Carnival 1972

In The Summer of 1972 I quit my job as a janitor at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and joined the Jolly Jester Carnival that toured Western Minnesota, and the Dakotas. I thought it might yield some good photos. An artist who worked with me at the university told me I would regret it if I didn't take this opportunity. He was right; I did get some good pictures out of it. I met Chris "Corndog" Naylor from England whose first impressions of the US were made in the carnival. Our show partnered with a bigger carnival and I sometimes accompanied the owner on long 300 + mile trips to fix some broken equipment or other problems. I was there mainly to keep him awake. Carnivals are really a sub-culture many of the folks make it a life and others are just doing a gig job for the season. Some people didn't want their pictures taken because they were wanted by the law. But if you get in trouble with a local "mark" you just yell "ruben" and your co- workers will come to help. Luckily I didn't have to resort to this. I ran the inflatable clown that kids bounced around inside and at the same time took kids on the train ride. Our show often coincided with a town festival so I got to see some Midwest small town culture like the "Rhubarb Festival" in Leola South Dakota.