News Items from The Kansas City Journal ~ Old News That's New to You from Vintage Kansas City.com

August 27, 2025

KANSAS CITY BOY AT CARNIVAL.

Earl Flynn, in Dancing Stunt, on

Next Week's Bill.

The stars of the free vaudeville at Carnival park next week will be Mazuz and Mazette, the comedy acrobats who have been seen several times at the Orpheum theater. Earl Flynn, the Kansas City boy, who has played the last two seasons with the Al G. Fields Minstrels, and formerly with the West Minstrels, Ward and Vokes, "Fiddle-Dee-Dee" and other companies, will have a novelty dancing stunt on the same bill.

Flynn was born in Kansas City and attended the Lathrop school. His father, William Flynn, was in business here and in Kansas City, Kas., for nearly twenty years. Flynn lives at 3334 Prospect avenue. Others in the bill are Clifford and Robbins, character singers, and E., J. Olson, banjoist, formerly of the Olson brothers. The bill is up to the standard of the Napanees, who are making a great success this week in the free vaudeville at Carnival park.

Labels: Carnival Park, Prospect avenue, theater, vaudeville

July 25, 2025

CUPID PLAYS HAVOC IN BAND.

Navassars' Manager Is Kept Busy

Looking for New Musicians.

A band of women musicians is much harder to manage than a band of men musicians. Most men who have tried to manage one woman will see the difficulty in trying to handle sixty or seventy.

Managing the Navassar Ladies' band, which is playing at Carnival park, brings no end of trouble. Not that the women of the band are more fretful or perverse than their sisters who cook and sew in their own homes, but Cupid interferes.

Already this season the Navassar band has lost eight members through marriage. When a man musician marries he usually takes his wife with him for the honeymoon, but the women musicians can't very well travel with a husband tagging along with them, mostly because hubby must have a job somewhere. So the women leave the band when they marry.

The band manager? Why, he sighs when he hears the news, congratulates the groom and searches for another woman to take the bride's place in the organization.

Labels: arts, Carnival Park, marriage, music

July 23, 2025

GREW UP ON INDIAN CLUBS.

Community in Chicago Has Supplied

the Country With Jugglers.

Within five blocks in Chicago, South Side, nineteen Indian club jugglers who are now appearing professionally were born and raised. Nearly all are attached to the Orpheum circuit.

Five of them are the Juggling Jordans, playing this week at Carnival park, who will play the Orpheum circuit next winter. The Five Mowatts, who are now in Paris, the Five Normans, now playing in the West coast theaters, the two McBranns and Fred and May Waddell also learned their tricks there.

"The babies around where we were raised play with old Indian clubs," said George Jordan, one of the Carnival park five. "All of us practiced in garrets and no one could ask a more critical audience than that which gathers when some young fellow announces he has become proficient at the game. If he can pass muster with the Indian clubs before that crowd of experienced critics, he need never fear the 'hook' on any theatrical engagement he gets. That crowd has seen the best in the business.

Labels: Carnival Park, Chicago, theater, visitors

September 2, 2025

A CHANGE IN CAR SIGNS.

"Minnesota Avenue" Displaces "Car-

nival Park" and "Indiana Avenue."

Two familiar stret car signs ceased to exist yeaterday. They were on the "Indiana" and the "Carnival Park" lines. A consolidation of the two lines was effected yesterday into what will be called "Minnesota Avenue." The new line will be run over the same rounte as formerly but an extension of the Indiana line from Thirty-first street to Carnival park, Kansas City, Kas., will be made. Hereafter persons looking for the Carnival park and Indiana cars will reach their destination by way of the Minnesota avenue line.

Six new cars, similar in construction to those on the Rockhill line, were placed in commission on Twelfth street yesterday. In all, Twelfth street will gain twenty new cars as soon as the wiring is instaled. Today several more will be added and by Wednesday the equipment on the thoroughfare is expected to be greatly improved.

Labels: Carnival Park, Indiana avenue, Kansas City Kas, Minnesota avenue, Rockhill, streetcar, Thirty-first street, Twelfth street

August 20, 2025

FLORENCE WALKER CAUGHT.

Girl Who Escaped From Detention

Home Again in Custody.

Acting on a "tip" that Florence Walker, one of the three girls who made a sensational escape from the deteintion home last December, could be found at Carnival park, Edgar Warden, acting chief probationary officer, effected her capture early yesterday morning amid a dramatic scene and returned her to the home. She will be taken to the Girls' Training School in Chillicothe, probably today, to where she was sentenced to four years' confinement just previous to her escape.

The belief that the Walker girl and her companions were aided in their escape by persons outside the institution who feared for their own safety from the law and was the impelling motive for the daring act lent color to the affiar, which at the time created a small sensation.

Accompanied by the brother of the Walker gir's companion Warden went to Carnival park. After several hours' search she and the other girl were found in the company of two young men. Warden placed both girls under arrest, but says he had some difficulty in obtaining their conssent to return to issouri. Upon threat of turning them over to the Kansas authorities they were persuaded, it is said, to return to the detention home. The companion of the Walker girl was tried in juvenile court yesterday morning and paroled in the custody of her mother.

Labels: Carnival Park, detention home, juvenile court

August 7. 1907

THREW HIS MONEY IN LAGOON.

Visitor to Carnival Park Flung His

Money Away.

Roy C. Hackney, aged 20 years, an employe of a Kansas City, Mo., wholesale hou se visited Carnival park, Kansas City, Kas., last Sunday evening and was arrested while in the act of throwing money into the lagoon at the bottom of the "chutes." He was takne to Bethany hospital and kept until yesterday afternoon, when he was arraigned in the probate court on the charge of insanity. He is the son of A. S. Hackney, of Kansas City, Mo., and at the request of the young man's relatives he was ordered sent to the state asylum at Osawatomie.

It seems from the testimony of his elder brother, Hackney is subject to periodical spells of insanity. At times he is perfectly rational and has been steadily employed for the past couple of months. However, his mind frequently collapses. When under one of those spells he has a mania for throwing away money. He had over $20 in cash with him when he went to the park Sunday and after spending a small sum at the different attractions he gave a friend who was with him $9 and then threw the remainder into the lagoon.

Labels: Carnival Park, hospitals, Kansas City Kas, mental health

May 6, 2025

GONE AFTER ATTRACTIONS.

President Horton to Bring Them to

the Carnival Park.

John C. Horton, president of the Carnival Park Company, Kansas City, Kas., left Sunday morning for an extended tour of the East to investigate vaudeville attractions and other amusement propositions. He expects to be gone at least two weeks, and will visit the parks of Chicago, Buffalo, New York and Charleston, S. C. Mr. Horton may also take a hurried look around the Jamestown exposition grounds for new features and ideas in park building.

Although the rain fell with scarcely an intermission all day Sunday, work of construction on carnival buildings was carried on as usual. Officials about the grounds say the doors will open at the scheduled time, May 18.

Labels: amusement, Carnival Park, Kansas City Kas, vaudeville