An Afternoon With the Showmen

HUGO, OKLA. — Under a cloudless sky, enduring temperatures resembling late August rather than early October, I walked among the tombstones in this modest town 10 miles north of the Red River. This is the Showmen’s Rest, part of the city cemetery. Here lie, among a few hundred others: Big John: “The Man With More Friends Than Santa Claus.” Donnie and Jone MCintosh: Circus, Fairs, Carnivals, Rodeos, Street Corners. “We Had the Good Life But the Season Ended.” John August Strong, with a larger-than-life etching on a pillar celebrating his years operating the Big Strong John...

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