Passing

Dear friends and family,
At 9:20 pm, October 18, William Neil Strong passed away in his sleep. It is what he wanted, what he wished for. Wishes do come true. He was surrounded by love. His wife of 50 years, Trudy and his son David and five dogs, were at his bedside. He was 75. Many of his friends and family have been visiting since his return from the hospital including his younger son Steven who flew in from LA. He mentioned how he enjoyed all the good words and prayers. He will be missed by many and was a great force in the Circus community. The fasinating history that he shared with us all, performer and gaujo alike, will stay with us forever. This blog was a passion for Bill and he was checking it as recently as Saturday. "Buckles, will have to pick up the slack", said Bill.
The 24 hour man sets the route to the next lot. Please follow the arrows Bill. You will find your way home. You will be missed.

In loving memory

~QUASSAR'S QUIZ~WHO ARE THEY????

HERE ARE THREE CHANCES FOR YOU OLD-TIMERS TO IDENTIFY THIS TALENTED YOUNG COUPLE. I EVEN LEFT THEIR FIRST NAMES AS A HINT.

~JOANNE CALLING FROM THE NORWALK CONNECTICUT FAIR~

Joanne, & Nellie Hanneford are working a little one ring show at the fair.



CAROL LUNDSFORD CHAPMAN

~FROM DAVID & DENISE GANN STRONG'S, "TWO STRONG PRODUCTIONS"~

In case you missed my daughter-in-laws announcement on facebook, here is the official word.

~"FINALE"~ #2:

~"FINALE"~ #3:

~FROM LARRY RUHL~ SURF'S UP~

I wanted to put these on yesterday morning, thought they would be a nice fresh start, but am still proceeding a little slow.

These beautiful images of waves were taken by Clark Little, whom many consider the premier photographer of surf.

He has deicated his life to photographing waves and has published a selection of the best images of his career.

Below he captures magical moments, "inside the tube", as surfeers say!

Sun . glints off wave
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #2~

Sand . in surf
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #3~

Tubular . shining
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #4~

Beach . surf crashes down
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #5~

Molten . liquid gold
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #6~

White . tumultuous water
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #7~

Splash . stunning shot
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #8~

Red . mysterious shot
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #9~

Break . wave crashes down
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~SURF'S UP #10~

The See-Through Sea Shell
ClarkLittle/SWNS

~REGARDING LEO GASCA~

IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR I RECEIVED A QUESTION REGARDING THE WHEREABOUTS OF LEO GASCA. I RECEIVED THIS, IN AN EMAIL TODAYI am Leo Gasca's niece. My uncle died about 3 years ago. He lived in California. He was married to my Aunt Josephine Gasca who passed away several years ago.

Joann

~The following came as a comment but I thought itn deserved better exposure.~

From Dave Price
Many thanks for this information. I am the one who had asked about Leo both here and on Buckles Blog.

What a great guy was Leo. In 1972 I think it was I was in a washateria in some now-forgotten town putting a poster in the window for the Hanneford show. There was no attendent but I put a panel date in the window and left a couple of tickets in a box they had there in hopes that the poster would stay or "live" as we called it.

There was a guy in there doing his laundry and he said, "What show is that for?" and I responded, "The Hanneford Circus." I was surprised when he then asked, "Which Hanneford?" and when I said "Tommy" he said he knew Tommy and his folks. So we got acquainted right there.

He was presenting an assembly program at a nearby school in town in about an hour so I went and found my wife Mary Jane and we went to the show, which by the way was excellent.

Leo invited us over to his trailer for supper. He said, "You bring the beer and I'll furnish the steaks, which sounded good to us so we took him up on it.

We visited many times after that, usually when he would come through here playing schools and after we got off the road. We were very fond of him and I regret his passing.

Thanks again, Dave

~FROM JOANNE~LOOKIN' BACK~

Here we are 48 years ago and now. While we were in Gainesville we went to Billys house for some Bar B Q and talk about old times. Believe me, that between Billy and PeeWee there are some really good stories.We really enjoy our visits with him and his daughter Keely and his grandson Rob. Rob just turned 16 and is a great kid.

1961 GIL GRAY CIRCUSBilly Woods, Joanne Wilson, & Pee Wee Pinson

1963 POLACK BROS. CIRCUSBilly & Rosie Valentine Woods, Joanne & Pee Wee Pinson

2009Pee Wee, Billy, & Joanne

THERE'S A CORNY OLD SONG THAT SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER?
"FRIENDSHIP,,,,FRIENDSHIP,,,,IT'S A PERFECT BLENDSHIP,,,,WHEN OTHER FRIENDSHIPS HAVE BEEN FORGOT,,,,OURS WILL STILL BE HOT"!!!!

~PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT~

AND IF ANYONE OUT THERE THINKS THIS IS A DAMN JOKE,,,,COME SPEND A DAY WITH ME AND SEE WHAT I GO THROUGH,,,,COME AND SEE WHAT MY WIFE GOES THROUGH,,,,COME SHARE MY "HELL"

~LIFE ON THE ROAD~

HERE'S A SIDE OF OUR LIFE THE PUBLIC DOESN'T SEE. OF COURSE IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THE VEHICLES OF YESTERYEAR COULD MOVE FAST ENOUGH TO CAUSE THE FOLLOWING SCENES, BUT THEY DID.

~LIFE ON THE ROAD~ #2

~LIFE ON THE ROAD~ #3

WITH TODAYS HIGH HORSE-POWER, & SPEEDS THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A "ROLLOVER", I GUESS BACK THEN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUST A "TIP OVER"

~LIFE ON THE ROAD~ #4

I GUESS THIS COULD BE DESCRIBED AS OFF THE ROAD,,,,ON THE ROAD!

~LIFE ON THE ROAD~ #5

NOW THAT'S A WRECK AT ANY SPEED!

~BEWARE OF STRANGERS BEARING GIFTS~

Another unwanted dog with a new home, someone gave Joanne this, "sweet little female", a new addition to Wilson Dogs.

~MORE DENVER VISITORS FOR JOANNE~

At first glance you might think this is Gail Barnes, but in fact it is her beautiful look alike Daughter,Cherie.
With her is her handsome husband Rick Weis and their adorable daughter Michelle. They attended the Sat. matinee show of Chitty in Denver and after the show I took them on a backstage tour. We had a very nice visit. She is just as nice as her Mom.

~JOANNE'S PHONE CALL FROM DENVER~

David,Denise and Triston Strong, Trudy and Bill's son and family came to see the Chitty show Sunday and we went to their house after the show .David Bar-B-Qued and we stayed overnight in their front yard.We had a good time and it was great to see David. Enclosed is a photo of the 70 foot blue bear that peers into the Denver convention center. What a site !!