A small crowd gathered Monday morning at Bruce Ream Memorial Park in Hampshire to watch a tent raising for the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus show that would be held that night.
The circus from Hugo, Oklahoma, was sponsored by the Hampshire Lions Club.
“It’s nice to bring the circus to town,” said Hampshire Lions member Jeff Brown, who served as the club’s circus chairman.
Leo Acton, a graduate of Ringling Brothers Clown College in 1996, has been with Culpepper & Merriweather since 2014. He acted as the tour guide during the tent raising.
“I am a clown in the circus,” he said. “Everyone in the circus has more than one job.”
Unlike the 1941 animated Walt Disney movie “Dumbo,” the tent was not raised by elephants. It was put up by nine men and a Bobcat.
“The big top is five years old,” said Acton. “We’re looking to replace it next year. A big top alone costs $50,000. The center pole is 30 feet tall.”
Acton said Culpepper & Merriweather has 30 members who hail from the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Francis, a 500-pound African lion, and Solomon and Delilah, two Golden Tabby Tigers, all came from a zoo in Texas that was shutting down. Acton said the big cats perform with the circus for 32 weeks every year and then spend the winter in an animal sanctuary in Oklahoma where they can mingle with other big cats.
“Golden Tabby Tigers are exceptionally rare and do not survive naturally in the wild because they don’t blend in with the surroundings,” Acton said. “Our circus has a 30-foot steel diameter cage. We let the big cats run around inside the cage before the show so they can make it their property.”
Francis, Solomon and Delilah are not the only rescue animals at the circus. Acton said the six American Eskimo dogs that perform under the big top are all rescue dogs.
Miss Paulina conducts a liberty act where horses get their cues from verbal and visual commands instead of from riders. Acton said that having a big and little horse perform together shows the prowess of the trainer. The horse act featured Wyatt, a mix of Shire and Friesian that stands over 17 hands tall, and a much smaller horse known as Jasmine.
One of the area residents who attended the tent raising in Hampshire was Ed Wesemann. He brought articles about the circus that he handed to Acton.
Wesemann, 90, once served as the secretary/treasurer of the local chapter of Circus Fans Association of America. He became a member in 1964.
“We supported the circus,” Wesemann said. “We brought coffee and donuts for circus members.”
Two shows were planned for Monday night. Due to the lightning storm that rolled in, the 5 p.m. show was canceled. Tickets for the first show were honored at the 7:30 p.m. show.
Carol Gerhardt of Hampshire came to the circus with her daughter-in-law, Jill, and four grandchildren: Grace, Ben, Audrey and Ella.
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Hampshire resident Diane Kalla enjoyed watching the circus with her granddaughters, Reagan and Georgia, from Wisconsin.
“We are really happy that people braved the weather and came out to watch the circus,” said Hampshire Lions Club member Curt Kramer.
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.