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Tag: #Canada150

Vintage Canada: The Bill Lynch Travelling Carnival Show

The Bill Lynch Carnival Show-A Staple of Martime Culture (The East Coast of Canada).

Bill Lynch Carnival show vintage poster

While working on my post for Canada’s 150th Birthday, I stumbled upon a poster advertising a Canadian Carnival show in the 1940’s (Seen in my post HERE). I had never heard of the name ‘Bill Lynch’ before and was instantly intrigued and knew I just had to know more. And like the good blogger I am, I figured that if I did not know much about Bill and his Exposition Shows then maybe many of my readers hadn’t either. So lets explore the Carnival’s history together friends!

Meet William (Bill) Lynch

Bill Lynch Carnival Show Vintage Image
Source: The Halifacts

About the Show & Bill:

  • William Lynch (Born 1905) as a young boy growing up on McNab’s Island, Nova Scotia loved the annual summer fair on Findlay’s Picnic Grounds. In fact he loved it so much that when he became a teenager he took a job racking the balls and assisting with the old merry-go-round. All the while, he yearned to be a bigger part of this magical escape (Source).
  • 1917 – Halifax has a horrific explosion which ends the summer fun and fairs as the city rebuilt and forces Bill back to regular life working in a machine shop.
  • BUT the dream is not dead and Lynch returns to McNabs Island in the spring of 1920, buying the famous merry-go-round for $800. He managed it until 1924, but people didn’t come to the island like they used to. Lynch decided to go to the people and starts to travel around to small towns in Nova Scotia (Source).
  • 1928, he adds a second ride: a Ferris wheel.
  • In 1929, Bill wins the bid for the Halifax Exhibition and invests in 3 more rides and 3 shows to boost the size of his show to fit the exhibitions request. It was a hefty purchase that paid off and Lynch was asked back for the 1930 exhibition.
  • Changing the negative perception of Carnies & giving back to the community: Bill hired hundreds of Maritimers to run the games and partnered with service groups. Made donations to charitable groups in every town his roadshow visited and told the carnies that all disabled children should ride for free (Source).
  • By the 1940’s, The Bill Lynch Carnival is the Biggest in Canada  and becomes “the search for relief from monotony from everyday living.”
  • 1956 the show is now massive, towing 27 railway cars of rides, games and performers all around the Maritimes. Lynch hired acts such as The Turtle Woman, The Tattooed Man, The Worlds Fattest Couple, and conjoined twins Ronnie and Donnie (Source).
  • After 52 years in the business, Lynch dies in 1972. The carnival has changed hands a couple of times but is currently still in operation.
Bill Lynch Exhibition Shows Vintage Posters
Source: Hake’s
Bill Lynch Carnival show vintage poster
Source: Hake’s
Bill Lynch Shows Carnival Posters
Bill Lynch Carnival Pass Book vintage booklet
Source: Caperpics

1941 photo of a Monkey Race.

1941 Bill Lynch Carnival Show - 1940s vintage image of a Monkey Race.
Source: Nova Scotia Archives. E.A. Bollinger Nova Scotia Archives accession no. 1975-305 1941 no. 465-7a

The Famous Ferris Wheel-1941.

1941 Bill Lynch Carnival Show Canada. 1940s photo of the Famous Ferris Wheel. Nova Scotia Archives
Source: Nova Scotia Archives. E.A. Bollinger Nova Scotia Archives accession no. 1975-305 1941 no. 465-1b

1940s photo of the Merry-Go-Around.

Bill Lynch Carnival merry go around 1940s Canada
Source: Nova Scotia Archives. E.A. Bollinger Nova Scotia Archives accession no. 1975-305 1941 no. 465e

Sailors watching either a ride or a show in 1941.

Canadian sailors 1941 watching Bill Lynch Carnival show Nova Scotia Archives
Source: Nova Scotia Archives. E.A. Bollinger Nova Scotia Archives accession no. 1975-305 1941 no. 465-2d

Advertising for a show in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Bill Lynch Carnival 1940s Saint Johns appearance
Source: The Lost Valley

High Wire Bicycle Act.

Bicycle high wire act at a Bill Lynch Show.
Source: Dalhousie University

Further Reading on the Carnival:

I hope you enjoyed learning about Bill Lynch and his Carnival Show. It was really fun researching this topic and learning about a piece of Canadian history dear to many hearts in the East Coast.

Vintage Inn Blog Post To Read:

Liz

Ruth Lowe-The Canadian Woman Behind “I’ll Never Smile Again”

A few months ago, my mother sent an article over to me via email and said “I think you might like this for you blog”. I opened it up and it was a small article on a Canadian woman named Ruth Lowe (who I had never heard of). It was a very interesting read about her life, her famous song “I’ll Never Smile Again”. and how she played a BIG part in Frank Sinatra’s success.  Indeed a perfect post to share with my readers and today friends…..is that day.

Meet the beautiful & talented Ruth Lowe.

Vintage 1940s Photo of singer Ruth Lowe-I will never smile again.
Vintage Image of Singer Ruth Lowe - I will never smile again.

And now please take a moment to acquaint yourself with her song “I’ll never smile again” (Link to video).


For further reading please check out all the posts I have done on the subject, “Women of the Big Band Era Everyone Should Know“. (Jan 2024 update)


Ruth Lowe-The Canadian Woman Behind “I’ll Never Smile Again”

Ruth’s Earlier Years:

  • Born in Toronto, August 12th, 1914 to US-Canadian parents.
  • They moved to California when she was very young and she lived there during her early teens.
  • The family returned to Toronto with only the piano after her fathers grocery business went sour during the depression. The same piano that Ruth and her sister Mickey had learned to play on.
  • After her father died, Ruth quit school at 16 and found a job in the ‘Song Shop’ where she demonstrated sheet music on the piano. This trade was called “Song Plugging” and if customers liked what Ruth played (plugged) they would take it home to learn.
  • During her evenings, Ruth played in a very intricate two piano act with her friend Sair Lee at various nightclubs.
  • One day while at the store, Lowe heard that the famous all-female Ina Ray Hutton Orchestra (The Melodears) needed a piano replacement for their 1935 appearance in Toronto. She got the job and so impressed Hutton that she ended up touring the United States with the orchestra for a few years after (Source).

Here is a clip from 1936 “Doin’ the Suzie Q”, that I believe should feature Ruth on the piano. Can we also take a moment to be in awe of Ina’s outfit…wow! (Video Link)

How the song “I’ll Never Smile Again” came to be:

While traveling with the Melodears in 1938 in Chicago, Ruth met Harold Cohen a music publicist and fell madly in love. They were married and lived happily until a year later Harold died tragically during surgery*. Ruth returned home to Toronto devastated and during this grief she penned “I’ll Never Smile Again”.

Lowe told the Toronto Daily Star in 1940 that the ballad “seemed to fill my head and guide my fingers as I picked it out on the piano (Source)”.

Here are the sad words Ruth Lowe wrote:

I’ll never smile again until I smile at you
I’ll never laugh again what good would it do
For tears would fill my eyes
My heart would realize that our romance is through
I’ll never love again I’m so in love with you
I’ll never thrill again
To somebody new within my heart
I know I will never start to smile again
Until I smile at you
Within my heart I know
I will never start to smile again
Until I smile at you.

Song Success and Frank Sinatra:

Life went on and Ruth found herself working as an accompanist at the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she passed on the sheet music to the song to Toronto composer-conductor Percy Faith. Percy would later record the song for his CBC radio program ‘Music By Faith’. The Song made it’s official Debut!

It was not till a few months later though when the famous Big Band leader Tommy Dorsey was performing at the 1939 Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) that Lowe (who wanted to take her song to the next level) took matters into her own hands. Lowe waited — acetate recording in hand — by the musicians’ tent for her friend, a guitarist with the band, who arranged a meeting with the New York bandleader at the Royal York Hotel (Source).

One year later Dorsey who liked the song and thought it had some merit, decided to test out on a ‘Coming-Out’ number for Frank Sinatra, who had joined the orchestra as their new vocalist.

Frank Sinatra and Tommy Dorsey 1940s vintage image

The recording, of “I’ll Never Smile Again,” was released on May 23rd, 1940 (as heard in the version I posted above).

Frank Sinatra Ruth Lowe and Tommy Dorsey - 1940s vintage photo
Frank Sinatra, Ruth Lowe and Tommy Dorsey. Source: National Post (& Tom Lowe Sandler)

The Song was a SUCCESS! It was No. 1 track on the very first Billboard sales chart in 1940 (seen below) and it propelled Sinatra into Super Stardom that would carry on for decades.

Lowe told her son (Tom Sandler) that the timing — it was the beginning of the Second World War — was key to her success. “It was a song that spoke to everyone in the country,” he says. “Their loves were going to war and most of them weren’t coming back” (Source).

First billboard Chart 1940
Source: Billboard

After this success, Ruth was approached by Sinatra in 1942 to write a closing song for his radio program. The song she wrote was “Put Your Dreams Away”, which would go on to become  Frank’s Signature Song (Video Link).

Life after Frank…

Ruth married Nat Sandler and happily settled into married life and kids in Toronto. She continued to write songs and play the piano, but her day’s of traveling with orchestras and pushing for her music to be produced were behind her.

In 1955 one of the most popular television shows at the time, “This is Your Life,” devoted a full segment to Ruth Lowe. She was loved that much by the public.

This is your life tv show

Ruth passed away on January 4th, 1981 at the age of 66. In 1982 her 1940’s “I’ll Never Smile Again” received an honorary Grammy and in 2003 she was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame

In the end Ruth’s greatest tragedy ended up bringing her career success and a place in history. The only thing left is for Ruth to have greater distinction in the Canadian music world. Her son Tom is pushing for her to receive a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame and to also be acknowledged by the Junos (The Canadian Grammy’s). I could not agree more and I do hope it happens sooner then later.

Thank you for the music Ruth.

UPDATE: NEW BOOK TO READ! Until I Smile At You by Peter Jennings. Peter was chosen by the family of Ruth to write this book, so this is going to be the best insight to Ruth out there. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.

Ruth Lowe Book

FURTHER READING:

Liz

*Other sources have said that Ruth’s husband died after 2 years of marriage