Most jugglers could not see the hat routines, but they were the main selling point of the act. After six weeks around Boston, a wire came saying "Showing date set for New York but you must change the name. We have too many Aces, Kings, Queens And Jacks on the books now. How shall we make out the contract?" Everyone in the act tried to think out a name, even tried splitting up ours and putting them together, but could not figure what we wanted. 

While in Portland we were working on the criss-cross trick with clubs. Joe Piche, one of Baggett's former partners,, showed us how to do it, throwing every club instead of every other one. This later proved to be the trick that gave the act the name of Elgins. It had to be perfect timing and as we were walking along the street, we saw a sign in the window of a jewelry store "Perfect Timing With An Elgin." Alice Percival said "There's the name - The Elgins (perfect timing)!" We wired N.Y. this and used Baggett and Sheldon's former billing "Enjoying Themselves." And I don't think any act ever enjoyed themselves as the five of us did. 

In those days an act had to "show" in New York. Bookers would look at it and discuss the possibilities of booking it. Then they set a salary. The act was seldom asked what they wanted. If you did not take the offer you would argue or not work. R.K.O. even had a consultant named Janette Hackett. When they offered you work she looked the act over, said how she wanted it dressed and kind of stage setting R.K.O. wanted. When she saw the Elgins at the NY Hippodrome, she said, "It's the only act I've ever seen that I could not make at least one suggestion" 

After a while on the road, Jim Baggett suffered from double vision. While doing club tricks, he would see five or six clubs coming towards him instead of one. He did not know which one to grab, and when the right one hit his hand it was just luck. After a few attacks (they only lasted an hour or so) he saw an eye specialist who said it was just nerves and ordered complete rest.

We summered up at Rose Sheldon's place at Mendon, Mass. While there, another girl, Lillian Millar, was added to the act. At first she did only the club tricks, so it was bewildering to the audience and managers to see the five Elgins do the hats with three men and two girls, then the clubs with three girls and two men. One manager came backstage and pointing to George Dewey said, "You must be the one who dresses as a girl for the club tricks." If Baggett and Breen had not interfered there would have been one less manager around, as Dewey could not imagine himself dressed as a girl. After two years, George Dewey and Alice Percival left the act to form the Three Deweys with George's brother, Bill. Cal Kenyon was called upon to take his place. With Cal it took us only five days to get back into the swing to things and on the road. With Kenyon came a lot of improvements in the hat tricks and then we changed from sport clothes to full evening dress suits. 

It was with this combination - Jim Baggett, Rose Sheldon, Lillian Millar, Cal Kenyon and Tommy Breen - that the Elgins won the Billboard Award for the best liked and most entertaining act in the outdoor field. This included fairs and circuses. Rose Baggett has the plaque and scroll at her home in Mass. 

While playing Chicago, Breen complimented Rose on looking so happy that day. Three weeks later, Rose and Jim told us that the day Breen said this to Rose they had just come from City Hall and were married. 

Lillian Millar left the act that summer and was missed because on and off the stage she was so much fun. Olive Walton took her place for a year. During a layoff, Olive played some dates with the Juggling Jewells. When the Elgins bookings came up, Miss Walton said she will be back in six months. But Breen and Kenyon insisted Baggett's eyes were okay and we continue with the four. It took a lot of talking, but Cal and Tommy won, so the Four Elgins went on until we broke up. 

The act always opened with a hat routine, and hats were the main selling point of the act.

Return to Index

Next Page