Some of my best and earliest memories revolve around Gohere Bay. The scenery, fresh air, ruggedness and the lake all play a part in my ongoing fascination with this craggy part of the world. Another element that is sometimes overlooked is the time I spent in exhibition halls around the Chicagoland area. Every winter, the holidays past, the dog days of the school year were offset by the excitement and bustle of trade show season. There are four pivotal shows I recall, each unique for atmosphere, location and experiences.
The biggest and most overwhelming was the Boat and RV Show at McCormick place. It was huge and spending days wandering in and out of RV's and campers or huge sailboats and cabin cruisers was a thrill.
The Lockport Sport Show was a quirky, small town affair, held at the local high school. It was small and homey and close by.
The Rosemont show was held at the Rosemont Expo Center, near the infamous Rosemont Horizon Theatre, infamous for collapsing while under construction. It was kind of a sterile and faceless show.
But the one that captured all the attention, was the show at Chicago's Interational Amphitheatre. Featuring a stage show with trained dogs, Peanuts the Clown, Tuffy Truesdale and Victor the Wrestling Bear, cigar-box jugglers, sound effects acts, log rolling, casting and bow and arrow demonstrations...you just don't get that kind of entertainment any more. I remember the sound effects guy doing a comparison of different types of door knobs rolling down a flight of stairs. He had no machines, just his mouth and a microphone and a very warped sense of humour.
Dalton Peck was a log roller from British Columbia, I remember that from all the years John Bromfield introduced him as he and his various partners had log-rolling competitions, canoe jousts and Dalton worked his giant rolling ball. A few years he had a dog with him as well.
Canoe jousting was one of my favorites and I always wanted to give it a try. The plot was simple: Two teams, each in a canoe and armed with a single boxing glove at the end of a long pole. One team member steered the canoe with a paddle while the other engaged in a pushing and sort of boxing with the other team. The paddlers would splash each other, maneuver the boat for the best tactical approach and try to keep the boat upright. The round ended when one battler ended up in the water.
The stage show featured John Bromfield, Sheriff of Cochise on television, as master of ceremonies. John was a movie actor of some note in the 50's and 60's in addition to his television work. His booming voice and imposing presence served him well as host.
The pool hosted log rolling as well as demonstrations of water dogs performing retreiving skills and the lovely Judy Pachner performing casting demonstrations. She had routines where she handle two and three fly lines at a time as well as target casting into rings in the pool and trick such as the 'bow and arrow', loops and other tricks. I spent hours on the dock in Gohere Bay trying to master some of those tricks.
My very favorite acts were the cigar box jugglers and plate spinners. Both were wildly popular on the variety shows of the day and appear to be lost art forms. I keep trying to explain these acts to my children, but sadly there are few examples. Maybe YouTube would have something.....
For more information on John Bromfield check out http://www.johnbromfield.com/
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