Ringling Bros. Ending Elephant Acts in 3 Years

After 145 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is ending its elephant acts by 2018, among the concerns over animal treatment.

The circus currently has 13 elephants traveling with its tour units. They will be relocated to the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk City, Florida once their acts end. More than 40 other elephants are already at the Center. However, other exotic animals such as lions and tigers will continue performing.

It's a victory for the animal rights groups such as PETA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who have been claiming mistreatment of circus animals for a long time. While the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was able to won a nearly $16 million settlement from a number of animal-rights groups including the Humane Society of the United States, ending a 14-year legal battle, it was the shifting consumer perceptions done the elephant acts in.

The stamped card features one of the eight USPS Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps which uses a reproduction of a 1926 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey poster made by the Strobridge Lithographing Company, showing an ornately costumed elephant. The vintage poster used a bragging tag line “5 Big Herds of Performing Elephants in 5 Circus Rings at One Time” to advertise the Greatest Show on Earth. The card has a pictorial first-day-of-issue postmark on May 5, 2014 from Sarasota, FL 34230.

Greatest Show on Earth

Fifty eight years ago, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed its very last "Big Tent" show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on July 16, 1956. According to Wikipedia, after World War II, the audience, whose tastes were influenced by movies and televisions, moved away from the circus performances. On the other hand, while crowds dwindled, the production costs had increased, which resulted in what an article in Life magazine observed "a magical era had passed forever." All subsequent circus shows have been held indoor and performed at arenas .

Featured postcard was made from replica of a vintage poster "The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth," c. 1899, billed as the world's largest, grandest, best amusement institution. It offers a general view of the twelve colossal water proof canvas pavilions. Credit to Library of Congress.

The U.S. Postal Service issued Vintage Circus Posters Commemorative stamps early this year on May 5, 2014,

William J. Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Traveling Postcard US-2452513 to Ukraine shows the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, which  includes the Clinton Presidential Library, the offices of the Clinton Foundation, and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

It is located on a 69,000-square-meter or 17-acre land by the Arkansas River and Interstate 30. The main building extends towards the Arkansas River, exemplifying Clinton's campaign promise of "building a bridge to the 21st century." The Clinton Presidential Center was dedicated nine years ago on November 18, 2004. The 1899 Rock Island Railroad Bridge across the Arkansas River, shown on the left of the postcard, was originally leading to Choctaw Station. It has been converted into a pedestrian bridge connecting to North Little Rock and renamed as the Clinton Park Bridge. The dedication ceremony was held on September 30, 2011, and the bridge was opened to the public on October 2, 2011.

The photo on the postcard was taken on April 10, 2006 When I was driving cross-country from West Palm Beach to Las Vegas. The postcard, mailed along with more than a dozen other cards including some private swaps, has traveled more than 30 days. All those cards mailed on that day appear lost in the mail, since none of the cards was received. I am in the process of  re-sending the replacement. So far, one replacement card was received. Unfortunately, some of those postcards are unique and do not have duplicates.