D.R. Miller, took time this week as Carson and Barnes Circus was preparing from its annual departure from Hugo next Wednesday, to show a fellow circus owner his operation.  Pictured about with Miller is John Strong, III, from Hollywood, Calif.  Strong is the son of the Late John Strong, who Miller knew for many years before Strong's death a few years ago.  Miller purchased Strong's show in 1983 and it made up a part of the Kelly-Miller Show which Miller co-launched in the early 1980s.  According to Strong, pictured about,  Miller helped him launch another West Coast Circus several years ago, and he is very much in Miller's debt for a great deal of help through the years.

HUGO, OK. - When John Strong III found himself near Dallas last week where he was purchasing an elephant for his West Coast circus, appropriately named the John Strong Circus, he said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to come to Hugo and meet the man so many people in the circus industry talk about -- D.R. Miller.

When Strong visited Hugo earlier this week, the event was special, not just because he had an opportunity to meet D.R. Miller, his father wanted to be buried here I the famous Showman's Rest section of Mt. Olivet Cemetery, and it was Strong's first opportunity to see his father's gravesite.

"My dad knew D.R. and sold him his show back in 1983," Strong stated.

"Sad thought D.R. hung the moon.  Since Dad died, I have come to find out first hand why he and others hold D.R. in such high esteem,"  Strong added.

"You have to understand," D.R. Miller is a Builder of men.  He has given so many people their starts, and more often than not, he asks little in return."

Strong said Miller loaned him the money to restart his father's show, and even gave him tips on how to make it  successful.

"He told me the towns to play and suggested that I even play towns which actually were a few weeks in front of his big show," Strong stated.  "He didn't seem to worry at all about me taking away any of his business,"  Strong added.

Strong said people in Hugo don't fully appreciate Miller's greatness.

"I can't say enough about D.R. Miller, and how people in the circus industry revere him," Strong added.

"There are only about 10 significant circuses in the U.S., and D.R. Miller owns all or part of three of them," Strong added.  He added that his father was friends with Miller's father, Obert.

Strong said finding an elephant for his show was very difficult.  His Search for an elephant suitable for use in a circus took him ultimately to the state of Alaska.

"I looked all over America and finally found an elephant in Alaska,"  Strong stated.

"Here in Hugo, I see D.R.'s elephants all lined up.  I bet he has several million dollars worth of elephants!"  Strong exclaimed, as if in awe of the huge Carson and Barnes operation.

"When I went out to visit D.R., guess where I found him?"  Strong questioned.  "Out watching his new camel act training."

Strong added, "When I questioned why the owner was out working with the acts while they were training, someone commented, 'how do you think he got to where he is today?'"

Miller's show will depart Hugo next Wednesday enroute to Paris for rehearsals and opening season shows next weekend.

Memorial for Big John Strong, Showman's Rest Hugo OK.