This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Snake Lady of the Carnival Life and Fortunes Lost
A first-person reminiscence covers a carnival circuit from a barber chair memory to a Snake Lady who becomes a bearded-turned Snake Charmer. The narrator recalls the Snake Lady, her marriage to a Dutch farm owner, and the final eerie moment at Lake Okoboji as she confronts a garden snake. The tale threads circus life with danger, humor, and fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clancey
Bill Richards
Bill
Yankee Robinson
Atlanta
Gerogia
Riinson Circus
Menta
Flame-O
Hairy-ett
Hairyett
Athens
Jim Peterson
Baldy
Val
Johnny Comer
Old Jim
Wichita
Kansas
Jest
Gracie
Sells Floto Circus
Hagenbeck-Wallace and
Miller Bros
Okoboji