I can’t remember the first circus train I saw. I was probably no more than 4 or 5-years old. I do know where I was to watch the train pass by, and it was Main Street in East Point, Georgia.

When the circus came to town, schools would end classes early and Mom and Dad would take me to see the train as it rolled along the tracks north into the Atlanta. Our old neighborhood is practically gone now and the circus is going away as well. Sadly, this is its final year and season.

Yesterday in Toccoa, we had the opportunity to bid goodbye to The Greatest Show on Earth as the circus train traveled through our area on its way to Atlanta.

People lined the tracks throughout South Carolina and Georgia for a final glimpse of history on the move.

I remember with vividness how the train would roll into the city and end up unloading some of it’s performers and animals for a march down Peachtree Street! Nothing could match the excitement of the circus coming to town! By the time I saw it for the first time, the tents were long gone and the circus was held in the old Atlanta auditorium, which is now a part of Georgia State University.

Animal rights groups have put an end to the circus, and I’m sure technology and other high-end circuses also played a role in declining ticket sales.

So yesterday, we gathered one last time to wave goodbye to truly the Greatest Show on Earth—The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.