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jursday, ^^ch'3t, i&8 torn Sawdust To Kilowatts i' J', fee .I 1 «*2 -.*, «. k -^ ,*. ._...< . .. * Wi%«Si^i H ¥itfirbKii |. P. Gallagher, Former Local s Resident, Once Circus and Shaw [an of Widespread Fame ,11.11ml fi,„.t *n..i«.j..-.j. jTmi. ij!-. •mr.ryju, Many Other Famous Shaw Names, Including That of the Late Andrew Downie McPht*, Car- ried in Feature Article I At the suggestion of several of udders we are reprinting the llluwmg feature story, concern- It. the life of J. P. Gallagher, a frnii-. Medina resident, \Jto for Lenteen years was a ^Pdely noun circus and showman. The •ory was carried m the Sunday tagazme section of The Roches- Democrat St Chronicle. By M. V. Atwood No adequate study of the show- lug ever has been made either by Nomologists or biologists. 'Xts lite while not fatal, produces a tironic disease known as showit- from which one rarely recovers. Some attacks have terminated It the end of from 24 to 48 hours, Ime required to return home of- fer run away with the circus. But fnless such a prompt recovery* Is liade .there is little hope of a. omplete cure. Cases have bee« |nown of temporary recoveries, erhaps several, in a life-long run If the disease. But relapses of ah |ven more virulent nature are al- most certain. The habitat of the Insect also as changed down through the lecadus. For long .it was chiefly found in pastures of several acres iri extent^ong about dawn, as the big £anvas-shrouded wagons iUm- bled on t o the lot to end the long trek over dusty country roads from the circus' last stand. Now it IB said to breed quite as prolifi- cally >n the lush plush-carpeted aisles of the cinema cathedral and even in the ftiore tropic atmos- phere of the night club. The once hospitable ground of the vaude- ville stage produces it no more. The 'Whole literature of the shawbug .and 'showitis has no more,i-emark«bleT.case history than that,qf JH**, Gallagher,, who after a 17-year run^of th& malady > in- cluding various phases such as wagon, 'railroad and canal boat circus ownership, dramatic and mins'trel,, show\ management, and hypnotist „jrn\prp£arJo made a complete reedvery.\ .Perhaps re'cQjfeiy is hardly the word. It May be thftt even after 30 years or rnbre of the utility business,- without; a' single serious gesture toWard; bi£ top;, proscen- ium or silver screen\ shbwitis still lurks in latent,forta in the Galla- gher blood stream^ .Shd we. sus- ptc£ if one wanted detailed cli- mates Oh the cost of putting a fen-car circus on the road, the Gallagher figures would still be well Worth, getting, At the turn of the centuiy Me- dina was known as f ttMS home of two up ana coming showmen, An- drew Dowhie and J . P. Gallagher. DoWrtie went Oil to make circus history, a showman Until a few month* before hit; death in 1930, Gallagher quit abruptly. Mow did it happen? The an- swer is that Andrew tJQwnie Mc- PBee, toj, Use his full name, the Scotch part of which appeared in only a few of Ms many show ven* tures, bad married into the \pro* fession,\ while .Gallagher sue* ctimbea to the charms of a girl who couldn't see show business as quite the work for the man she'd married. No one can doubt, as he talks to Mr, Gallagher today, form still erect and hair dark and glossy, but with face, now minus those lux- uriant mustaches which adorned the medalions of his citcus litho graphs of tthe '90*s, that there are no regrets over the bargain he made. It, was an ideally happy marriage. | And when his compan- ion of many years died a few years ago,) among her keepsakes he found \ photographs, portiaits cut from show'bllls and other me- mentoes of \hjs circus days which, despite->he£< distaste for the life, she had cherished, \Yes safc Mr. Gallagher, the other day when in Rochester for a physical cneckup at Strong Me- morial Hospital, \Billy\ Warren, one of your 1 Rochesterians, and I are among the few left of tha REDDY KILOWATT AND HIS FRIENDS viw fit 11 TOT 1TT'' WHAT FOODS THESE MORSELS BE- THANK* TO ELECTRIC COOKING 1 c { w An Electric Range is tbt Keystone ©/ a>5-Star Kitchen, NIAGARA, IOCKPORT 4 OHTAMO *OWl* CO. NIAGARA !• HUDSON ( &+A. ft w ^h^^ «« W+jf4jft****W& srvsss Mighty Ha*g> Buffalo Bill, Mater Burke, Charles Lee, Bert Bowtts; Frank A. Robin*, all uw Robin- sons, Fred Darting, „ thW're *U gone About aU# thife old ttmferaPunie actually left in h*me*s site Wtl*, ter t. Main and Charles !toar*s> There was,never any dtftiht ** to wheie the, shawbug w<et bred which, hit ycuttg \Jj&le\ <J«ll«- gher. It w«i3 in Ihc big vacant Medina jot owned br tha pater- nal a«ltth«*r;thrtfty irUh Jawl* grant sboemike> l rwho augmented the family, iiwoma by ,l*a«iog ground for lhe uae of the five or six circuses, tnpat of them wagon shows, which Ivialted Medina each year in the.t70's i and 80*, the contracting .agentt for the shows who catne to,M^ina were escort- ed by Uie shoemaker to the butch- er, the baker, tW feed dtalerf w» ' ic neces- FACTS YOU NEVER KNEW!/1 make airangemetits fdr thi sary sUppUei. ,\ J. P, was ohly \2 years old when he suggested, that he might b able to do thte steering, and he^dL for a half, dozen years. In (hat time he stored away in his head and notebook a vast amount^ of circus khowjedge^-such details as how th,e agept talked, the amount; of hay, grain, meat and other sup- plies f<jr which he contracted, Now the Gallaghers were devpV cd Catholics, and J. P/s elder biothoi was destined for priest- hood. But. When he married, it was suggested that J. P. should go to the seiriinar^ Great Was the grief of his liothcr, \a deaf Utile French woman,\ when the young- ster said he knew he wasn't fitted for holy orders* and was going to be a circus man. He nearly yielded, recalls Mr. Gallagher, when tears came to jhis mother's eyes and he sensed the sorrow she was experiencing over his decision, \This was followed by thy graduation from St. Mnry'8 Acad- emy. And shortly after this, I went to New York City to talk with my cousin, Prank Gallagher, who was manager at the Hippo- drome. I might add that Henry, another cousin, held a like posi- tion With Cohen and Harris, im- portant theatrical producers of that day, while still another,- Geo. W„ was managing Sam T. Jack's Lille Clay's Colossal Goiety-^-yes, it was a burlesque, though not the sort of thing which has degraded the rtame in recent years. \Weil Frank offered mo a po- sition on his staff. But when I found my chief duties would be entertaining the gentlemen of the press, well, I decided not to take the job. I was never much of ff mixer. The result was I returned to Medina Where I organized fa semi-pro basebull team—I had been something of a player my- self until my pitching arm gave out. This was to be a team to ad- vertise Lewin Brothers Bohemian cigars—It's rather prophetic, isn'ii it, of radio sponsored by advortls-t era of today, \The baseball game was all right, but all the time lurking In my mlrtd—and I suppose coursing? In my blood—was the circus ideal I thought 1 had something as we. say today, iff the notes and exif perience I had gathered from tin circus agents I had steered arouni Medina. So tha following springl I was then about 16—I answered* i. fri»l A. Robin* Cir~ welVetf *b«r $icom( Wttnav .1 wiftU xememher h came to Bochester and eh; tars lor TJtica, In the saat ahead ofjme was a lar««>.»nd im^ bresdve*k»ki«ui gtntUmW yum tlowlng niousttache, a big diamond ttwaTfillte neckfle, atBml in » Albert' coa^ and hk Tmt Mdom«d%wi«»i unplug hat. W fchanged JBafts^at ytica^ as.I did, and took-the ttain^foif.Nfwport Where 1 ! wak-to join the show:; ? ' >Jrf KtWPM^, I found that: n^ traih.companion Was Gilts Pullv kanfhittiseltt H«iwa»;the Robin* chief press representative, ; ^ount^hiin, Jrou icon* well Nootam««id«B/ ha said kindly \We'll furnwt arou i «V«rytliint necessary except brains. ; Those yotf wltt WVe to supply youtsself,\ i rn. ouri advance wojk v(o used one buggy and two wagons. X w«s in charge of thrpepcrj You would proB«bl)r,caU it the 'lithograpld, g «ttrs and other advertising mat- W, i , ««l usamed » lot wores,bout m circus business that yeaiMts up* and its downs, its pleasaiit'nspectfc and those which wer^not so pleasant,' \luting tjie fp\l6Whll * wintcfr , Mr. Pullman purchnsad art inter*- est in the Hillard and Main Circus which was wintering in Chetopa, Kansas. The \Main\ of tho pniU nership .Was William Main, fn» thei of Walter L. Main, whose'clr* cus is still on the road. I was of* fercd a position in advance ot this show.. But tcroi»trtrltjr yielded to the < afont* er financial gam through opening a cigar factory in Medina. \But Mr.; Pullman hadn't for* gotten me and when at the *nd of the season he disposed of his in terest in the Hillard UUd Main show, he wired mo to nacqt hint at the Ecgle Hotel in BuHalG. A ready 1 had found that rolling cl gars was a pretty prosaic business compared ' with rolling over tl« countryside with the olrousi Noth ing came of Mr. Pullman's ot tempt to purchase the Irwin Bros. Railway Circus since it was so badly Involved financially that ho thought It too great a risk, \But while In Buffalo I had tho good (ortunc to meet Mr, und Mrs, Androw Downlo, both of thorn brilliant circus nrtlsts. They hod recently closed with tho Ringlln, y _ Downey and Manvlllo was the feo Show whore the flying return o? tured aerial act. \As a result of the meeting tho Downle and Gallagher Big City Circus was organized, a five-car railroad sh6w playing three-day and week stands. Tho opening In Greenville, Mich., was May 0, 1891, and wo had a successful sen- son. Here Mr. Gallagher smiled and produced a yellowed clipping. \I guess some of my friends In Me- dina thought it was pretty nervy for a youngster without capitat and with llttlo experience to em- bark on such an ambition* under- taking.\ He pointed to a para graph in the clipping from tho Medina Record announcing that the show would end its season In \Ja«io's\ homo town on popt. 28: It is true that Mr. Gallagher has labored under difficulties and has met many reverses and hoi receiv- ed no small amount of bedittlc- ment from the host of -gossips (rnule) that infest this town (tho story i*oad). His purchnso of tho half interest in Andrew Downlc's THE GOOFUS FAMILY 'X TRUST VOU'LA. XT IT* A Bv&T.Etoa. GUHMty DON'T THIMK ISOCH Pt WOOL /»>S TWEWE WHEN Gotget imtm mi, iLL* **mln ^A. f» ff*ffi* m*mSm33m*mmm inn m\m i mimmmmmmmm^mimmmmtmmmMm Bv Bruce Stuart (Waaler- AU-VtMtatat Bhayi ceinw • yreet (teal at unnsciasaij> tengug; im^ttbut »•* hMtnr it edit i tk^fXrTw^Ss,^wSi * pht«iiure<» * ta> »ftw 1HM4 V> out of th« plcturs, and } began to »* hext,««*•<«, Wi out frtwn Buffalo Aroburg »nd<^lfi»ft»i? Shows, How w 1 *,^*^ iii£ VXOQTBMgm property. So Donohu* bec.me Vm Amburg and I sUdn % t^ulr* •nd ftlse whUkw to h^d up the Geltaiher ana^ , \W* arranged with * Buffalo horaa detltr.to furnish ^ u» „wn» •baiiage slrttk! whi** m*x* th* transpotUition; % mm wan to lafe a. wsgon IHOW.; tJntortun«t*lyv 1h]* de«l«r, go* »th« ld#« »»• Wat the Mat'important apok* JA «ttr wh«c)f «o ht did •verythhii hi could, to d«»ay th* tw^pdrtatlotu Again und igatn wt ioUn too late tor the afternoon show. Our con* tract wltli-hlnv was for 10 w«ak% but subject to 4W0 VWWiks Oftnwft* lation, iVe JtneW Whijn w* wwr* stung and so jt«V« tha* lViotiary notice and wound up the season at-SyraMs« r |htplng tha .outfit t4 Hooiic Falls, Mr. Donohua's.hpm^. \But I had not hud enough «: clrcui buslnws ynt,.«nd ao-wen to Now Vork to frame »p a m$ Ihow. I slatted n d«nUwith*th| RobcrU intoi'Mts. fox * my horse*, the Roberte', by th* whyt twe* riiahed tho horses tor the 'Ben Hur' comunni**. that trouped tha country * eouiileDJtj4ec«dwmj \Witb a fihArlat iaiws^n OJtwp, mill m the, big i#*n% >Wo M« »Slvom« 8htf*a W **UU»,\Bul things w«nt «*d tiftd so 'QtpjN! swnouttt* thet. Mstead a* two jmm \CkwE8L weak* g^ytn.llt. Osdlsgher to . hi* r«M in thi chfeua bualhea*. hat seen them aavtral bettW i etaj'gd * thw* ehwt season and ha4 *Wtounc«4 hia.cktslhg fat Madin« t «t**ihftewid«<»ea on m q»Xt lagherM face la IM ftojnted to tha lart paragraph; ^.* >*. , _ IttC G|tl*gh« ia> b e fatyfrltyi lattd on hU treat sutxm as art •imisjbmaht etterer t «ltd >fe. ftlr* iolfgojtton y«i th*i ahtai wrrsrhag the Oowh*^ and GalUghtr ja«r- traiU above the modest phrase 'America*! Amvwtmoht , M«x» archV \We played BUffafo $a\utday, Sept. S9< to big business, *hd put our equipment in spick and jip»n order for tha triuinwiant entry into Medina, We loaded the show and started out Sunday, About I o'clock -as We were hearing Mid*' dloport, I was sitting with Mr*. Downle-In the Downle atattrboMi, Andy rushed in and Mid, 'ttvt train'* Hflrei' Buie enough great cloud* of smoke were bellowing from « wagon on the flat cat 1 just bsck of the engine. <u We' must cut off the rat ot the train at MiddlcnoH' I shoUtedi 'and go on with the burning x>»r to MediiMl 1 We did this, leaylng part at the train on a aiding at Middicport. Someone phoned Medina, so when tho racing engine ana biasing car pulled Into the station, there we* the fire depeit. merit and the whole town out to moot us. The car was run under the* gooseneck of the Watering tank and soon the five wns extln* gulshed. \Fortunately tho tiro had been confined to n single wogoh cnrry« ihg tho hippodrome top—maybe you would ehll It Uie big top, but circuses having a tbht big onough for hippodrome races used tho othor expression. Even the stdo walls for tho hippodrome top Wore In another wagon on tho some plat car, Woll, wo worked all night Sunday ana patched up tho top well enough so Wo could put It up, though there wcro great suping holes In It. Incidentally, tho railroad company paid all tho loss and wo got a now top out of \That fall Andy and I had on- other idea—it was to put tho show on u fleet of canal boots, Alroady Slg Sautclle. a Contra! Now York showman who tor years wintered at Homer, had transported suc- cessfully a small circus in this way. So we had our boats built and tho next spring started out, There were both, advantages and disadvantages in boat trttnsporto- cnil^wo ployed In Rochcator week with Uio boat show. anges In show names and in s themselves camo rapidly in e days, with tho result that tho tar following the bout circus .'enturo wo launched, only for tlio winter soason, tho Downlo und Gollaghor Operatic Minstrels, Af- ter four seasons of tho circus partnership I purchased Mr. Dow- nlo's Intercut as ho had decided to put out a railroad show for him- self. \My show became tho Galla- gher's Now Columbia Circus. While playing Buffalo I encount- ered w, C. Coups who was there with his trained animal shows. Ho made a proposal that wo combine forces und put out the Coupe nnd Oallaghor Combined All Feature Shows and Trained Animal Ex- position. So we did, but when tho suow reached Medina, tho man who held n mortgage on my equip- ment demanded payment In full. 1 couldn't moot it and so wo were compelled to close. Mr. Gallagher paused, then he wont on. \I have always wondered if per- haps my folks prompted lhl» fore- closure In tho hope I would have to get out of a business of which thoy never approved. Well, 1 found a buyor for tho boats, paid off the mortgage nnd tha following spring organized J, P, Gallaghers Circus, Museum and Mcnngerla, featuring the Great French eque*- tilonno, Paulino Currcc. \Back in Medina at the end of tho souson I decided to move Into larger winter (juui'tci's and to ex- pand the show. ! had 10 new wa- gon cages built and a ticket wagon costing $1,200. Animals for the menagerie were ordered but for- tunately hud not arrived when one night tho entiro outfit wont up In smoke, Tho tragedy of It was that the Insurance which I had carried In the quarters which I had left that fall had not been transferred. So It was a total loss. \I found myself right where I hod started, losing everything I had made in what I suspect had been a pretty successful Initial venture in show business. 1 con honestly gay, though, that while crippled financially, 1 was not In HiJlrit. and had no lack of offers.- Finally I took over the manage- ment of the Greet Pauline, the French hypnotist, who for y««rs was a stellar vaudeville attraction, at one time drawing us rhueh as $2,500 a week, I recall ho once played a week at the old B«k«r Theatre in ltochestor, I think it is a garage sow. 1 saw him in Rochester only a «hort time ago, whim ho came here to see some old friends with the Shrine circus. He is now retired and living on « farm In Tuscarora, \Two seasons with Pauline end* cd In Chicago where I puVcbased an interest In RUJMMSU'S Comedl* ans, a minstrel show owned; by Vte6 Russell, hJask&c* compdinn, and Jay J. Shaw, of the Broad* hur#t and Curry »i#f*# New York City Dioducere, \No showmarfs career $v«r was complete without «n e*peri«ncc with JWH%K, , Wf It: *» *«Ste% ours around WaMngUjn with til theatres dosed end our time «an* celled. Our show WW too wift wildeat-ihat I*. book it from day to d*y— m m mi ott two weeiks ln,*l«s#ijfit fitttMWi tyring <&» m Itt%^^i5if!t^?ft, hu7dW& matters* jw wtaea ' F«* » •-&>'• •'tl ~ ••'•'• I sfi^ar iftaVVtttttt nnih,ttfH sold the. mntofinl I hBd*efeWn«| lated. •• \ { \The. next wdntof. r n«Hite4 s ttW old friend,. W. ,ii« wnErOT—tn* Billy Wnrrcn J h«S?e already »e* ferrod to—organteo the WMfciii and Oday Big NftW Vorki Un§le Tom's Cabin Company, n* hlce/a tent Tom show ii« won ever put together. The show opened Ji\ Knnans Cl^ a«d headod^or flh: Paclilo Coast. I Imd to leave *» Lnmnr, Col,, ond r^stufn dftdl «i account ot liineiB of my «on, bu Mr. Wnrron Wont,Oh fop bM#« cessful sortson. ilia oxpei'lencw moko o story In thomisoiveg tthq you ought to got htm to toll them to you some Umq, •an tho meantime, Mr. 8h»W hod boon making n SUCCORS in the drnmntlc field. llUa wire, Mltta Young, was n most tntpnted l«So% ing woman. Mr, Shaw enme td mo «t my homo in Medlhtt «nd proposod that we orgunlM) n company to star her. So wo got together iho Slmw-anllogher New York Players, with oltloea in tho Hotel Morrison In Chicago, and started out. This was In IftOil ma for the next tour years we played the west und rnldWeat making use of plays written sjwclally tor Mmlo Voung, including 'The Burglar nnd the Walf ; end W tie Ciiptnln Polly,' It was a {the i»nd conuenlnl company. Donitn't look more like « qompuny of school teachers, Including some Huhoolnwms, ready to ilon, than. « W<M»** P« K»»e»«e, e musifelen, tMlfl this she pretty Lcuva for a convention, show troup?\ Ho hold out a photograph of the com puny taken at e railroad stution somowhoro In tho mid* west, tho women in long tujl sltlrtH, fearful and wonderful hata, primly poaod ot the right, l|io men, equally elegant In long coalfi and /improtilve fedorns, ftt Uie loft. This emphoels by Mr. Gallagher of his company, ohnrnoterltitlc of he lies ulwjty* been a teototnlcr nnd has found tho show and circus people ho on tho character of his company) by tho way, la ohnriioterisllo him. Ho iiamlt/i |ih*v« etitce been loeati lion of the i**Ahr ,tn #h«nl •#** ell ? ft^Je^|J^8!W. .^•»ui lhat'i ifat ^»t'«* Imp*- l|ht« iboUMir^ui k bUilnta*. W* the d»y« the tent deeWt blow down, Br the way, did you know that more clrcuw-a- ara goirtg out thi* K»son than In yesn?'*; J ^He^hSSded jmwl&b fc v Or* of tha Medin«'c Trlbui|a readw* kind enough'todreiW vm Idttor's aUwtlfm F to the srtlcTe $** aiarryi A, Chaae, 'fdrmer !%• din* ^aidant, at'ftr«««nt.a«r«iaJty »h#f |«|r*y Weftott 'mm «?»w Mmmmm mmm IS* ikkmim»»t.€^r mk'M ammm HM tin imithin JC work, roof- , ing and §u|tffi. ; Furrtucei Ingtilled ind ttmm*&mwmmcmmmwiifmmm)mm>* mmmmmmmm W« Carry.a Full Urn pt r ;- DIAMOND itiNOi, viminm JKWICLgY anl 8U-Vr.*WAHJt - ,W ':^i Kxpert Wakh, Clsok an*-' Jawalry Reiwlrlng. All Week «usr»nt*ed. < • / Yourkwettr ~—\.^.- •;-:•— :•'*» m WW M%^ M. imlJr9 sflUnavlSi About Five Wonte to a Line w? W aw^ai^ 1 ^^^•^•^r KPpWiiwp M^W^inW|pi4iVneW 0 0 0 0 25c (Our Minimum Ch.rge) Will Put Your CIjMwlfl«<li Ikfore s Ur«e Btiyinr Group of TRIBUNE Reader* ADnmoMAi, mt&SWsm ONLY U A unt WWtMijiWl JUST PHONE FOR RESULTS *3* ^ Tlte Meaina xnputie m-) ., Ihililtoliliif Corp. ;' ^ ' f > JA ^j^^tiisawsasmsosft*^^ fl m / ^ *>* wi * ^ V* .^^i^MM^^^^A-
