Waxahachie retiree David Hudgins continues to devote his time to his passions of history and writing, with two new books recently published.
Joining the shelves with his other circus-themed books are “The Greatest Show on Earth Comes to Corsicana” and “Frank Buck: Bring ‘Em Back Alive.” He’s not stopping – and is already underway on his next books: a children’s book with a circus-related storyline and a book specific to the Ringling Brothers circus’ visits to Waxahachie.
Through his research and books, Hudgins wants to provide the reader with more than a simple “the circus came to town” storyline. A member of the Circus Historical Society, he delves deeply into that nonprofit’s records and historical documents while also mining the considerable trove of material he’s acquired for his personal collection of circus memorabilia.
For Hudgins, many of his questions have centered around what went on behind the scenes, such as the logistics involved in moving thousands of people and animals around the country. His interests center on the stories behind the stories.
From his research, he knew that 1926 was the last year a Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey circus appeared in Ellis County. The last year for Corsicana, however, was 1947.
“I just kind of wanted to know why, and basically, I found out that Corsicana was a railroad hub,” he said.
As a railroad hub, the circus trains could travel to Corsicana and depart from there toward any point. There was also the oil money the city’s economy drew from, money that helped support the circuses to come there.
“One time, [Corsicana] had more millionaires per capita than any place else in Texas, so there was a lot of money there,” Hudgins said, noting that the presence of “oil derricks everywhere” is mentioned in the historical papers he’s come across in his research.
Not only does the book go into the why of how Corsicana was on the routes for years longer than other towns as a stop for circuses, it also goes into the stories behind the different acts on tour through those times.
“As you’ll see in the book, it gets into the circus stars and some of the big names, like the Wallendas and Gargantua the Great Ape,” he said. “There’s a whole chapter on Gargantua there. … I try to tell not just about the circus but about the acts that went on. I try to tell more of how they got there, what all they went through.”
It was Hudgins’ love for those personalized stories that led to one of them having its own breakout book, “Frank Buck: Bring ‘Em Back Alive.”
While he was already familiar with Buck, Hudgins discovered through his circus research that the legendary animal hunter and trainer had spent a year with Ringling Brothers. He also learned that Buck was from Gainesville, Texas, where there’s now a zoo named in his honor.
“I wanted to find out more,” Hudgins said, noting that quest for more information resulted in what is his fourth book. “It’s about [Buck’s] one year with the circus and then it’s about his life too.”
For more information about the books and how to purchase them, contact Hudgins at 972-679-3510 or email [email protected].
