I received a PM about the Collins show
Here is what I remember and I missed a bunch I'm sure.
This is all from memory when I was about 22 maybe 23 years old. I saw an ad in the AB, wanted, wheelman, twin wheels, salary, no object. ( I must have misread it. Should have said... Salary NO, I Object) I hopped a bus from Middletown CT to Minneapolis, MN.
On the side of the red ride trailers was the Logo... W T Collins Shows ...World’s Largest Motorized Midway.... We had a 25 to 30 truck convoy.
That winter Bill had bought a new umbrella ride for Areoaffiliates, ground mounted loaded on an 18’ old Ford straight job. That was to be my truck pulling the center of the new AH Twister. Bud Harkins was the kiddie ride foreman, his job to handle it. Mac would foreman the Twister and Haul it. Bob Jennings would be his second man. (All major rides had a foreman and at least one second man.) Mac was a wheelman but Bill wanted him on the new Twister. Lefty who had been the ruffy for the show joints was to haul and handle the new Meteor. The first few weeks I was second man on the wheel. Glen Joplin was the ride supt. I don’t remember much about kiddie land but I will try to list the majors. We rarely put up both #5 wheels with the front.
Scambler.....Smokey and steve.
Funhouse.....Homer ( He had family on the Olsen show)
Octopus....... Blank there
Paratrooper (TM) Jerry
Scooter ( Home made with Dodgem cars) Irish
GM Rock o plane ... Ringo
22’ Round Up.... Shorty
Looper.....Ronnie
Tilt...Indian Johnny
GM Rollo Plane ( did not lay over)...Cowboy
AH 3 abreast MRG Yellow and Jimmy Jackson.
2 Eli 5 wheels
AH Twister
Meteor
5 lite towers copied from Royal
Main Gate
Pot wagon, the show had almost all rides on gas engines.
Big girl Revue featuring Lexus and Bob Bon the Candy girl. The talker was Red and the rest is blank.
Granny strip show.... No Comment
Can’t tell you anything about the joints but the show cook house was owned by Leonard Guest and they served great food. The grille in front was done by a guy by the name of Penny.
Each ride had its own ticket box with tickets in rolls. Won’t tell you much about that either.
Booked: Bud Humphreys ..Flying Coaster, glass house
AH Turnpike Blank there too
Dark ride, belonged to Buster Brown handled by Jim Whitman.
Marcello’s Globe of Death
Ward Hall’s ten in One
For the record, I was paid $40 a week plus a $10 bonus per week. Less than half way through the season Glen Joplin, the ride supt blew taking a half dozen key people with him. Kenny Reveling, a girl show candy butcher was made the ride supt. The office was run by Jim Hirsberg and his wife. (Hope I got the name right. Bill and his wife, Mickey as well as their adopted son, Mike were there as well. Mike was only 12 or so then.
Some of the spots played were Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, Devils Lake, Lacrosse, Lincoln, Muskogee , Tulsa, Ulkmulgee, and two spots in MN that were 35 miles apart, can’t remember them. Just a partial listing.
In Lincoln we had a review nite. Shorty raised the round up and hit a 14,000 volt power line. Which landed on the Tilt lighting . Luckily nothing and no one was hurt.
Bud Humphrreys stated to run his Flying Coaster with no muffler, drew a bigger crowd that way. Old Bill saw what was happening and made him put the muffler back on. It was cool to hear the ride run withouth it though.
Bill was invited to got to Puerto Rico that winter. Yep I went too. We took the umbrella ride, Twister, Round Up, Paratrooper, Scrambler and Fun House. The funhouse had the air jet on the exit, those girls down there wore skirts. The rides went by barge, we flew. Spots were 2 months in San Quan, a mont in Ponce and 10 days in San Herman, Aracibo, Aquadilla and Buyamon. Bill made money. Jim Whitman was the ride supt down there and we were booked with rides the “Palisades Park’ locally owned. We found a strange thing down there. If people wanted a reride they would pay the operator. If you didn’t take the money they wouldn’t come back. Nuff said about that.
That’s glimpse of the Collins show back in the day.
I'm there, Old, Tired, Broke and Henpecked