Buckles blog yesterday
I was on Ringling Bros on the day of the incident in question. I knew Axel for 7 years and he was a great friend. Our families shared the same door off the train as our cars were connected to each other. And I was standing there the day his wife heard the news. But the below story is the one every one for some reason is sticking with retelling. There were 3 people in Florida that fateful morning, and 2 are dead, and 1 will take his tale to the grave. Don't ask because I will never discuss it, but I will dispute the start of Axels trip to Florida and the end when the news was relayed. I will just keep reminding people that they are wrong, and you can see they don't want the story changed.
I will reiterate once again, that's not the way I remember it and I was in Ashville and talked with Axel 30 minutes before he left for Williston. As this subject has been discussed in the past on you blog, I will let it go at that. But I will continue to repeat, that is not the way I recall it was.
Wade Burck
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Readers of this blog can ponder this. Axel was in charge of the Ringling Blue show elephants, and had been for over 25 years. What are the chances he is going to leave the elephants unsupervised, in the hands of his two son's and assistant and grooms and leave on a "quick trip" to Florida, without telling them or his wife. He told me the night before, and I was just the tiger trainer. I drove up to our train car at the moment the manager told his wife about it
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My guess this would be 1992.
First year for the Russian style cossack ring curb, and sadly, the last year for Axel Gautier.
14 May, 2008 08:32
You can tell by the design on the ring curb this was the 1992/ 122nd edition that featured the Mongolian's, also I think shortly after this edition the workers started wearing all black jumpsuits,I personall always like the Blue and Red jumpsuits (depending on which unit) with the RBBB on the bacl. Growing up as a kid I wanted one for myself but was unsuccesful in my quest.
14 May, 2008 11:52
Brandon,
It would be 92 or 93 unless we can identify the building. When they set up that ring curb, with the sloped sides, that when Gunther and I realized we could not use the old tiger pedestals with 4 legs. We had to redesign new ones, that attached to the edge of the ring curb with short legs and longer legs in front. As we only had 2 weeks before the opening, Hagenbeck-Wallace got right on it, and had a complete new set of props built including pyramid in 10 day. Unfortunately the put the legs on the long side of the seats and the seats were side ways. Graham Chipperfied used them later for his lions.
Wade Burck
14 May, 2008 14:41
I was showing at Cunningham Park in Queens with Big Apple Circus on May 5th, 1993 when I received the phone call from Ted that Axel had died at his place in Williston earlier in the day.
The following year while with the Blue Show, the manager Mike Melson told me that on that day in Asheville, NC he received a frantic call telling him that Axel had just died in a Hospital in Gainesville, FL and he answered "Impossible, he is here on the show with me, I just saw him!"
Incredibly, Dick Houck had arrived on the lot early that morning with the purpose of taking Axel to Florida to check out the Williston facility explaining that they could fly down and be back in plenty of time for the night show. So he and Axel took off without saying a word to anyone.
After verifying matters and a considerable search, Mike broke the news to Donna at a nearby Mall.
14 May, 2008 15:32