The circus will always be alive: Part Two

Ringling Bros. Circus roots run deep in McGregor

When word of the impending closure of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus broke Jan. 14, many in McGregor were saddened by the news. But what may be the end of the circus, to many in this small river community, is also a new opportunity to share McGregor’s special connection with the Ringlings, who, as boys, performed their first circus in the city. This two-part series will spotlight that connection. Part one, which ran last week, focused on the origins of that first circus, while this second part will detail the community’s plans to keep the Ringling story alive.

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By Audrey Posten, North Iowa Times Editor

“For us [in McGregor], this gives us another chance to capitalize on the fact that the Ringlings were born here, to capitalize on what we have here and bring people to town,” stated resident Lyle Troester.

Troester and his wife, Bonnie, are just two of the city’s residents who have helped inform people about the Ringlings’ connection to McGregor. As part of the McGregor Clan Lions Club, the Troesters have worked to maintain the Bluff Gardens, near the corner of A and Ann Streets, where the Ringlings’ first “real” circus performance was held in 1871. Last year, with the help of Jon Rettig, they upgraded the Iowa Sesquicentennial Project plaque, located in the garden, that shares MacGregor Clan history and information aboaut the Ringling Brothers. The plaque is now prominently displayed in a new stand, which Rettig designed to incorporate elephants and a Ringling Bros. Circus poster.

“If it wasn’t for McGregor and them seeing that one circus, who knows if they would have ever gotten the bug?” wondered Rogeta Halvorson, a McGregor resident and city council member. “We need to play that up a lot more.”

Connie Reinhardt, who owns the home at 14463 Walton Ave., where John Ringling was born in 1866, agreed. She hopes the homey, tiny house she’s lived in for 30 years can connect people with the Ringlings.

The Walton Avenue house, according to McGregor historian Lena D. Myers, was not the Ringlings’ first home in McGregor after arriving in 1860. They likely moved there in 1864, she said in a North Iowa Times article from May 27, 1966. 

Prior to that, Myers explained, referencing a letter from a former resident, Mrs. Louisette Helwig Burt, the family lived in three or four different houses in the community, including two on Main Street.

When she bought the house on Walton Avenue, Reinhardt admitted she didn’t know what she’d gotten herself into.

“When I bought it, the house should have been torn down. I saved that house,” she affirmed, noting that she’ll continue to maintain it. “The house is part of the town’s history. It’s important to keep that alive.” 

Despite growing up in the area, Reinhardt said, as a child, she didn’t know about the Ringling Brothers’ connection to McGregor. The house changed that.

“I’ve always enjoyed the circus, but buying the house really got me into it,” she said. “I started collecting the history of all circuses.”

Reinhardt even began traveling with the circus and forming connections with employees. She’s collected memorabilia and hopes to display it in the home someday.

“I have so many neat things from so many different people,” she said. 

As it is, the home is already a pilgrimage site for Ringling enthusiasts, Reinhardt confided.

“Some people seek out the house,” she said. “I love it when people stop by. I don’t do tours of the inside, but I talk to them.”

The need for preservation is also felt at the McGregor Historical Museum.

“There’s been a lot of buzz from people to get in touch with Feld to see if some artifacts can be donated,” mentioned the museum’s docent, Diane Malcom. 

That’s not likely, she said. However, Joe Colossa, owner of the Al Ringling Mansion in Baraboo, Wis., who’s close with the Ringling family, said the museum could receive copies of some old family photos that were recently discovered in Europe.

In fact, the first image, a 3-by-4-foot enlarged photo of the Ringlings, was delivered to the museum on Jan. 22. The photo, which has been digitally improved from an original photo from 1895 that portrays all seven Ringling Brothers and their sister, Ida, was donated to the museum by Emily Colossa, the daughter of Joe and his wife, Carmen. Emily, 7, recently received the photo from the Ringling family and wanted to share it with the museum so visitors can enjoy it.

“We’re going to start with the large portrait and other things will follow,” Malcom said.

The museum’s collection of Ringling artifacts currently comprises a small section along one wall in the museum. Malcom said she’d like to see the creation of a small gallery to spotlight those items. Unfortunately, the building, already jam-packed with local history, doesn’t offer a lot of space.

“I’d love to see a whole section devoted to the Ringlings,” Halvorson said. “But we need to double the size of the museum. We’re going to need a bigger place, and that can help raise money for the opera house.”

The Sullivan Opera House, which once hosted Ringling Brothers shows and other entertainment, community events and graduations, is located next door to the McGregor Historical Museum on Main Street. Currently in poor shape, a community group is working to raise funds to rehab the building, which dates back to the 1870s. One option for its future re-use is an expansion of the museum.

“Hopefully, as the opera house moves further, then we can grow into part of that space,” Malcom stated. “People come to this museum and they love the stories, be it the Ringlings, the river boats, Andrew Clemens, Emma Big Bear or the early birth of our town. With an enhanced display, we will have an opportunity to tell more of that story.”

McGregorites are confident they can keep that story, which began 146 years ago, alive.

“Now, all we have is the memory,” Halvorson remarked, “but I’m positive about the future.

“We are a place that values history and the nostalgia of the Ringlings starting here as boys,” quipped Michelle Pettit, with the McGregor Public Library.

To Reinhardt, the curtain is only physically closing.

“The circus will always be alive,” she said.