This year marks the 75th anniversary of Bridgeport’s Barnum Festival, a month-long celebration that starts in June and culminates in a Fourth of July celebration. Though named in honor of P.T. Barnum, the World’s Greatest Showman of the 19th century, the idea behind this festival originated in 1948. Herman Steinkraus, then president of the Bridgeport Brass Company, thought Barnum should be honored for all his kind acts in the city he loved. In November ’48, he met with then-Mayor Jasper McLevy and 100 interested citizens, including fellow industrialists and business people. Many companies, like Bridgeport Brass, had increased their employees to keep pace with wartime demand. Steinkraus’ factory alone saw its workforce triple from 3,000 to 10,000 workers. Unfortunately, these jobs depended on the wartime economy and were not sustainable in the subsequent peaceful years. By the late 1940s, postwar production cutbacks gave Bridgeport the highest unemployment numbers in Connecticut. With a weak economy and reduced consumer spending, the general mood in the city was grim.
he was also a patron of the arts. Seen next to him in this image
may be one of series of painting he commissioned from
Robert Lynn Lambdin.
Steinkraus’ initial idea was for a Barnum Day to be a morale-boosting celebration for residents. The goal was to distract citizens from their cares and worries while helping them appreciate their hometown. He also hoped to raise Bridgeport’s national profile by creating events like the Rose Festival of Pasadena, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the Mummer’s Parade of Philadelphia. Organizers were so enthusiastic about his idea that they immediately turned it into a weeklong celebration. Mayor McLevy explained: “We want to take the minds of our people from the many problems we thought the war would end. We have hardly had our nose from the grindstone a minute for the past ten years. It’s time we had some fun.”
Local celebrities from the city and neighboring towns contributed their time and talents to hype the festival. Westport artists Stevan Dohanos, Harold Von Schmidt, and Alden McWilliams painted elaborate antique circus wagons as part of a live art performance with blaring music near the festival headquarters at the Barnum Hotel. Signs nearby read, “Please don’t feed the artists!” A souvenir booklet was designed by Easton resident and graphic artist Robert G. Neubauer, with Bellamy Partridge, the noted Easton author, contributing text. More than six hundred volunteers decorated the city and organized events described as “being made to out-Barnum Barnum-if such a thing is possible!”
HSE Collections.
There were two street parades. The first had 50 floats and 100 marching bands representing Bridgeport’s municipal departments, schools, fraternal orders, businesses, and cultural organizations. The second was by Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily Circus, culminating at Seaside Park with a two-day performance. Both parades started near the corner of Main Street and Washington Avenue and carried on to Fairfield Avenue and then west to Park Avenue, passing underneath the Perry Memorial Arch. Footage of this parade survives and is digitized, giving us a sense of its monumental scale.
Over the years, the parade path and special events have changed. Today, there is no longer a 26-mile marathon race from Barnum’s birthplace in Bethel to Seaside Park in Bridgeport. The Jenny Lind singing competition, which was once a long-standing favorite, has been on hiatus for over a decade. And while the circus still comes to town, it is no longer part of the Barnum Festival program. Some traditions, however, have persevered. Since its first celebration, the festival has selected a king and queen from local high schools. On June 11, 1949, the first Barnum King and Queen were two Ludlowe High School students. Jo Brendel and Adrienne Zuger were crowned at the Big Top Ball at the State Armory on Main Street during a giant citywide prom-like event. Local newspapers estimated 2,500 people attended the ball, and more than 12,000 people viewed the event.
This competition aimed to recognize the most accomplished students from Bridgeport and its surrounding towns while attracting younger generations to the celebration. Participating high schools have nominated two students for the past 75 years. Selected by their peers, contestants need to be in the top 20% of their class academically and excel in various extra-curricular activities, including athletics and community service. In addition to writing an essay, each candidate is interviewed by a distinguished panel of judges composed of local leaders and celebrities. These interviews were broadcast on local radio shows and even televised early on. Newspaper articles profiled nominees and listed contestants in illustrated pull-out charts. And while there could only be one king and queen, the runners-up would serve as members of the royal court, creating an entire entourage outfitted in tuxedos and gowns for public events.
there was a full-page in the Bridgeport Post.
Sponsors for the festival soon keyed into this youthful demographic, donated prizes, and targeted their advertisements to this new audience. In the early years, being nominated by your school meant receiving books from the Post Publishing Company, a major sponsor. Winners and members of the royal court would receive a variety of gifts. The young men were given Remington electric razors, Emerson portable radios, Casco electric tool kits, and Columbia record albums in one year. Bulova watches for the girls were provided by Shaw’s Jewelry Shop on Bridgeport’s Main Street, along with jewelry cases from the Jennings Company. The Jay James Camera Shop on Fairfield Avenue provided cameras for both the boys and girls. The King and Queen also received college scholarship checks.
Easton has had its fair share of Barnum royalty. For starters, it should be noted that the first festival queen, Adrienne Zuger, settled in Easton to raise a family with her husband, Fred Mills. Several Easton students were nominated even before our town had a high school. In 1952, Adele Silverman, already the “State Vegetable Queen,” was nominated from Bassick High School and was a royal court member. When Barlow opened, Ron Gilly of Easton and Jane Rosberg of Redding were the school’s first nominees in 1961.
as a Barnum Royal Court member in 1952.
Walter Maginnis, Susan Logie, Donna Gigliotti and David Crosby. HSE Collections
And thanks to Glenn Govertsen, the Historical Society has a wealth of behind-the-scenes knowledge from his nomination in 1962. That year, he and Linda Whitworth, both from Easton, were selected by their classmates out of 16 eligible students. Despite his exemplary academic and athletic credentials, Glenn confesses he was not confident about his chances. He recently wrote about the final round of selection held at the Klein Memorial Theater:
“I was so flabbergasted. There were perhaps 30 high school kids on stage, and since I was from this tiny rural high school, Joel Barlow, I knew I had no chance. I still remember the announcer saying: “The second runner-up, male, from Joel Barlow High School, Glenn Govertsen.” I am not sure how I actually stood up and wandered to the designated spot on the stage. What a hoot!”
HSE Collections
I’ve been fortunate to meet Glenn and get to know him enough to say he deserved to be selected. Humility and generosity are some of his great qualities. Glenn has donated his royal medal and personal photos from the festival along with memorabilia to our archive, including the 1962 souvenir magazine and the scheduling itinerary for the royal court.
That year, Walter Maginnis from Masuk High was king, and the queen was Susan Logie of Trumbull High. The three additional courtiers besides Glenn included Lorraine Lorenzo from Ludlowe High, Donna Gigliotti of Notre Dame, and David Crosby of Milford High. This group, with chaperones, had a busy schedule immediately after the May 28 crowning. As Glenn remembers, “The whole Royal Court was taken to various stores in Bridgeport to receive gifts” and photographers were on hand documenting their every move.
The Jay James Camera Store was still a significant sponsor and gave all the students brownie cameras. The boys would also receive as gifts sports jackets to wear at their less formal events and their entire tuxedo ensemble for formal events. The girls were gifted both fancy gowns and more casual dresses. Everywhere they went from June 28 to July 4, the King and Queen rode in a white convertible, and their courtiers traveled in a blue one. The entire entourage included the Ringmaster Eaden M. Whiteman Jr., the Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren winners, Timothy McDonald and Linda Lacroix, and the Jenny Lind winner Carol Ann Santos, along with her two alternates, Adrienne Del Vecchio and Evelyn Sobocinski.
They were there for the Lion’s Club kickoff and part of the Ballyhoo Show that starred Bob Hope and Pat Boone. From the Wing Ding Festival at Beardsley Park to the parades, air, and auto shows, the 1962 Royal Court enjoyed every moment of its reign. Glenn recalled the fun of riding on their very own float. “It seems,” he said, “pretty funny to think we acted like celebrities, and we would wave to anyone along the route.” But most of all, he remembers the whole experience fondly and, to this day, refers to the group that all became friends as his “festival family.”
Parade. HSE Collections
Outside of the pomp and spectacle, Glenn noted that they also visited Bridgeport Hospital to bring cheer to those unable to attend the celebration in person. Today, the Royal Court continues this tradition through the Barnum Roadshow, visiting assisted living and rehabilitation centers in the area to brighten the lives of residents and bring them some fun and recreation. Students who have participated in the program note they enjoyed the new experiences and made new friends. Most importantly, they learned first-hand the transformative power of giving back to their community. Considering such a profound impact decades later, Steinkraus’ idea continues to be a success!
