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Midway Companies Many fine midway companies have travelled the North American continent, amusing children and adults alike. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, midway companies were still apprehensive about working with agricultural fairs such as those of the Edmonton Exhibition Association's (EEA). However, midways could only be kept back from North-central Alberta for so long. As an 'A' circuit stop, Northlands Park’s summer exhibition midway has now hosted numerous thoughtfully chosen companies. A few of these have been quite remarkable and two have especially become part of Edmonton and Northlands Park's long history.
Born in Pennsylvania, Jones was a young Welsh coalminer before he engrossed himself in the more light-hearted affairs of the midway. His entrance into the carnival world came when he took the position of general manager for Jones Combination, an exhibition show company. Midways were struggling to be considered credible entertainers at the turn of the century, but despite the risks involved, Jones decided to take a leap. In 1902, Jones and his business partner took to the road, advertising their midway as the Jones and Adams Carnival Company.
Patty Conklin was born in 1892 as Joe Renker. Originally from an immigrant family in Brooklyn, Renker left home at the age of eight, surviving through sheer wit, selling peanuts, newspapers, and herrings. His midway career was born when he began work as a sideshow talker in Coney Island, New York. By 1910, Renker was working as a games operator in Texas and Oklahoma. With money to invest, he connected with J. W. Conklin, owner of Clark and Conklin Shows. After several years the company dissolved, but J. W. adopted the young man, who took his adoptive father's name to become James Wesley "Patty" Conklin. Despite some challenges, love for the midway life kept the Conklin family involved in working midways until J. W. Conklin’s death in 1920.
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