586 Pounds of Feminine Charm
by Pat Gelhar Grahn
When my oldest nephew, Kyle,
was in first grade his
teacher called his mother to
request a conference. When
my sister-in-law arrived at
the meeting, the teacher
explained that the two of
them needed to work together
to help Kyle overcome his
"problem" of telling
outlandish stories. The tale
the teacher was most
concerned about was Kyle's
insisting that his aunt was
a "fat lady" in the circus.
My sister-in-law smiled and
replied that yes, his
great-aunt, Ella Grahn
"Mills" Milbauer, was a fat
lady in the Ringling Bros,
and Barnum & Bailey Circus
sideshow. Being the keeper
of the family's history, I
was asked to send my nephew
a photo of Aunt Ella for
show and tell.
Traveling with the big top was
always a dream for the poor
country girl from near Baraboo,
Wis., once the winter home of
the Ringling Bros, circus.
*When
fat lady "Alice from Dallas"
passed away, Aunt Ella applied
for the job. She was never
interviewed for the position,
but obtained it by just mailing
a photograph.
Billed as "586 Pounds of
Feminine Charm,**"Aunt
Ella made her first sideshow
tour in 1956 after having a
wardrobe made by the famed "Doll
Family" of midgets.
She was on stage with such
attractions as a fire eater, a
bearded woman, an alligator
woman, a sword swallower, a
giant, and a snake lady.
Aunt Ella was a fan favorite. In
a 1961 newspaper article she
noted, 'It was kinda hard to get
used to the rest of the people
in the sideshow. It took awhile
to find out that they are all
fine folks and friendly just
like everyone else."
Ella and her husband, Bob, spent
their circus years traveling in
a house trailer pulled by a car
that Aunt Ella drove. She sat
behind the steering wheel in a
front seat that had been moved
directly in front of the back
seat, allowing her to get her
massive bulk behind the steering
wheel. The gas and brake pedals
were built up so she could reach
them. Her sister once laughingly
told me, "You always knew when
Ella was coming and going as her
large bust always beeped the
horn when she went to put in or
take out the car keys."
Part of Aunt Ella's "show"
called for a display of her two
gigantic legs. She remembered
one man calling out to her, "Put
your dress down, you're a big
girl now. "She stayed with
Ringling Bros, until they
discontinued tent shows.
Afterward, she traveled with
other circuses, including the
biggest remaining tent show,
Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.
In 1961, at the age of 62, she
retired to Montello, Wis.
Having a circus fat lady as a
relative has left our family
with some unique memories. Most
notable was her funeral in 1964.
She died in her circus travel
trailer, which had been placed
on a concrete foundation; the
entire local volunteer fire
department was called in to help
move her body, which was wedged
in a hallway. A special casket
had to be made: an ordinary
coffin, quartered and plywood
added to extend it in all
directions by-fours for
reinforcement.
Getting the empty coffin into
the funeral home wasn't a
problem, but to get Aunt Ella
out of the funeral home, the
picture window had to be removed
and
***12 pallbearers (instead of
the normal six) pulled the
casket through the window
opening. Burial required two
adjoining cemetery plots. One
cousin remembers hoping "the
preacher would pray fast" as the
weight of the casket was
straining the ropes that held
Aunt Ella above the grave and
they were creaking loudly in
protest.
After Aunt Ella's death, all of
her circus memorabilia and
costumes were donated to the
Circus World Museum in Baraboo.
All that remains to our family
are our memories and the photo
album I keep.
From an Article Pat
Gelhar Grahn wrote for the
History Channel Magazine.
*(There
have also been two stories about
how she came to be in the
circus. One was that she
heard that Alice from Dallas had
died and sent in a photo to RB/BB
Circus. From that pictures
alone she supposedly got the
job. The other story is
that she was on the beach in
Sarasota, Florida and a circus
recruiter approached her there.
The truth is that she was in Hot
Springs, Ark, "Taking the
waters" to lose weight, when she
was approached by someone from
the circus about being the fat
lady).
**(My
Aunt Ella was known as an
outstanding seamstress, so she
sewed her own costumes for the
sideshow. I have been told
by several people that she put
more gathering into her dresses
so she would look even larger.
So the story of the Doll Family
midgets sewing her dresses is
all "hype").
***(I
have also confirmed though
research that it was 10
pallbearers and not 12 like we
thought.)
Corrected information provided
by Pat Gelhar Grahn - Ella Mills
Niece
Pat Gelhar Grahn lives in
Winneconne, Wis.
All photos and text posted
here with the permission of Pat
Gelhar Grahn ©2008
copyright all rights reserved
Pat Gelhar Grahn is researching for an
upcoming book about her Aunt
Ella Mills -
If you have information -
Stories - Photographs - Etc.
Please email her by
clicking here
