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visit to the original Hochatown requires scuba cus performers finished their last act, they had
gear and a dive to the bottom of Broken Bow a place to go. In 1960, Miller purchased a large
Lake. swath of plots at Hugo’s Mount Olivet Ceme-
Endangered Asian elephants are an easier tery to create Showmen’s Rest “for all show-
find. There’s a herd in Hugo, the Choctaw men under God’s big top.” He and Isla are
County seat, about an hour’s drive from buried there – and so are dozens of other cir-
Hochatown. cus folk. With its sculpted tusked elephants
Hugo was best known as circus central. It and an array of wacky tombstones, including
one that’s shaped like a circus tent, the Rest is
started when the town offered free water and
history – and an international attraction.
electricity to any circus that would perform
there for free. Then in 1941, the Miller Broth- The Millers’ generosity didn’t neglect retired
ers one-ring circus decided to base in Hugo. circus performers still breathing. In 1993,
Eventually 22 other circuses followed. they started the Endangered Ark Foundation,
It was D.R. Miller, who started traveling at a Hugo home for retired circus elephants.
age 7 with his father’s Miller Brothers Circus, They left a trust to provide for future residents
at the refuge. Today the Ark is home to 16
who had the most profound impact on Hugo.
Asian elephants – including four born there.
His Carson and Barnes five-ring circus, still
based in Hugo, was billed for many years the There’s a staff of 16 caretakers.
world’s largest circus. D.R. became known as Visitors are welcome. Ninety-minute tours
“Mr. Circus” and Hugo became “Circus City”. cost $50 for adults, and include an opportu-
D.R. died in 1999, but his legacy continues. nity to interact with the elephants. I fed a
He and his wife Isla made sure that after cir- leafy stalk of celery to Delrita, a 4-ton-plus,
Beavers Bend State Park
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