Play welcome to Vanunu shortstop, I'm Josh, there's chuck it's just the two of us again. We can let it all hang out. Cuz he's not around for just a couple of dudes hanging out and her bathrobes talking about Gibtown, the town in Florida near Sarasota and Tampa where the people who lived in the circus or the carnivals went to live when they weren't working. Let's go quick story since with on a short stuff I'll make it twenty seconds. Look. I I got out of the shower today and I almost went and put on a suit just to walk into the kitchen and make Emily lie. But it was it worth. The effort sounds like the dollar, the joke, and since it just imagine, I did get enough.

So give town. We did a show, an episode on circus side chosen, I can it's a really good one, and I know that I will talk about this a little bit in this episode, but these things can very much seem like exploitation of people with this melodies and on one hand they certainly worker but on the other hand we found out through research. A lot of these people is the only way they can make money away, and found love and community, and so is very much something that is is in the grey area. As far as you know, when this was going on, TAT is wonder, throw that other. I think those the good Chuck, as I remember our weren't, we com site of farmers who do we was freaks used in the title of that episode. I dont remember, I don't think we did but it was a really good one, and I remember I just saw freaks the nineteen thirty movie the other day in apparently a lot of people from GIB town who hadn't settled there quite yet,

It soon would wherein that movie as well now for sure so we're talking about Gibson, ten Florida, which is near amber and it is on the Althea absorb the alethia or the Alethia river due note when it is no, I'm. I hang on the east side on down there, that's west, we don't get along very well, let's see flashing, your Wes idea size, You couldn't even see me in your gloomily that I did that when I say West side- and it was all jumbled too like it's- basically all fingers were played, each hand, and then I put it up against my chest, yeah, in recording a lot of these Skype things now with movie. Crushing always do video and they're always surprised when they ask about us, and, unlike we, don't do video, mainly because notes get in the way. But as I after this long, all I need is a guy. Might your horse share a little business?

the right of any real. It's our only men so- give Gibson ten. If he went to that town, the nineteen fifties and around a bit, you would think what is going on here- they're, lions and tigers in that backyard, no, my there, and restaurant run by an eight foot tall man and his wife, a woman with no legs yeah and there's lobster boy, and there is monkey girl and these are all sort of the unfortunate names are given to them on their such tours. Yes, sometimes by their adopted parents who would be the promoters aside, shower circus promoters who base We ve had legally adopted them and in some cases that was actually a step up, for you know some of the year, the kids, but yes it. If you did walk around what what came to be called GIB town, they did did seem a little differ.

And we just the fact that people had like monkeys and elephants in lions and tigers in their backyard. That's a pretty that's a bit different than most other towns. The psycho rides parked in people's driveways, it's a little different too Apparently this town was that way, because it was first settled by the the giant and the half woman. Themselves, but their names were Alan Genie. Tell my any, which is great genie. Toma Eneas did just rolled off the tongue spirit. They first showed up there in the thirties and I guess I just basically said: hey everybody this this place. It's kind of cold war not judged were not treated differently in the towns actually kind of neat, and eventually the town or the county hills Oh county passed an ordinance that said you can have things like carnival, rising, you're, driveway or elephants in your backyard, be. If you are, a carnival or circus performer Yazzi

they got the notion that it was a pretty sleepy little town and in the nineteen sixties they had about a hundred actual sideshow performers, about a thousand carnies. There would live when you know it just became a friendly for them all to live in the rock and like a big family, so they congregated there, and I think the town was like you know what these are great residents. They pay their state taxes, wait a minute, its Florida right. That's why they are living here. There are no state tax, although I don't know video back then, but or has it it's been a deal on, even though I don't, I know, there's no stay income tax, but there's like the property taxes are much higher like they make it up and other ways for sure right. They get that they get you one way or the other than that elephant taxes realistic, but they realized hey. We could use these residents and their only here part

If you know what I'm saying so, that's gonna great do, and so they made, like you, said these business Orton ordinances that made it kind of a friendly place for carnies job. So I say we take a break and come back and talk a little more about Gibson. Let's do it I was the famous quote: Chuck, don't don't try it Jake. This is GIB town treachery, but only with dig at the first part right now you did Jake Jake, stop, stop did tell them.

I think it's a gift down, I'm workin here. That's it that's for midnight cowboy right midnight cowboy. Yes, it is Dustin Hoffman, rightly so. Nice work so back down this town. By, like we said the nineteen sixty was booming with carnival folk, they love living there. It was a kind of a lovely community for them and we mentioned earlier that they sometimes found love. We we mention the the tall man in these short lady who travelled as the world's strangest married couple, sexually very sweet story. Yeah like he was over eight feet, tall, cha and she not having any legs was about two and a half feet tall and admit the knees yeah yeah. I guess so, maybe like mid Chin,

surely who knows now Bosnia saw picture? Ok, they go so did tell my enemies. They too, it is the world strangest married couple and they actually they had kids too in their their daughter. Remember that they would, you know, leave for the summer and go make some money and come back to it to give town in in run. The fish camp giants fish Camp, which is one of the places that that they own, which was very legendary but apparently, is more now, there's a memorial there. Now I watched a couple of short Youtube videos about give town- and you know still remnants of, and there are still some performers about. Two hundred carnival people still live there, but their little remnants of at past world every now and then you'll see some broken. Donald rusted rides in like a vacant lot or maybe a themed restaurant. It's closed down so give towns about forty, five

miles from Sarasota, which is where the wrangling brothers, Barnett, Bailey, circus, winters, and so I think it was, and we talked about in general, having sort of circus stuff in general. So I think it all disorder made sense right, and I guess I don't know why give town. I think it is just that the Ptomaines happened to set up shop there and found that of the people were in power, friendly and it is kind of spread from there. So it had the heyday from I'd, say the thirties, till maybe the eighties or so, and dumb this article for house of Works points out that there were side shows in operation, pre, Lollapalooza sideshows like the real deal. In the eighties and dumb, although they they really can it started to decline by like the thirties, and forty people like this seems exploitive in people's arise, probably is, but let's not asked the performers was to decide for them.

But finally, ninety ninety, the Americans with Disabilities ACT was passed and all of a sudden you know working in a psycho is not the only place. You get a job if you had some sort of. What's the word, I'm looking for, I don't know physical malady abnormality, maybe I'm not sure the right way to say that these days, I'm not either by If you were a sideshow performer, you can now get the job anywhere. Thanks to the idea that right, which has great the lobster boys he was known. Grady styles, was known as the lobster boy because and here's the deal we talked about this in the sideshow performer podcast episode- is that you got into these things because you were born with a condition. Almost,

invariably, and they would give you a name like lobster boy, when in fact you had a real life condition which which one was that echo directly right where it appears like you have two fingers. Only that sort look like clause looks a lot like love, because actually yeah and just and beavers wife actually has a form of this as she has a pinky. That is the sort of misshapen and she has just come out and said my right. Let's look and talk it look at it and talk about it has given earlier here. It is, but he Julie was a terrible person. Yeah I heard he was murdered. He was an abuse of alcoholic. He killed his first wife and was sentenced to home incarceration because there was no prison, they could care form way was killed us no. I He killed his outer he'll beyond, say, yeah, that's right! Yeah, yeah, daughters, fiance home incarcerated drinking got married, again, started drinking again, and,

Julie. He was either knocked off by and Carney for, fifteen hundred bucks paid for by his current wife. More the neighbors came over and took care business because they knew what a bad guy he was yeah. I think like he. He was paid from what I saw it like that that amount of money. I didn't see any other alternate theories, but yea shot him twice in the head and he died like sitting in his chair at yet. He was in a very good guy from when I saw either so you no not trashes name, though thinner, but there was like the big scandal in good time. The most part. It was like a really peaceful, happy place where, if you were a sideshow performer like you, could go feel at home and be yourself and one of the curious things that I saw. Who is that?

another couple that found love Priscilla the monkey girl who had hyper, try Kosis witches. She had like a fool head of hair like a hare, do as an end of it and it is kept going from their. She had a beard. She was like just head tons of hair. She married Emmett, the alligator skin. May who had a healthy case of Ecgtheow says, which is fixed gaily skin. All over your body They were married for so long that they had their 50th wedding anniversary at a local club, the showmen's club they're attacking one thousand nine hundred and eighty eight, and that the cutest thing. It, is- and I love the idea of give town that these people came together on the outskirts of society in now, hipsters removing their apparently gear that that's the least surprising part of this entire episode,

right. One other thing: if you want to see something very few, go look of a baby photos. Priscilla the monkey girl. She was adorable agreed Pulitzer for short stuff. Everybody short this study, should know you production know, I hurt radios, how stuff works for more podcast, my heart ready I heard radio apple podcast. Wherever you listen to your favorite shows.