There are probably a million buildings in the nation in which you could put on a show, but at a fair they put thousands of people in front of you each day, they're people with money to spend and looking to be entertained.

A tent show can work small fairs six days a week and probably take in a thousand dollars a day or play big fairs ten to twelve days at a time and take in a great deal more.

It is a matter of choice. I don't like the atmosphere of bars, I like to work to family audiences, and I am willing to invest a quarter of a million dollars in equipment and rolling stock in order to get the big fairs which gross the big dollars.  I carry a payroll of about fifteen or more people, because in a performance schedule such as we do, a performer only does one or two special stunts, where it seems with most club shows people are expected to do a least four or more "acts".

Our performance run 30 to forty five minutes. I have had many building shows. At one time we played colleges and auditoriums and some armories with World Of Wonders doing three day stands, grinding out the shows from II am till I0 pm.  I have had numerous musical shows playing theatres that were full evening shows. But these were full musical productions and were not sideshow type entertainment. The theatre shows generally play one nighters, for which we usually had union stagehands and performers, and actors were not allowed by the unions to do other than just the performance. Also a union theatre musical is only permitted by the union to give eight performances a week.

There are many kinds of shows in the business, whether it's a chicken **glomming geek who only wants to make enough for a bottle of cheap wine , or an opera singer who gets a
million dollars for one performance, they are all show folks. The main thing you can do in life is to do what makes you happy and supplies your needs.  I pray you find that happiness and satisfaction in whatever way you do it. If you achieve that, you will have achieved real success in life.

God bless all the sideshow people, however they chose to bring some joy and excitement into peoples lives.

Ward Hall

**“glom” A geek show specialty, the act of swallowing, or pretending to swallow, disgusting things. Fake feces made from peanut butter and Hershey's syrup, and other gaffed plays. Genuine glomming can be biting the heads off live chickens, and devouring live snakes.

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