elephants or talk to any of their caregivers before you attacked the level of care that these elephants receive,” a poster named Joe Swanson said.
“There is TB at PAWS. It is very concerning and offensive that you will publicly deceive the people of Toronto that there is no risk to our elephants.”

Berardinetti reiterated the elephants’ health and well-being was the paramount issue. She said all sides “except elephant trainers” agreed the elephants needed to be moved.
“It’s unfortunate that our zoo staff have behaved the way they have,” she said. “I think it’s reprehensible and the smear campaign conducted on PAWS is absolutely appalling. It’s a black eye on the city of Toronto.”
Zoocheck Canada – who pushed for the transfer to PAWS – said the zookeepers are trying to create a “smoke and mirrors” situation to keep their jobs, which could be lost once the elephants depart.
“There are no elephants that are living at PAWS that have tested positive for Tuberculosis,” Zoocheck campaigns director Julie Woodyer said Thursday.

“There’s a certain segment of people who trying to use this to cast doubt. Some (zookeepers) still want to keep the elephants even though we can’t provide proper accommodation for them here.”
Some of the animals at PAWS came from facilities where they may have been exposed to animals that had TB, but those animals were quarantined in a separate place, far away from ours, Woodyer added.
The leading cause of deaths in elephants is foot infections, which is what Iringa is suffering from and she’s in far more risk if she stays here or goes to another zoo, she said.
Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, who sits on the zoo board, said she believes council flubbed in sending the elephants to PAWS.

“I think it was the wrong decision,” she said. “But there’s nothing you can do at this point.”
“Now, I just have to be certain we’re not sending them into something they’re going to get sick in and will shorten their lifespan,” Lindsay Luby added. “Because they’re not an accredited institution, they don’t really have any accountability.”
CUPE Local 1600, the union representing the nine Toronto Zoo elephant keepers, also voiced concerns about the rumours of TB at PAWS.
PAWS has hired a Canadian lawyer to help with the export and import of the elephants into the U.S., Lindsay Luby said, and the zoo is currently getting the animals’ health records ready.
The elephant enclosure now has three large crates on site to prepare and train the big three for the big move.

Story courtesy of Toby Styles.  Picture of  Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti added by me.


'The "Tuberculosis horse" has been ridden hard and furious, whipped into a sweat of late.   Elephant Tuberculosis and it's seriousness/transmissibility is one of the hardest issue's in the animal world for me to fully comprehend and understand.   Probably, because it seems it's importance is solely dependent on whether the animals are being gifted or seized.  If anyone can fully help me understand Elephant Tuberculosis and it's health impact please, be my guest.'