Charles Philip "Chappie" Fox (May 27, 1913 – September 12, 2003) was a

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

historian and philanthropist born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, who greatly expanded the Circus World Museum and helped found the Great Circus Parade in Milwaukee. Fox took over the tiny museum, in

Baraboo, Wisconsin Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropo ...

, in 1960, and began to collect and restore antique circus wagons. These wooden wagons had been built in the late 19th and early 20th century, and lay in disrepair across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Today, the museum owns over 200 of these wagons. In 1963, Fox and Ben Barkin, under the sponsorship of the Schlitz Brewing Company, began the Great Circus Parade. A self-trained circus historian, Fox wrote and edited many books about circus animals, advertising and imagery, and also authored many children's stories. He died of heart disease at a nursing home in Baraboo and is survived by his wife Sophie and daughter, Barbara Fox McKellar.

Bibliography

Circus history

* ''Circus parades, a pictorial history of America's greatest pageant,'' Watkins Glen, N.Y., Century House, 1953. * ''A ticket to the circus; a pictorial history of the incredible Ringlings,'' Seattle : Superior, 1959. * ''A pictorial history of performing horses.,'' Seattle, Superior, 1960. * ''The circus comes to town''. Milwaukee, Inland Press, c1963. * ''The circus in America'' (with Tom Parkinson). Waukesha, Wis., Country Beautiful, 1969. * ''American circus posters in full color'' (editor). New York : Dover, 1978. . * ''The great circus street parade in pictures'' (with F. Beverly Kelley). New York : Dover, c1978. . * ''Old-time circus cuts : a pictorial archive of 202 illustrations'' (editor). New York : Dover, 1979. . * ''Circus baggage stock, a tribute to the Percheron horse''. Boulder, Colo. : Pruett, c1983. . * ''Billers, banners, and bombast: the story of circus advertising'' (with Tom Parkinson). Boulder, Colo. : Pruett, c1985. . * ''Horses in harness'' (edited by Jean Van Dyke). Greendale, WI : Reiman, c1987. . * ''The great circus street parade in pictures'' (with F. Beverly Kelly, 2nd ed.). New York : Dover, 1990. . * ''America's great circus parade: its roots, its revival, its revelry''. Greendale, WI : Reiman, c1993. * ''Horse drawn wagon collection at the Circus World Museum, Baraboo, Wisconsin'' (editor). Milwaukee : Great Circus Parade, c1994. * ''The circus in America'' (with Tom Parkinson). Santa Monica, CA: Hennessey & Ingalls, 2002. .

Children's books

* ''Frisky, try again''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1959 * ''Come to the circus''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1960. * ''A fox in the house''. Chicago : Reilly & Lee, 1960. * ''Mr. Stripes the gopher''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1962. * ''Birds will come to you''. Chicago : Reilly & Lee, 1963. * ''Mr. Duck's big day''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1963. * ''Snowball, the trick pony''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1964. * ''When autumn comes''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, c1966. * ''Opie Possum's trick''. Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1968. * ''Sweet Sue's adventures'' (story by Sam Campbell). Brushton, N.Y. : TEACH Services, c2002. .

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Chappie 1913 births 2003 deaths Writers from Milwaukee 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers American children's writers 20th-century American male writers Historians from Wisconsin