Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Bob Marsh ran away with the circus when he was 61 years old. His wife ran away with him, and now the North Carolina couple tour the country eight months of the year.
Marsh is "Mr. Jiggs," a regular clown and advance man for the Kelly Miller Circus, which will put up its tents Sunday for two shows at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds in Warsaw.
"I led a double life," Marsh said dramatically, when he stopped by the Times-Union office Thursday. "While maintaining a home and raising three kids, I performed a great deal in my spare time doing stage and club work and made spot appearances with circuses as a clown."
With a big red bulb of a nose, a suspicious-looking red bloom on his jacket, the requisite big shoes, long-tailed jacket and crushed black hat sitting on his shocked hair, Mr. Jiggs promoted the circus as the best show in town, if not on Earth.
"It's a wonderful institution. I wouldn't trade places with anyone in the world," he said. "The circus represents everything that's good about America and the world."
While Mrs. Marsh works in the ticket wagon and on the midway prior to the show and during intermissions, Mr. Jiggs, her husband's alter-ego, either entertains or travels a week ahead of the show, working with sponsors. Sunday's show is sponsored by the Winona Lake Lions Club.
The Kelly Miller Circus was founded in 1938 and is based in Hugo, Okla. Acrobats, jugglers, aerielists, clowns, of course, and animal trainers travel from March to October.
"We have three Asian elephants," Mr. Jiggs said about the animals that travel the tan bark trail. They range in age from their mid-20s to early 30s.
"They are more important than any performer in the show. The life expectancy of an elephant in the wild is 35 years. The life expectancy of elephants in the Kelly Miller Circus is 72 years."
There are also horses, dogs, a group of basketball-playing Russian bears, chimpanzees, camels and llamas.
"They're treated with tender, loving care. They enjoy their relationship with humans," the advance man said. "Yes, they're worked and they perform. The love the attention and their relationship with the trainers. They thrive on the applause."
The entire Kelly Miller Circus menagerie is on display to the public as soon as the circus gets to town, which will be early Sunday morning.
The public is invited to watch the big top go up and take an elephant ride if so inclined.
"The circus is changing," Mr. Jiggs said. "The trend is to have a high-quality small show. It's not a kiddie show, either, it's a family show.
"Those of us in the circus industry are extremely proud of the fact that the circus is not only one of the oldest forms of entertainment in the world, it is also one of the few forms of entertainment that has never required censorship."
The 64-year-old entertainer caught the fever as a little boy when his father took him to the circus grounds.
"I fell in love with the circus then," he said. "And it started a flame that has burned all this time."
In high school he met Emmett Kelly and other famous circus people. After college graduation he hightailed it to Florida and auditioned as a clown for Ringling Brothers. He wasn't hired.
He did a stint in the Army, married the woman of his dreams, kept a steady job and stayed in touch with the circus for 36 years.
"I got to fulfill a dream," Mr. Jiggs said, his eyes shining. "I'm living a dream."
Shows are set for 2 and 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for children under 12 in advance of the show, available at Zale Drugs, The Flag Pole, Farmers Insurance and Ace Hardware. On circus day adult admission is $9, children are $6.
