Memories of the Traveling Carnival
“In the days before television and the internet, traveling carnivals brought a more exciting world to the modest lives of regular folks across the country, including the rural towns of the Alleghenies.
Photo from the Farm Security Administration, Marion Post Wolcott, 1940.
These traveling carnivals roamed from town to town, offering a brief glimpse into the extraordinary world shows, games, rides, and displays of the exotic and the bizarre, in striking contrast to the day to day lives of Depression-era Americans. Here, the Traveling 219 Project visits with Ina Hicks of Friendsville, Maryland, as she shares her stories of the traveling carnivals that came through town in the 1930s.”
This story was produced by Dan Schultz of the Traveling 219 Project. The project is supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the Mountain Maryland Gateway to the West Heritage 
Area and the Maryland Heritage Area.
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