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Are you old enough to remember when the circus coming to town was a really big deal? Many of us are, and here is such a vintage scene from downtown Tullahoma. The date was May 5, 1935, and the occasion was a parade eastward on Lincoln Street to drum up excitement for the Mighty Haag Circus, which would perform on May 6. That performance date was a Monday, by the way.

The Mighty Haag Circus was formed in the early 1890s by Ernest Haag in Shreveport, Louisiana, and was one of the best known southern-based circuses of the era. It was active from the early 1890s until 1938, and used various forms of transport, from wagons to boats to railroad to trucks, over the years. Progress in transportation availability and quality allowed the circus to expand its reach, eventually performing in the upper Midwest and even into Canada. Ernest Haag passed away in early 1935, not long before the circus came to Tullahoma.

Several well-known circus performers of the era were part of the Mighty Haag shows, but the best-known person outside the circus world was trumpeter and bandleader Harry James. His father, Everett James, led the circus band, and his mother, Myrtle, was an acrobat and horseback rider. Harry performed as a contortionist at age four and later as a drummer. The James family left the Mighty Haag Circus in 1931 when Harry was 15 years old.

This picture presents some Tullahoma history beyond the circus aspect. In the distance, behind the wagon, is the Rollins & Levan Furniture Store, now Memories Antiques. To its right is the I.O.O.F. (Odd Fellows) building, though it is unclear what business occupies the ground floor. It was very common in those days for a fraternal organization to build a downtown structure, use the upper floors for its group functions, and rent the lower floors to businesses. A few years after this photograph was taken, the Mecca Theatre was housed in that building. Now it’s the western half of Memories Antiques.

Behind the elephants is the building that currently houses The Well Church. On the right, is the Dewey Dry Goods & Ladies’ Ready-to-Wear, most recently Art & Antiques. Beside that, we can see part of the sign for J.H. Moore, but not enough to know what the business was. However, a little bit of sleuthing in old phone books reveals that there was a J.H. Moore farm in the area in the 1920s. This was likely a grocery store where the farm’s goods were sold and that space was a grocery store under various ownerships for decades. Today, there is still evidence of a grocery store having been there as a sign reading “Bill’s Cash Grocery” is visible above the entrance.

This photograph comes to us by way of Tullahoma News reader and local history buff, Randall Brooksbank, who also provided some research about the Mighty Haag Circus and its origins. The information appears in a few different places online. The Wikipedia site is the most informative; the Circus Historical Society site shows a few small images of performers and advertising.

Do you have sharp pictures of buildings and events from Tullahoma’s past? If so, reach out to me at alanmayes@lighttube.net.