Many people want to run away and join the circus. Linda Strong ran away from the circus and joined the U.S. Navy.
By the time she had reached her 17th birthday, Linda was a seasoned elephant trainer, juggler and circus performer, traveling across the country from May through October with her family, the other performers and animals in the Big John Strong Circus.
Big John Strong was a legendary character who was noted for his ability to do almost anything and for turning a profit at it. As a young teen he made so much money painting street numbers on curbs in his hometown of Jamestown, N.Y., that he could afford to buy a car. Of course, he was too young to drive, but he also had enough money to hire a chauffeur.
A friend of actress Lucille Ball, he moved to Hollywood to become an actor and married Ruth, a 25-year-old widow whose husband had been killed in an Army Air Corps accident. Together they started a “dog and pony show” doing backyard birthday parties and events in Hollywood. Within a few years they had expanded to a three-ring traveling circus. At 6’5” Big John towered over most people – in his circus top hat he was almost seven feet tall.
After a series of miscarriages, Ruth and John decided to adopt. Sandy was the first girl and, a couple of years later, they adopted Linda. In the meantime, Ruth became pregnant and John Jr. was born, only three months older than Linda.
“My Mom had us all in diapers, when they didn’t have the disposable bottles, plus a baby elephant. She was pretty good!”
Everyone in the family had a job in the troupe. Linda took over the care, training, and handling of Nina, the circus elephant. By the age of four she was riding Nina before adoring audiences under the big top. As she grew up, Linda and her siblings took on larger roles.
“My brother and I had juggling, hand balancing, and plate spinning acts.”
Growing up in Thousand Oaks, California, next door to Jungleland, the Strong family did not seem out of place.
“We were unique, I guess, but at the same time it didn’t mean anything. Movies were made at Jungleland. There were movie stars and movie stuff. When it came time for ‘show-and-tell’ we would bring our elephant. My Dad had a cow that had two noses.”
Linda remembers her years in the circus fondly. “It was the best experience a kid could have.”
But the circus was not in her blood.
“I wanted to do something for my country and be part of something that was bigger than me,” Linda says. She became a cook and was stationed in Hawaii preparing meals for officers, later moving to a Naval Air Station in Washington where she was the night baker for 2,500 people. “My Mom had gotten me interested in cooking when I was young. I love cooking.”
After four years active duty, Linda joined the reserves and moved east, becoming an apprentice to an Austrian chef for several years, then moved on to become food service director in a rehab hospital. She won a juggling competition using tennis racquets. Then in July 1988, at the age of 29, she fell asleep at the wheel of her VW Bug. “Next thing I know I woke up in the hospital and my Mom and Dad, my brother and everyone is standing over me and it’s like, I know I did something bad, because they’re supposed to be in California.”
Her spine broken in several places, she spent 15 months in hospital and rehab. Now a partial quadriplegic, she reassessed her life. “I had a lot of time to think where I was going. Patients had similar injuries like mine and they just kind of gave up. That wasn’t in my vocabulary, especially with my name being ‘Strong.’ I got through that with a lot of help from my friends. And prayers.” She returned to school and got her degree in business management and hospitality, before returning west to be with her now-widowed mother. She took on the job of managing several family-owned commercial properties.
Encouraged by long-time friend, Margaret Hickey, Linda moved to The Villages. She joined Clown Alley #179, took the clowning course, and became ‘Tip-Z.’ “When I was in the circus I never put on the grease paint. I never thought about being one.” Although she can’t juggle any more, Linda still performs – rolling along in her power chair – spinning plates as Tip-Z with the Clown Alley company at hospitals, nursing homes and local events.
In a more recent life-changing event, Linda was able to find her birth mother’s family through a location service. “My birth mother had passed away, but she also had a daughter and two sons. She never told anyone about me until my sister got pregnant at a young age. She made her swear not to tell anyone.” Linda has been able to connect with her sister and one of her brothers. “As soon as our eyes connected, it was like, there is no doubt. We stay in touch.”
Linda (Tip-Z) and Tinker, her Jack Russell mix, live in the Village of Mallory Square and can often be found in the evenings in one of The Villages town squares. Linda is in her Powerchair and Tinker, who also has a spinal injury, front legs running with her hindquarters in her specially-made two-wheel carriage. “Oh, we get some looks,“ Linda laughs. “I’m in my chair and she’s in her wheels and it’s like, Wow!”
John W Prince is a writer and Villages resident. For more information visit www.GoMyStory.com.
