When the circus came to Wintersburg

The Escalante Circus, "El Circo Escalante," raised their tent about 300 feet east of the intersection of Talbert Avenue and Bushard Street, near the Southern Pacific Railroad line. (www.circusblog.wordpress.com)

   Image the reaction of farm children when they heard the circus was in town, interrupting the normally quiet rural life with the sound of trumpets and calliope.  Exotically-costumed performers, animals, clowns, puppet shows, live music.  It was the type of mind-blowing excitement that made one watch the minutes tick by on the school clock until the day was over.

   Clarence Nishizu, a Wintersburg Japanese Presbyterian Mission congregant, recalled the few amusements available to those growing up in farm country during his 1981 oral history interview.  He described an annual picnic for area families at an area known as Santiago Beach, an open beach at the ocean end of Bushard Street in southeast Huntington Beach.  

The Furuta family children and others in the Wintersburg peatlands and rural Orange County usually created their own entertainment. (Photo circa 1915-1918, Wintersburg's Cole Ranch at present day Warner and Gothard Avenues, courtesy of the Furuta family)

   Now and then, they were treated to movies held at a large chili pepper warehouse in the Stanton area.

   "They didn't have any talkies," remembered Nishizu.  "But they had silent movies and they had a person called a 'benshi' who would stand in front on the side of the screen and while the picture was showing he would simulate the words spoken by the different characters in the movies. They had this maybe once, or even twice, a month."

   The circus, however, marched right down Wintersburg Avenue (Warner Avenue) to announce they were in town before returning to their circus camp in Talbert (present-day Fountain Valley).  Undoubtedly, a trail of children followed.
    

Circo Escalante Hermanos was founded in 1909--the same year Huntington Beach incorporated--and toured Mexico, the southwest United States and Europe. (Image, circushistory.org)

The Escalante Brothers Circus
   Bandwagon writer Bob Taber about "The Escalante Circus From Mexico" in their January - February 1961 issue.  At the time of the article, the original founding brothers--Mariano, Pedro and Marcus--were retired and living in Los Angeles.

   "There was an era in the circus history of the Southwest, principally California, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, when the so-called Mexican circus filled its place. Performers from these later presented acts as stars of circuses playing from Coast to Coast, Canada and the United States," writes Taber. "Between 1910 and the mid-thirties there came to this country from South of the border Mexican parents with their talented children. They had an entire show within the family as all members did several acts. Their expenses were small, local restrictions were not too strict and they prospered."

 

   Originally from  Zacatecas, Mexico, the circus "moved via ox-cart across the trail-like roads of Mexico" and crossed into Texas to perform.  With the Mexican Revolution in full force, they began performing more often in the United States.  Every family member was involved in circus performances and sewed their own tents and costumes.

   "All these shows were patterned on the European type. They were one ring affairs with a stage at the end, where the dancing numbers were presented.  Two or three rows of chairs in circles surrounded the ring. These were reserved for extra money," describes Bandwagon.  

Left: The Escalante Sisters later performed with other circus groups across the country.

   "A bright red carpet covered the ring floor with the initials of the show worked out in gold or white. Baskets of paper flowers were fastened to the quarter poles.  On occasions those flowers were sprayed with perfume.  The interior of the tent was decorated with flags and pennants," continued Bandwagon, revealing the circus' magical quality at night.  

   "At first, illumination come from gasoline lights, later it was electricity. Over the tent was strung a row of colored lights. Before each performance the band gave an outside concert."

    The circus shows of the time "wildcatted."  In other words, they did not announce their visit in advance, instead distributing handbills as they paraded through town on arrival.  They stayed in the area as long as there was business. 

   In the unincorporated area of Talbert where they camped, it's likely there were no fees.  Upon incorporation in 1909, Huntington Beach began charging a $25 fee per day for circuses to camp on city land.  

Right: Lorena Escalante, wife of Henry "Blackie" Escalante, the grandson of Mariano.  
 

   Conditions weren't always easy.  The Escalante Brothers Circus' agent, Lee Teller, wrote to Billboard in 1921 that he had just "returned from Mexico and Arizona, and that business across the line as far as Mazatlan was just fair. Conditions are none too good for shows, he says. Money is scarce and the national currency only one-half value of this country. In Nogales, the advance men of the Howe show were welcome visitors. The Escalante troupers visited the Howe show at Yuma. In Coachella, the Escalante show ran into a wind storm, with a ninety-mile gale and the sun invisible for three days on account of the sand."

A good tent, bright lights, and a good band 

   In the 1961 interview, Mariano Escalante said "that to have a successful circus one should have a good tent, lots of bright light and a good band. He recalls that in 1916 there were 16 loud-blowing musicians in the band."  

 The Escalante Circus Band, led by Jesus Mendoza.  (Photo, circushistory.org)

   The Escalante Brothers Circus advertised jugglers, trapeze acts, comic singers, gymnists, dancers, contortionists, tight wire acts, a trained bear, musical burro, clowns, "educated" ponies, and "the only singing coyote in the world."

    The Circus continued through the Great Depression, until municipal fees and regulations made it more difficult to be profitable.  However, like those in Wintersburg, the Escalante family made a success of their life in California and their descendants continue to live here today.
 
Left: The historical marker at the intersection of Talbert Avenue and Bushard Street in present-day Fountain Valley notes the circus parade went to Wintersburg.*

   Notable acts with the Escalante Brothers Circus included actor Eddie Albert of television show Green Acres fame and Henry "Blackie" Escalante, who also went on to film and television.  

   Prior to World War II, and before his film career, Albert had toured Mexico as a clown and high-wire artist with the Escalante Brothers Circus. His official biographies state he secretly worked for U.S. Army intelligence, reportedly photographing German U-boats in Mexican harbors.

Right: Actor Eddie Albert got an early start with the Escalante Brothers Circus.

    Henry "Blackie" Escalante, the grandson of Circus founder Mariano Escalante, performed with the circus as an aerialist before working for more than 40 years as an actor and stuntman, including doubling for Johnny Weissmuller in the "Tarzan" films.   His work also included "Creature from the Black Lagoon" (1954), in which he played Chico, one of the boat crewmen,  stunt work on "The Conqueror" (1956), "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "Paint Your Wagon" (1969).

Left: Henry "Blackie" Escalante became a well-known actor and stuntman in Hollywood.

    Beginning in the 1960s, Escalante appeared in episodes of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.," "Mission: Impossible" and "Hart to Hart." His final TV appearance was in an 1983 episode of "The Fall Guy."

   By the mid to late 1940s, the small circuses that once brought such excitement to rural California began to fade from existence, although the public still wanted to see them.  

   A December 11, 1943 issue of Billboard reports, "The Escalante Circus, which has not been on road (in the U.S.) since 1938, opened November 4 for a six-day run in East Los Angeles..."  The Escalante Brothers Circus also performed in Orange County,  "at capacity" in Santa Ana for nine days" and on to Anaheim and La Habra, before heading south.   Their big top was a 100-foot roundtop" with "an eight-piece band...Business here was big and on several days many were turned away."

A circus parade in neighboring Santa Ana, California, circa September 1910. (Photo, Orange County Historical Society) 

*Editor's note: The historical marker for the Escalante Circus site is at 33° 42.093′ N, 117° 57.75′ W, in Fountain Valley, California, at the intersection of Talbert Avenue and Bushard Street, on the right when traveling east on Talbert Avenue.

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