Here is part III of this addendum.
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It is one thing to get something started just for the sake of starting it, in this case the Stars and Bars Show. It is another thing for that Show to become something more than simply an entertainment medium.
The trio of Aniston, Peterson, and Naughton, now the owners and operators of the circus saw an opportunity not only to entertain but to touch hearts with their show. But simply lecturing to people wasn’t a good idea. At this point another individual entered the life of the show. A Baptist preacher turned circus clown by the name of Allen Tanner*.
Tanner was a southern gentleman in every sense of the word. He had been raised in South Carolina in a proper southern Christian family. From an early age he had shown a gift for public speaking. He was also a very intelligent man. Unfortunately his family was a fairly poor one so Tanner had to educate himself after he graduated high school. Taking several correspondence courses Tanner eventually became an itinerant preacher at age 25. For 3 years until 1941 he preached in churches throughout South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina to any congregation that would let him come in. Following December 7th Allen joined the Army and became a chaplain’s assistant until the end of the war.
Tanner served some time in Metz where he was witness to the kind act of a starlet by the name of Marlene Dietrich as she stood by the bed of a dying soldier. The incident touched his life. He saw how entertainment could mix with the spiritual.
After the war “Rev.” Tanner started using humor in his sermons. Beforehand he had been a typical “fire and brimstone” preacher found in the Bible belt. Now, he started to use humor in his sermons, using funny stories and even occasionally twisting balloons into animals for young children that might attend. He also took some lessons from an amateur magician and performed some simple sleight of hand and juggling from time to time not only to illustrate a point in his sermons in a humorous way but also to bring in people to listen to him when he held tent revivals.
Tanner even went so far as to visit a number of one ring circuses and learn what he could from various clowns. Eventually he started to dress in baggy pants with clown makeup to draw people in. He became known as the “clown evangelist.”
Tanner became popular on the “revival circuit in the Carolinas and Georgia, but he wanted to do more. About this time he heard that a new show was opening in Georgia. He went to audition, uncertain of exactly why he did so. But to his surprise he was hired. Moreover the owners were also happy to learn of his gifts as a preacher.
Tanner, now known as “Tanny”, began to win the hearts of those who came to the young Stars and Bars Circus. However, he wanted to do more.
Like Aniston, Peterson, and Naughton, Tanner believed there was a lot wrong with southern society. His time as an itinerant preacher had rendered him color blind. From his perspective it didn’t matter if a person was black, white, or whatever. He welcomed everyone to his meetings and was incensed if anyone was kept out because of their skin color.
Tanner was delighted to learn that the trio that owned/operated the Stars and Bars Circus felt the same way. Working with them the trio, now a foursome began to look at ways they could entertain and through that entertainment bring subtle change to the society around them.