George Harmon
1907 - 1944
Courtesy of Marvin Beatty
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George Harmon was the son of
William Asa Harmon and Edna
Hawhee, of French Lick. Born a drawf he became a circus performer and
worked
for Ed Ballard's Hagenbeck-Wallace circus among many including Ringling
Brothers. As many may know during the 1920s West Baden/French Lick was
one of
the largest circus towns in the nation. Ed Ballard was the owner of the
West
Baden Springs Hotel from 1923 to 1934. A home town boy, Ed Ballard made
his
fortune operating some of the most successful casinos that were located
in the
county. One of his passions was circuses. To this end he at one time
owned
virtually every circus, with the exception of Ringling Brothers, in the
nation.
According to Ed's son Charles,
"My Father and two other men owned what was called the American Circus Company, which included the Sells-Floto Circus, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus and the John Robins Circus. They sold the American Circus Company to John Ringling in 1929 just four weeks before the Stock Market Crash. My Father and John Ringling tossed a coin to see which one would buy the other out. John Ringling won the toss and bought my father's American Circus Company. John Ringling went broke shortly after the Stock Market Crash." From the History of the West Baden Springs Hotel |