Randylyon: Created page with "SMITH, Tom. (Dubuque, ca 1878--Maquoketa, IA, ?) As a child, Smith and his friends practiced acrobatics in the piles of sawdust of the lumber mills near the ICE HARBOR. Ta..."

2015-05-05T20:57:15Z

Created page with "SMITH, Tom. (Dubuque, ca 1878--Maquoketa, IA, ?) As a child, Smith and his friends practiced acrobatics in the piles of sawdust of the lumber mills near the ICE HARBOR. Ta..."

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SMITH, Tom. (Dubuque, ca 1878--Maquoketa, IA, ?) As a child, Smith and his friends practiced acrobatics in the piles of sawdust of the lumber mills near the [[ICE HARBOR]]. Taking what he learned, Tom and his younger brother Harry became nationally known in the circus world as a balancing act and as trainers in an animal show.

Smith's rise to national prominence began in the sawdust piles and in the winter moved to the [[YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION (Y.M.C.A.)]] where he put on acrobatic programs. As teenagers, the brothers decided to see how far they could take their talents. They quit their factory jobs and joined a small circus in Wisconsin. They never lacked for a job because their type of entertainment was always in demand. Occasionally they played in vaudeville in Chicago. While traveling through Maquoketa, Tom met and soon married a girl he brought into the act.

As circus organizations merged, performers were expected to do many tasks in addition to their performances. Getting older, the brothers decided to start an animal act with dogs, ponies and monkeys. They gave this up at the end of [[WORLD WAR II]]. In 1960 Tom Smith operated a nursing home in Maquoketa.

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Source:

"From Dubuque's Sawdust, He Reached Top of Heap," ''Telegraph Herald'', May 29, 1960, Dubuque News, p. 1

[[Category: Entertainers]]

SMITH, Tom - Revision history

Randylyon: Created page with "SMITH, Tom. (Dubuque, ca 1878--Maquoketa, IA, ?) As a child, Smith and his friends practiced acrobatics in the piles of sawdust of the lumber mills near the ICE HARBOR. Ta..."