05/28/2026
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Let's take a trip down memory lane and revisit some cherished moments from our community's history! Each week, on Thursday, we are going to "throw it back" and share a piece of our community history with you.
"He flies through the air, with the greatest of ease - that daring young man on the flying trapeze." This week let's look back at the era and rise of the "Daredevil". The circus was a big part of American life beginning in the early 1790s and the dominating acts focused on trick horseback riding, clowns, and even a tightrope walker from time to time. President George Washington would attend to watch the equestrian events. "The Greatest Show on Earth" of P.T. Barnum changed the look of the circus in 1871 and became synonymous with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. (A marvelous museum dedicated to American circus is located in Baraboo, WI.)
The circus led to the rise of daredevil acts where people were treated to amazing acts where each performer tried to captivate audiences with outlandish and death-defying acts. The goal was to lure large crowds and thrill them with amazing stunts. These included any stunt involved with Niagara Falls including riding over the falls in a barrel to crossing the falls via a high wire. Leona Dare became famous because of her "iron jaw". She was known for suspending herself by her teeth from a hot-air balloon, lifting her husband and partner into the sky, mesmerizing crowds of people.
Clear Lake was treated to an amazing daredevil act in 1881. The event was captured in a photo by a local photographer Oliver Slocum. "Professor D.J. Dare" was a 19th-century acrobat, aeronaut, and tightrope walker known for performing daring high-wire and trapeze stunts. Our photo this week shows the high wire suspended from two building across Main in downtown Clear Lake. One can see "Professors Dare's" trapeze hanging from the wire and "Professor Dave" performing his famous, death-defying handstand on the high wire. "Professor Dare" also took his act to Mason City. Sadly, "Professor Dare's" glory was very short-lived. While giving a performance in Long Island, NY in 1882, he suffered a fatal fall. The "dare circus" acts were grand but dangerous events for people to watch in awe. Clear Lake was a community which enjoyed the thrill of the "Daredevil".
