My first recollections of Dad was in the early forties.  He told me once that he ran away from home at the age of thirteen and joined the circus. I think the circus was the Ringling Brothers, and Barnum and Bailey Circus of Tampa, Florida.  His responsibilities at that time was to care for the animals.  At the close of the season, his employer purchased a new suit for him and sent him home.  I'm not sure where they were living at this time, however, it's an interesting story.  Apparently, the circus, carnival, and fair grounds extravagance got into his blood stream and for the next forty-four years he would be part of the carnival scene.

        At the age of twenty-two, and on July 7, 1925, he married Henrietta Scoville, the daughter of  William Safford Scoville and Carrie Wanda Chapin Scoville, who resided on the Nicholson's Farm which was located on River Street and Second Street near the present homestead on Main Street which was built in 1930. Mr. Scoville was a carpenter and cabinet maker by trade and was employed by Kendrick and Brown Company, Inc., 52-54 Lawrence Street, Glens Falls, New York

         Dad was born at on September 2, 1903 at 135 Point Street Providence Rhode Island, His  father, John D. Campbell, a motorman, was thirty years old at the time of his birth and died six years later at the age of thirty-six (1909).  John was born in Boston, Ma. and at the time  of this writing there is little information available.  His mom, Minnie Ida Woodbury Campbell was born in Willsboro, Essex County, New York, and was thirty-one years old at the time of his birth and would be a companion to him for the next fifty-three years.  His mother died at the Glens Falls Hospital at the age of eighty-three on August 17, 1956 after a short illness.

        For  the next thirty years Henrietta would share his aspirations and travel the country side.  My dad was a man with many names, to some people he was "Mr. Billboard", while to others  he was "Reptile Pete".  Both of these titles arose out of his experience with the carnivals and fairs which was a major force in his life.  For years Dad would sell the Billboard Magazine to other members of the carnival family, since he was also the "mailman" and was always in the  position to pick up fifty or sixty copies of the Billboard Magazine and deliver the issue to those receiving the mail.  The cost of the magazine was fifty cents and then seventy-five cents, and I last remember the inflational high cost of one dollar per copy.  This magazine was important to the "Carnies" because there was a section listing all the carnivals and upcoming fairs and would give dates, names, and other important information.  One personal observation is that Dad was a very generous man and would often give the shirt off his back to another person.

         He was a free-spender and enjoyed his "social hour" buying drinks for his friends, playing cards, and putting a buck or two on a horse or number.  The money collected from selling the Billboard was used often to pay the hotel bill and pay expenses to the next town. If a man needed a couple bucks to get over the road, Dad was there for an easy touch.  As for the name "Reptile Pete", he derived this title from his many years of working with snake shows and wildlife exhibits.

        Over the years Dad would be traveling with the King Reid Shows winter quarters being Manchester Center, Vermont. The Oscar C. Buck Shows, Coleman Brothers Shows The Ross Manning Shows and The Continental Shows.  During the Fall Season when the weather was bad in the Northeast he would travel to some of the Fairs in the South and would get home in late October and early November.  During the winter months he would take it easy, play cards with his mother and  neighbors including Mr. Fisher, and spend hours reading dime novels.

        Furthermore, he would attempt to get his equipment ready for the next season of traveling.  During the later years of his life he would spend the winters driving taxi for Diamond Taxi Company and for Globe Taxi Company. This provided a small salary and helped with paying some of the bills. Usually during this time Mom would be working at McMullen Dress Company.   As soon as the robins returned to the area he became anxious to get back on to the road again and beginning in late March and early April I did not see him unto late Fall. I had the opportunity to travel with Mom  and Dad during the summer when I was on vacation from school and this lasted for eleven years. I guess the carnival was a major factor and driving force to Dad throughout his life.

        Please check out the other pages on the Carnival and the Circus, Shows, Concessions, and Rides.