E. James Strates: A Carnival Life on Rails

[@RailpaxScott]

Great interview! Great oral history!

[@AlphaFlight]

Show owners like this are the best characters. Not many people like them around. You talk to one, and you'll really learn a lot on a little bit of everything in life.

[@johnlewis1250]

This is a great Interview. I met Mr. Strates many years ago, I think in Wilmington. He was a very dynamic personality, with a tremendous knowledge of the business. I remember Steve Fanning when he was on the Hoxie Show, and heard a lot about the Strates family long before I met him. It was a wonderful experience meeting the man who owned and operated the largest traveling Carnival in the World. I feel honored that I was lucky enough to meet this amazing man. Lane you did a tremendous job with your interesting Interview.

[@melbymartin8622]

met james yrs ago when we worked there ..he was,a nice gentlemen. Good show nice people.loved it.

[@davidhutchinson8382]

Hello Mr. Strates....David Hutchinson here, I am certain you remember my Dad and the crew from the Baltimore County Fair in the mid 70s....We will never forget you, your show and the immense kindness you showed us then and when we saw you again in 99 at our restaurant. You are an icon sir, and I am glad to have had the privilege to have met you and call you a family friend.

[@joewelnack3283]

At 85 years old when Lane recorded this; my how I admire Mr. Strates, smoking cigars and chugging coffee. Probably will live to be 100.

[@2AwesomeDogs]

Number ONE AWESOME GUY

[@juliannefalcone2607]

My father, Nicholas Falcone. worked for the James Strates show and unfortunately died in 1970 when I was a year old so I ended up in foster homes and knew nothing about him so this is great to watch and learn a little something

[@Bmg009]

I love documentaries, seems like that’s all I watch now. I remember growing up seeing David Attenborough always on the tv and frontline etc.. I hated them because there wasn’t anyone jumping cars or jumping women. Lol. However, to sit and watch this is terribly difficult because men like this aren’t being born anymore. I’m so ashamed at America sometimes when I see the things that used to never happen or things weren’t allowed, now it’s just a free for all and morals are just as dead and gone as ww2.

[@Dallas-Nyberg]

Great stuff.... a truly fascinating and colorful life. We call these guys "showies" in Australia, they are the salt of the earth. Sadly, times have changed and the halcyon days of the true sideshows are fast disappearing.... the cost of travel and the more stringent rules and regulations, plus skyrocketing insurance costs, will eventually put these shows out of business. I just glad that I grew up in in time where I could enjoy them.... Cheers

[@wildandwackywade]

Wonderful interview. I learned a lot.

[@monachericevollbracht7604]

I really enjoyed this interview!

[@fredvasconi1461]

I remember as a kid, in the late 50's and 60's, the show would roll into my hometown of Endicott, NY, in the Erie-Lackawanna railroad. We had the train tracks about 50 yards in back of our house, so we would get to chat with the carnival workers. I never knew that he was buried in Endicott.

[@harpoon_bakery162]

Interesting interview. I wonder if you interviewed him today, if he would have even more stories to tell. I bet he would.

[@LivinTheDreamAtSea]

Grew up on the show great memories

[@lamontarnold1612]

He's a honest and great owner

[@robertwells66]

My Good Friend Big Jim Strates. # 1 In My Book

[@AZWMKWofficialstarNinjaGeneral]

the james e strates show is in Albany ga this week

[@bobbyhepburn6678]

Back in the 60s my father used to book our side show with them a few times a great family show, you should have asked him about firing the train crew and then had to go round them back up and bring them back so they could load the train, not only a good Marine and a great showman,

[@jamiegwhite30]

this train just went by! Vermont one day after the eclipse!!

[@cartoonmark75]

Wish the interviewer would let him talk, keeps cutting off from his great stories. A good video though. Thanks.

[@LaneInConn]

Thanks for your critique, Mark. My KZbin video featuring the edited interview with Jim Strates--and later with his trainmaster, Raul Gomez--ran longer than most. I generally find that videos about carnival and circus operations attract considerably more views than the personality videos, witness the fact that a companion video that I uploaded on Strates Shows teardown and train loading has been seen more than 70,000 times. I believe it's important that we get veteran show people's experiences on video to pass along to future generations. For me, it's strictly a hobby and I wish I could do more.

[@cynthiamyers4097]

I'm on the search for pics of my biological mom, Essie Loe Spradley, who in the 50s-60s worked for strates. She worked on the knife board and alongside Dick Hilburn. Anyhow, any leads of pics would be appreciated. We are also trying to find surviving relatives of the knife thrower , Eugene Jenkins.

[@wilfred8326]

Mr. Strates, good 👍 point about USMC being a good management teacher. I think military 🪖 is overall, BUT not as much as it did in the past. 21 years in the Army and I saw things getting soft, less discipline....

[@Blather]

If ever a man needed to write a book. Wow.

[@amyjojinkerson]

you join a show you have two families your biological and your show family you are like brothers and sisters

[@shadowflame8800]

Very interesting man. Too bad the interviewer sucked. Mr. Strates ends up answering some questions twice because the interviewer was more focused on the next question he wanted to ask and didn't listen to his subject.

[@LaneInConn]

Appreciate your legitimate comment, Jeffrey, as I was the interviewer. This was the first time I had met Jim Strates and his sons (in 2008) and I was unfamiliar with the family's background. Mr. Strates was very generous with his time--and patience with my questions. We've remained good friends since then, and I plan to visit with him on the Strates midway in upstate New York this summer. My goal in interviewing circus and carnival folks is simply to pass along their stories. Best to you, Lane