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Buckles and Delilah Woodcock with Peggy (1987)
William Woodcock, Jr.
Buckles Woodcock grew up around animals, elephants in particular. When he was a toddler, he was often buckled to his mother on a harness to keep him in check and safe around his father's elephants, thus his nickname. At age 11, he began working in the circus as a "candy butcher(American) Concession vendor; so named because one of the first successful concessionaires of the American circus was a former butcher." (candy vendor). But Buckles had other plans: in 1951, over his father's objections, he found a job as an animal handler with another elephant trainer, Eugene "Arky" Scott, who worked with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. (more...)
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