The Circus Blog

Posted By thecircusblog on July 5, 2012

It wasn’t until around the age of 16 that I first met my uncle Bum, though I certainly knew of him through conversations with my Dad and all my other uncles. Bum was the oldest of all the Henry boys and had settled himself into the mid southwest, Texas after my grandfather took Henry Bros Circus off the road in 1942 and retired in El Monte where he had his winter quarters.

That did not hold back the other Henry boys. They would take the show out for a few weeks and play towns in southern Calif. The war now was in full swing and all of the Henry’s were making more money on their own than with the circus. Work was plentiful thanks to USO shows, variety theater, military shows and so on.

But my grandfather’s death in late 1945 shook the family up. The brothers scattered with the exception of my family, we stayed in El Monte. And Robert “Hap” Henry lived with his family in San Fernando,Calif. From that time on, the only time we saw the rest of the family was when they were passing through.

In the mid 1950’s Todd Henry was living in Phoenix, AZ. He called my Dad at our home in El Monte and said lets take out a show. It seemed like a good time for it. The next thing I know Todd and Dad were sitting in the livingroom of our home making plans. No canvas, no midway, no menagerie and only indoor spots… maybe a ball park or two and we might make it. Todd said he spoke with Jack Poster and all he had to do was give him the word and he would start booking the show. Dad looked over, nodding his head saying, “If we keep it tight and hire good acts to go with ours, I see no problems.”  He thought it would be a good idea to call Bum. Dad already spoke with his other brothers Glen, Hap, and Max who was like a brother. They all had their seasons confirmed.

Two weeks later we were on our way. The first spot was St. Louis, Mo. The plan was to open the show back east and work our way west. Jack Poster had no trouble finding sponsors for the show and those he had booked were solid. On our trip back east we stopped off in Gainesville, Texas, where Bum lived.There were other members of the Henry clan that lived there too. So for me, I was pretty excited about a family get together.

After a few days traveling we arrived in Gainesville at Bum’s place. The first thing on the agenda was to take care of all the animals. Unloading , staking out, then a picket line, then watering. When the work was done I walked toward Bum’s front porch. My Dad was standing looking my way. While walking toward him I yelled, “Hey Pop why did you change your clothes?” The answer back was, “I am not your Pop and I didn’t change my clothes.”

It was Bum. I could not believe my eyes, he looked just like my Dad! The resemblance was amazing. They might have been twins if there was not such an age difference. Bum was the oldest of the Henry brothers, my father the youngest. Bum look at me and smiled, “Well I hear you’re an animal man and doing a good job at it too.”

I was impressed with his old school circus knowledge and stories, When our conversation started there on the porch I wanted to hear more of the old days of Henry Bros Circus. My uncle Bum sat down and I listened to litany about J.E. Henry circus and their friendly competition, which no longer exists these days. There were even a few stories about my father when he was a youngster.

In the short time that we were together I grew to care for and respect him for his honesty and kind demeanor. I learned so much about the Henry family and their wisdom. One important nugget being that there is an eleventh commandment  that is, “Thou shalt not disgrace the arena or stage.”

Arthur”Bum”Henry was one of the greats in our business, not because he was a Henry but because he was a showman.

We stayed in Gainesville for a few more days visiting. Bum told Dad and Todd that he would love to join the show, but that he didn’t want hit the road hard anymore. He said he wanted to take things easy and just work here and there. “I’ve become a 40-miler.” Besides that, he had a part time job in town that paid good money. “All in all boys I am doing pretty good.”

With that, we were off to Missouri. We opened the show, things went OK but we made little money. Luckily we were heading west. The crowds dwindled for one reason or another and after 8 weeks, Dad and Todd said lets get out with money in our jeans while we can. I never got a chance to see Bum again the opportunity was not there. Years later Bum’s death was disheartening to me… now I write this little story.

A foot note: Dad and Todd did not name the circus after themselves, Henry Bros. Instead they called it “The Big Donaker Bros Show.

Thank you for your kind comment Randy.

Todd Walters has made a comment. Thank you.

Leave it up to John Herriott to make a interesting comment,of which I always learn something new.

Pete thank you for your kind comment.

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