Wisconsin Couple Builds Miniature Circus Models

Wisconsin Couple Builds Miniature Circus Models “My interest in miniature circus figures began when I was barely old enough to open a glue can,” says Ralph Pierce, a craftsman from Baraboo, Wis. “I was 8 years old when the Circus World Museum opened in Baraboo, and from that point on I was hooked on circus models.” The museum remains a thriving business today. For the past 52 years, Pierce and his wife, Joan, have been circus craft makers and collectors of circus memorabilia. They’ve produced and sold circus models, tents and dioramas to hundreds of collectors, companies and organizations. Ralph and Joan like to point out that “while some people might complain that their life is a circus, ours truly is, and we’ve always enjoyed it.” After collecting thousands of pieces of circus memorabilia, they opened a circus hobby store in Baraboo. “People who visited the Circus Museum would visit our store and learn about our model and diorama-building business. Gem City Amusements just grew from there.” During a trip to an Ohio model show in the late 70s, they learned that custom-made miniature circus tents were hard to find. Ralph soon began designing tiny tents, and Joan cut the patterns from tent fabric and sewed the pieces together with durable specialty fishing line.  “Over the years, we’ve sold tents to people all over the U.S. and many foreign countries,” Ralph says. Some are very tiny; others are about 12 in. wide by 2 ft long, and some are large, measuring 30 in. wide by 8 ft long. Their largest contract required nearly 6 years to carefully refurbish a circus model set built in the 1930s and 1940s. When it was completed, Ralph says three shipping containers were needed to move it from Connecticut to California. Those artifacts and exhibits now trace circus history at the Rancho Quien Sabe Retreat Center in Tres Pinos, Calif. “In the early 1990s, we were asked by a model railroad supplier to build small circus tents to be sold because of the growing interest in circus modeling created by the annual Schlitz Circus Parade, held in Milwaukee,” Ralph says. “The parade was viewed by more than a half million people, so it was a huge event. Joan had to have extra help to build 3,000 small tents for the interest that parade created.” The Pierces have always strived for authenticity in their miniatures. Their characters, wagons, tents and other items are scaled from images in their collection of 600 lithographs dating back to 1893. The collection includes more than 5,000 pictures, many books, negatives, route maps, programs and souvenir items for reference. “Our customers have evolved over the years from circus model collectors to model railroaders who now want to add the color and excitement of an authentic circus and tent display to their layouts,” Ralph says. “We make those because railroads were an integral part of moving a circus across the U.S. before the freeway system. Some circus trains were almost a mile long.” Ralph produces dioramas that showcase all aspects of the circus, including rarities such as high divers, a 6-legged horse, the world’s largest twins and clown cars, to name a few. “I always add things that provide realism, like performing horses, vegetation, railcars and different circus wagons. The people even wear authentic clothing and custom jewelry.” The golden age of circus performances has waned, and the Pierces are gradually winding down their business. “We’ve made thousands of items for collectors, museums and displays across the country. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’ve met amazing people. The miniatures we’ve made really give people an idea of what the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ was like years ago,” Ralph says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ralph Pierce, P.O. Box 101, Baraboo, Wis. 53913 (ralphbbc@yahoo.com).

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