1914-07-21gao

“Hamilton is to have another big week of fun and frolic, beginning Monday, July 20, when the Joseph Ferari Greater Exposition comes to Hamilton.”

Hamilton Times.  July 11, 1914

A circus was coming to Hamilton, as announced in the local press on July 11, 1914. Not just any circus, not another of the second-rate shows which occasionally had passed through the city over the years.

The Ferai Exposition was to be brought to Hamilton under the auspices of the Theatrical Mechanic Employees’ Association and as boasted in the Times, “the promoters promise Hamilton the best week of clean and wholesome fun that it has had this season.”¹

¹ “Ferari Shows : Will Furnish a Week of Solid Fun and Frolic.”

Hamilton Times.   July 11, 1914.

Three days later, the Times provided its readers with more details about the upcoming Ferari Shows:

“The people of Hamilton will be given something out of the ordinary in the way of clean productions and well-lighted amusement palaces.

“At a cost of $35,000, the Ferari Shows have been newly equipped, everything repainted and regilded and many of the world’s leading artists procured.”¹

¹ “Ferari Shows : Will Open on Barton Street Grounds Next Monday”

Hamilton Times.   June 14, 1914

In anticipation of the Ferari circus coming to Hamilton, many things had to be put in place :

“Manager Dobyns arrived yesterday to make the necessary arrangements for the reception of the show. During yesterday afternoon, Mr. Dobyns visited the circus grounds, Barton street east, and arranged for the erection of a number of poles, the stringing of many wires and for the equivalent of 2,000 sixteen-candle-power globes and 16 arc lights, the plan of lighting being designed to make the Ferari exposition as bright as day.”¹

The amount of lighting to be put in place for the Ferari Shows was an important symbol that the upcoming shows would not be like many of the disreputable circuses which had come to Hamilton in the past:

“It is a show built on an extraordinary high basis for entertainment purposes, is cleanly conducted and will have no features of any kind to which the public can take exceptions.”¹

The Ferari show, it was noted “has been one of the leading attractions at Coney Island, the world’s playground, for many years past”:

“The Ferari trained animals, dogs, ponies, monkeys, lions, tigers, leopards and jaguars, are declared to be almost human in their respective portrayals of intelligence.

“The freaks of nature with the show are also of the highest type.

“The Ferari Exposition company carries its own Parisienne orchestrians and an Italian band, both of which furnish music, afternoon and evening.”¹

On July 18, 1914, the Hamilton Times announced that Ferari Greater Exposition “with its glittering wagons of red, green and gold, its big wild animal show and a score of novel amusement enterprises and riding devices, will arrive in Hamilton from Buffalo late tomorrow and before the break of dawn on Monday the work of pitching the tented city on the circus grounds, Barton street east, will be underway.”²

² “Ferari Shows : Big Exposition Arrives Here Sunday and Opens Monday”

Hamilton Times.   July 18, 1914.

Joseph G. Ferari, the head of the enterprise, was himself a circus performer, his specialty being a tamer and breeder of wild animals. Ferari and Captian Wilson, would share duties in supervising the animals of the show while in Hamilton.

One big cat in particular would be the subject of intense scrutiny:

“Interest centers large in Nero, the man-killing lion, who just last month added another victim to his list when he killed one of his trainers, Captain Cardona, at Binghamton, in the presence of hundreds of people.”²

After listing a number of the attractions to be provided at the Ferari show, the Times promised readers that “the grounds will be a blaze of light on Monday night, and the street railway company is arranging a rapid service.”²

Finally, Monday July 20, 1914 arrived. A Times reporter was sent to the site of the circus to provide readers with a sense of the intense activity taking place to set up everything for the first day of the Ferari shows’ run in Hamilton:

“There was a busy scene early this morning on the circus grounds, Barton street east, when the large staff of workmen began erecting the tents and amusement palaces in preparation for the grand opening tonight.

“The show looks all that was claimed for it in advance. The equipment is new and there were order and neatness about the grounds this morning that bear out the company’s assurance that there will be nothing objectionable in any part of the exposition.

“Thousands of incandescent lights have been strung and the grounds will be a blaze of brilliance when the fun festival opens tonight.”²

Opening night at the Ferari  show received positive reviews in both the Hamilton Times and the Hamilton Spectator.

The Spectator reporter was laudatory in his opinion of the hugely-attended first night of the circus:

“All that the advance notices claimed for the show is shown and a little bit more. There is the usual life and fun that goes with every carnival and the attractions are all above average in the matter of quality.”³

³ “Fine Amusement : Opening of T.M.A.’s Fun Festival a Big Success”

Hamilton Spectator.   July 21, 1914.

The Ferari Show involved a number of different places for Hamiltonians to visit when on the grounds, most required a paid admission, but some were free. Attractions, notably the animals performances within the big tents required tickets, as did the girl shows, the races in the motordom, and others. Rides on the big Ferris Wheel or on the merry-go-ground were affordable for most.

For those without much money to spare, there was a midway where music from a magnificent organ could be heard, plus some live comedy performances. In the afternoon and at the end of the evening, stuntman Lefty Rochette would thrill the crowd by diving from a platform 110 feet high, into a tank of water only six feet deep.

The midway was very popular, according to the Times reporter :

“Neatly lined up on the east and west sides of a central driveway, which opens on Barton street from Scott Park, there were lined last night booths of every description, where seekers of pleasure and goo things in general might purchase ice cream cones, sugar stick candies, take pops at Aunt Sallies, shoot at swimming ducks and galloping steeds and play at hoop-la, and for each and everyone there was awaiting a gaudy gew-gaw as a prize.”⁴

⁴ “Ferari’s Shows Are High Class : Opened Last Night and Pleased an Exceptionally Large Crowd : Management Promises Good Entertainment All Week”

Hamilton Times.  July 21, 1914. Of the performances requiring paid admissions, the large animals predominated:

“The main show is the animal performance in which trainers perform wonderful feats with denizens of the forest.

“Princess Anita is the first to enter the wild beasts’ cag, and, as with fearless mien, she stepped into the cage last night and took her life once again in her hands, she was heartily applauded for her bravery and splendid appearance.

“She sternly commanded the leopards and jaguars, which were under her charge, to do various stunts, such as standing in pyramid form and on stools and tables.

“The animals, though by no means tame, but rather enraged at the treatment accorded them instead of being free to wander unfettered around their native lands, know that they had met one who was their mistress, and they were forced to comply with her requests.”⁴

In addition to the large cats, the show included trained dog, monkeys and a particularly intelligent pony:

“Especially clever was an educated pony which answered the questions put to him by his trainer. He told the time, pointed out to the audience the girl among the audience who was most deeply in love, told the number of her beaux, much to her embarrassment, and finally pointed out the man who preferred a hogshead of beer on a Sunday to going to church.”⁴

A sideshow which also required a paid ticket to see was the show where people could gaze at some very unusual people:

“There was Minnie Ha-Ha, the member of the Australian bush races, which are now almost extinct, and which gave to Darwin one of his greatest arguments in favor of the doctrine of evolution.

“There was the thirty-inch lady, with her son of the same height, she being 29 years of age and weighing 30 pounds and he being 17 years of age and weighing twenty-five pounds.

“There was Captain George who stands 7 feet 3 inches, takes an eighteen-size boot and weighs 315 pounds.

“There was the lady who is now unassailable to the influence of electricity through being struck by lightning when she was ten years old and could carry a charge of this powerful juice that she could light an oil lamp with a pen knife or a bunch of keys besides performing other marvelous feats.”⁴

The Times reporter eventually ran of steam, and copy room, to describe all the attractions at the Ferari show:

“There were other side shows of the same high quality and anyone desirous of passing an entertaining evening should not fail to take in Ferari’s Show on at least one occasion during the remaining nine days on which they will perform here.

“The show is clean in every phase, is well-arranged and the employees are the essence of courtesy and willing to give any information which is desired by the patrons.

“There is no indication of anything that savors of what is not absolutely presentable to the most critical of audiences and there is heard from none of the employees any language which is not permitted in the best of society.”⁴