britt
  •  britt
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014 10:45:28 AM

our board was able to obtain an old fair premium book for 1927 which was the 13th edition of that fair association that we did not even know existed. It had Bruce's Greater Shows listed as the carnival with 5 rides, 15 shows and 50 concessions. It also had the 4 Rios and Leons Aerialist listed as featured acts. Never heard of any of them. Does anyone know anything about this carnival or acts? our board is curious.
Jackpotter
Wednesday, February 19, 2014 3:36:22 PM
You may have already seen this but just did a quick Google and came up with this discussion from a circus message board...

2334. Bruce Greater Shows, 11 Mar 2008 - Bruce Greater Shows was a small carnival working the eastern United States from New York-to-Georgia during the 1910s through the 1930s. It was home-based in Virginia. Local historian and friend of the founding family is seeking ANY info relative to this traveling carnival. No information would be considered too trivial. To date, the only online link mentioning Bruce Greater Shows references a list of carnivals that Colonel Tom Parker worked with in the late 1920s/early 1930s. Thank you kindly, Phil. Reply to this message, replies go to this board, not to the message sender.

Reply: 12 Mar 2008 - Joe McKennon's book "Pictorial History of the American Carnival" lists dates of operation for Bruce Greater Shows as 1926-1935. It would have been a motorized, over the highway operation. If the family has no personal papers and no business records survive in a local repository, the best place to look for information will be in the weekly issues of the trade journal "Billboard," which carried a carnival news column. Therein you will also find the routes, if they were supplied for publication. That will lead to the communities where it showed and thereby one can read the local newspapers for commentary. It's also likely that the hometown newspaper may have carried periodic news reports, especially if the carnival opened in the city or played a date there during the season. My memory tells me that Bruce Greater Shows may have purchased some coverage in a consolidated circus and carnival program that was issued during the show's operational time frame. Perhaps another member can check their holdings and provide confirmation? Usually they were a page or two long and included some text and a couple illustrations. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 16 Mar 2008 - Thank you, Fred, for your reply and for the info from McKennon's history. McKennon's dates of operation bring the realization that, although this carnival was always owned by the Bruce (and related Davis) families, it must have operated under a different business name both before and after those dates. The founding family has business records detailing venues and receipts for the years 1927 thru 1934, plus a photographic record taken during that time span.
George Bruce ran a circuit with only a merry-go-round in his earliest days, the 1910s. His operation grew steadily and his son James "Jim" Bruce was the manager of Bruce Greater Shows during McKennon's dates - which were probably the "peak" years for the show. The founder, George Bruce, died in 1933. His son, Jim Bruce, died a few weeks before the 1935 season began. The show continued operations under the management of Jim Bruce's mother, wife, and in-laws.
Family photos show trucks and rail cars being used to transport employees and rides. One of the rail cars has Bruce Greater Shows professionally emblazoned on its side. Only the Charlottesville, Virginia, newspaper has been accessed for this Albemarle County, Virginia-based carnival, for the years 1927, 1928 and 1929. Several sideshow acts are also listed by name in this newspaper.
The Bruce Greater Shows / Carnival's detailed listing in a "consolidated circus and carnival program" would be a wonderful piece of info to have. We hope that another reader may share that data if it is available.
How/where may I access the "Billboard" issues to check their "carnival news columns?" Thank you again for your generous and encouraging help. Phil James

Reply: 17 Mar 2008 - Phil: The listings in the McKennon book should be taken only as a general guide. Such compilations are always subject to interpretation limitations. It could be that the 1926 entry was simply Billboard talk about going on the road in 1927, and that for 1935 was the anticipation of a 1935 tour, which may not have taken place. Speak to your local librarian about how to obtain microfilm of "Billboard" either via interlibrary loan or where the closest file may be relative to your home. There are several institutions that have it, but it's been increasingly hard to procure via local libraries. I just scanned the news pages and indexes for the late 1920s to early 1930s Eli Bridge Company's house publication, "Big Eli News," but there were no entries for the Bruce family deaths or the show itself. It's possible that the show did not communicate with this builder of the Big Eli wheel, Scrambler, etc., but often they did cover the initial purchase of riding devices. Checking out the vendors that supplied various pieces of equipment to the shows might also prove beneficial. You might also try connecting with carnival historians, Fred Heatley and Al Stencell. There's also a collection of carnival materials at the International Independent Showmen's Foundation in Gibsonton, FL. A trip there would be necessary, but a local university may be in the process of loading their holdings on-line. Fred Dahlinger

Reply: 20 Feb 2009 - To whom it may concern: I believe my father and his siblings talked about this circus. His father, my grandfather, Marshall Hughes Bruce, worked for Penn Railroad and often worked out of NYC. My grandmother, Marie Ross Bruce, lived with the children in New Jersey for a time when they were young. My father remembered the four children being left alone for a short time so that Marie and Marshall could go visit Marshall's "cousins who were in town. They were with the carnival." Dad seemed to remember this time because they were children and never left alone except this one particular occasion.
I asked Dad, when he was still alive, and I've talked with his sister, Jean Bruce Mancuso, many times since, but they could not pin down a date - not even as close as a decade. The children were all born in the '20's and, if the circus was still traveling in the '30's, perhaps this is what they remembered. However, everything else seems to fit. It was made clear to me, also, that the carnival was owned by these cousins - they did not work for it.
I was told the circus would start out from Virginia [probably north of Charlottesville, where the Bruces are from] every spring right around the peach festival time. Apparently, the area was known for growing peaches and there was a celebration every spring. I did question my aunts about the peaches repeatedly and they assured me the fruit was peaches and not apples, cherries, etc.
I am just about beside myself with excitement about this information. I have been looking for years for information on this family "enterprise." There is just one sibling left alive and I'm going to share this news her and the rest of the family as soon as I can. If there is anything elseI can share with you, I would be glad to. So far, the above is all I remember. Sincerely, Lee Bruce

Reply: 20 Dec 2011 - To whom it may concern, You can check out a magazine in Albemarle County, Va. Called Secrets of the Blue Ridge. This has an article on Bruce Greater Shows. Those Folks were related to me on the Davis side of the Family tree. I don’t know a whole lot but they were out of the Boonesville Virginia area. My uncle has more of the pictures from that time. Gale

Reply: 02 Nov 2012 - In searching through some of my Grandmothers old papers, she has a “Route Book” from the 1930 season of the “Bruce Greater Shows”. It lists the staff with James H Bruce as the owner and manager, and tour dates from April 21st-Nov 3rd, 1930. Bill

Reply: 13 Feb 2013 - Appreciate the replies re: Bruce Greater Shows. Bill, I have seen the 1930 Route Book. Would be interested to learn how your Grandmother (or any others) may have connected with this carnival. Thanks, Phil - secretsoftheblueridge at gmail dot com
britt
  •  britt
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014 9:59:07 PM

Thanks jackpotter. had not seen this info.
Drummer1973
Thursday, August 3, 2023 12:25:08 PM
I came across a neat 1922 letterhead for zBruce Greater Shows. I am listing it on eBay if you are interested.