A blog about living in Aberdeen, New Jersey.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

History: Wheeler & Almond Circus (1933)


The Wheeler and Almond Circus was due to perform in Matawan Township on the vacant lot across from the Oak Shades Fire House on Friday 21 Jul 1933, according to the 14 Jul 1933 edition of The Matawan Journal. A portion of the 25 cent admission price would benefit Matawan Township Hose and Chemical Company No 1. Performances were to be at 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm.

Al F Wheeler and Jethro Almond were the owners of this circus.

The Circus Historical Society has the March-April 1959 edition of Bandwagon (Vol 3 No 2) posted online. Included is a biography of Jethro Almond as well as a photograph of the Wheeler and Almond Circus when it performed in Hightstown in 1933. Not available online is Joseph T Bradbury history of the Wheeler and Almond circuses, which appeared in the September-October 1996 edition (Vol 40 No 5 pp 11-18 - Wheeler & Sautelle Circus 1931-32) and the May-June 1997 edition (Vol 41 No 3 pp 4-13 - Wheeler & Almond Circus 1933-35)

They hired the aerialists team "The Silverlakes" on 15 Jul 1933, according to a detailed history of the Timberlakes and Silverlakes at darrenruby.com.

The Houston Library has an image of a circus poster from 1935 showing the circus' "iron jaw" tightrope act.

The Milner Libary at the University of Illinois has an undated circus poster featuring a dozen images of roaring lions.

Emory University has the following items in their collection:
  • Wheeler and Almond Circus (Box 22 Folder 29)
  • Jethro Almond (Box 23 Folder 6)
  • Almond and Conley 3-Ring Circus (Box 9 Folder 5)
  • Downie and Wheeler's World's Best Shows Combined (Box 12 Folder 1)
  • Al F Wheeler's New Model Shows/ Wheeler Brothers (Box 22 Folder 28)
Jethro Almond's obituary appeared in the 26 Oct 1959 edition of The Billboard (pg 55, col 3).

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