[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 30812]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             HONORING THE LATE D.R. MILLER, ``MR. CIRCUS''

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. WES WATKINS

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 17, 1999

  Mr. WATKINS. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to the late D.R. 
Miller, known as ``Mr. Circus'' to those who knew him best, for his 
decades of service to his fellow citizens, and for his lifetime of 
providing laughter and fun to children of all ages.
  D.R. Miller was born on July 27, 1916, in Smith Center, Kansas. But 
it was Hugo, the town in Oklahoma's Third Congressional District that 
serves as the winter headquarters for his Carson & Barnes Circus, that 
D.R. called home.
  D.R. Miller passed away on September 8, 1999, in McCook, Nebraska--
the very town where D.R.'s father and mother took D.R. and his brother 
to see their first circus, on August 24, 1924.
  In 1937, after numerous business ventures, D.R., his father and 
brother, founded the famed Al G. Kelly Miller Bros. Circus, advertised 
as the 2nd Largest Circus in America, and toured the U.S. for years. 
When Ringling Bros. abandoned big top tents for buildings in 1956, the 
Al G. Kelly Miller Bros. Circus became the World's Largest Big Top 
Circus.
  After several business and personal setbacks in the 1960s and 70s, 
D.R. roared back with the Carson & Barnes Circus, which grew and 
evolved into the 5 Ring Extravaganza that continues to entertain and 
amaze children of all ages.
  In addition to his founding of two circuses, D.R. gave of himself to 
make this world a better place. D.R. served his country as a proud 
member of the Army's 273rd Artillery Division during World War II. He 
founded the Endangered Ark Foundation, a non-profit association 
dedicated to the preservation and procreation of endangered animals. He 
established the D.R. and Isla Miller Scholarship Fund to provide 
scholarships to deserving Hugo High School graduates. D.R. established 
the non-profit Showman's Rest Trust Fund to provide plots, burials and 
proper markers for indigent show people.
  D.R. provided countless opportunities to circus artists and fellow 
dreamers. He was a friend to all. In January, 1995, he was inducted 
into the Circus Ring of Fame in Sarasota, Florida, with his wife and 
partner Isla Marie Miller, who preceded D.R. in passing.
  D.R. Miller was an entertainer, a showman, a family man, a veteran, 
and a model citizen whose example of success and hard work shines like 
a beacon for all Americans who aspire to improve their own lives and 
the lives of others. D.R. Miller was believed by all who knew him.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that today the House pay tribute to Mr. Circus: 
D.R. Miller.

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