Strates Shows, Inc. is a family-operated carnival company based in Orlando, Florida. It provides amusement rides, games and concessions for local, regional and state fairs throughout the United States. Strates Shows is the only medium-sized company in the country to transport their personnel and equipment by train during its seven-month annual season. The train currently consists of 61 trains and 34 trucks.
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History
James E. Strates, a Greek immigrant, came to the United States in 1909. He first worked a series of side jobs, but in 1919, joined Lee Schaefer's Athletic Show as a professional wrestler by the name of "Young Strangler Lewis" after learning the sport at YMCA in Endicott, New York. Strates, along with partners Nick Bozinis and W.L. Platt, will renovate the show and call it Southern Tier Shows in 1922. The first show consisted of a merry-go-round, a racing wheel, athletic shows, 15 concessions, three side shows, and five hard rubber tire trucks. Unfortunately, the tough times of the season. Strates bought his partner the following year. He also continues to wrestle and manage other players as side projects.
In 1927, Strates bought an old factory near Elmira, New York to help facilitate equipment maintenance. The show grew to 11 major acts, exploring the area with 18 trucks before the Great Depression struck in 1929. Southern Tier Shows fought over the next few years like any other business during that period, but many of Strates's creditors took it for its honest reputation. In 1932, the company's name would be changed to James E. Strates Shows. Beginning in 1934, Strates would buy his first cable car to transport equipment, which eventually operated 40 cars. He continues to buy small companies over the next few years to enlarge his business.
On December 22, 1945, a fire engulfed a barn that housed all the middle equipment of a stored Strates for the winter in Mullins, South Carolina. The chariot is the only part that can be used. Fortunately, everything is insured. Strates was able to rebuild his company, bigger and better, in time for the 1946 season. In 1953, James E. Strates Shows was one of the largest midway companies in the United States. In 1955, the winter quarters moved to Orlando, Florida where he remains today.
After James E. Strates died in 1959, his son E. James Strates inherited the company. Now licensed under Strates Shows, Inc., the younger Strates continue to own and operate the business. Over the years, E. James Strates brings new innovations to the entertainment industry including promotional cooperation, advance ticket sales, and a centralized ticketing system. Like other mid-carnival corporations, many of those who have recently become environmentally friendly include the use of LED lights and biodiesel-fueled generators.
The Erie County Fair, located in Hamburg, New York, is currently the oldest stop on the circuit. Strates Shows has been operating halfway since 1924, right after the company was founded. Several state fairs have been incorporated on their routes in the past, but the Strates Shows have fulfilled a significant offer competition to provide midways in these places in recent years. Apart from these challenges, Strates Shows continues to maintain a busy annual schedule. Other important events currently employed by the company are the Georgia-Carolina State Fair in Augusta, Georgia, the Hudson Valley Fair in Wappingers Falls, New York, the Champlain Valley Fair in Burlington, Vermont, the North Florida Fair in Tallahassee, Florida and the Dixie Classic Fair at Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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Note
External links
- Official website Strates Shows, Inc.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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