Show Business: After her husband died in 2013, Jeanette Gilmore took over Smokey's Greater Shows, an institution on the Maine festival circuit. But in 50+ years of fairgrounds, ferris wheels and a fluctuating workforce, life on the midway hasn't gotten any easier. Welcome to the carnival.
Date
9-2017
Volume Number
VOL. 64, NO. 2
Pages
84-98
Abstract
Smokey's Greater Shows Owner, Jeanette Gilmore explains the difficulties of running a traveling carnival at Maine festivals and country fairs. She shares stories of years past when she and her deceased husband, Bud, the son of "Smokey" Gilmore, ran the business as a team. Jeanette employs Mexican workers to run the concessions and rides as she can't find enough American workers to take the jobs she offers. [Images]
Subjects
Fryeburg Fair, Farmington Fair, Oxford County Fair, Litchfield Fair, Blue Hill Fair, La Kermesse, Jeanette Gilmore, Bud Gilmore, Smokey, Tlapacoyan, Mexico, Carnies, Robby Driscoll, Levit Licona, Ana Licona, Rene Piche, Traveling Carnivals, Rides, Concessions, Roland Gilmore, Employment, H-2B Visas, Country Fair Amusements,
Recommended Citation
Coffin, Jaed and Souza, Gabe, "Show Business: After her husband died in 2013, Jeanette Gilmore took over Smokey's Greater Shows, an institution on the Maine festival circuit. But in 50+ years of fairgrounds, ferris wheels and a fluctuating workforce, life on the midway hasn't gotten any easier. Welcome to the carnival." (2017). Maine News Index - Down East Magazine. 4816.
https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/news_downeast/4816
Source
Down East