University Archives News

Object Lesson: Under the Northwestern Big Top

In addition to the extensive manuscript and publication collections housed in the University Archives, there are also a number of artifacts relating to Northwestern's mission and history. In order to highlight some of these fascinating and unique holdings, we now introduce a monthly feature called "Object Lesson." Each month we will select an artifact, take some photos, and share a bit of its story--not the whole story, perhaps, but enough of an overview to point interested individuals to more detailed information in the Archives and beyond.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Step right up! It's only a dime! See Death-Defying Leaps, Scintillating Shimmies, and Outrageous Outbursts! The feint-of-heart be warned: this program contains shocking excitement!"

The smell of Fairy Floss (cotton candy) and roasting peanuts wafts up into the bleachers. In the center ring a man in a top hat and tails bellows for attention as a troupe of trapeze artists march through the sawdust towards their apparatus. "With absolutely no regard for his own, personal safety, watch as our lead performer literally takes the lives of his partners into his hands!"

Artifacts and objects are the doorway into history, and this time we begin with a hefty metal elephant encased in bubble-wrap and tissue paper. We are on the hunt for another chapter in the history of Northwestern. We next find a silver medallion attached to the animal's tail which reads, "1932 Circus," along with the Northwestern "N," which leads to a few other circus holdings in our collection: a small knit figure and a purple and white clown doll. But, wait, a Northwestern Circus? Indeed. Starting over 100 years ago, our campus was the home to the greatest show on earth. Thousands of spectators would come to witness daring physical feats, risqué vaudevillian humor, and gasp-inducing sideshow oddities.

For 25 years, starting in 1908, the Northwestern Circus thrilled and amazed visitors from throughout the area. Run by students, and with almost exclusively student performers, the Circus was a large part of campus life. Preparation would take months and hundreds of people were involved. Each year, a young man and woman were selected to be "Circus Solly" and "Circus Sally," and directed the planning and execution of the proceedings. This was a great honor and the two lucky undergrads would don the Solly and Sally costumes and appear around campus for weeks before the show. The annual event became wildly popular in its day, and included a parade, midway, Ferris wheel, rides, acrobats, clowns, concessions, and wild animals: the full circus package.

The Circus was originally billed as a "County Fair" and was put on by the Y.W.C.A as a fundraiser for the University Settlement. Once Patten Gymnasium was open in 1910, the event moved there, and became the "College Carnival." The outdoor portion of the show took place in the field in front of Patton, roughly were Tech is today. In 1914, the festivities took on the title of "Northwestern University Circus," and kept that name until the student performances ended. There is conflicting information about when and why the circus came to an end. According to a Purple Parrot article from March of 1950, the event was retired after its 25th anniversary edition in 1932 because it was taking up too much student time that should have been spent on academics. Still, there are some references to a Circus from 1933 in our materials.

A little digging in old issues of the Daily revealed that the Y.M.C.A and Y.W.C.A voted to end their sponsorship of the Circus on November 4, 1932 because of money, time, and noise complaints. Student and community support was strong enough that the University allowed the NU Alumni Association to sponsor a "Northwestern Carnival" with professional acts in 1933, to take place in Dyche Stadium and with proceeds benefiting the student loan fund. This performance run was shortened by inclement weather. Perhaps the final cancellation of the event, for there was no Circus in 1934, was related to the Chicago Daily Tribune article from May 12, 1933, entitled: "An Elephant Goes Berserk in Evanston." According to the piece, an animal trainer was severely injured during the opening parade when the elephant slammed him to the ground several times with its trunk and then kicked him.

But, back to our object...a large, silver elephant. Just how does this thing relate to the Circus? From the Daily Northwestern of May 10, 1932: "Forty silver cups, six silver elephants, and forty silver clowns were awarded Saturday night to winners of the different divisions of the Silver Anniversary Circus." This item appears to be one of the major prizes from this year's event, given for performances such as best center ring stunt. The small medallion is a prize for a separate honor, awarded to M. Welch (Margaret Welch, Liberal Arts 1933), for participation as a Circus board member or assistant. The two clowns, not being silver, appear to be from a slightly earlier Circus award ceremony.

There were even several campus newspapers dedicated solely to the circus: Sirkuss Solly and the Circus Barker (copies of which are available in the Archives.) We also have some fascinating general files relating to the NU Circus where we found a list of receipts and disbursements from the 1923 circus. We can only wonder at what the story behind $1.50 for "Clown Incidentals to P. Fowler" might be.

This chapter of student entertainment is a distant memory, and the "wild coeds" of Northwestern (like those below in a Circus parade float) have had to find new methods of amusing themselves. Still, walking along the lake on a cool spring night, you still might hear the roar of the crowd under the Big Top, intermingled with the crashing surf. If you want to hear these voices more clearly, come down to the Archives and spend some time with their ghosts.

Jason Nargis, Manuscript Librarian

| TrackBack