Ceslee Conkling: A Life Truly Lived – January 13, 1994

January 13, 2025

January 13, 1994. Azle, Texas. Bonnie Conkling is headed to the post office to ship a package to her beloved daughter Ceslee, who is living her dream down in Florida. Ceslee is in her third year as a clown for the famed Ringling Brothers Circus. And the 1994 touring season is getting underway. But before Bonnie can get the package shipped, she hears the news. A Ringling Brothers Circus train had derailed near Lakeland, Florida. And by the end of the day, she’d receive the news that every mother dreads. Ceslee, aka Sassy Lee, was one of two Ringling Brothers employees who lost their lives in the derailment. But the spirit of Ceslee, loved and remembered by friends and fans alike, lives unconquerable even to this day.

Show Notes:

Thanks to Ceslee’s Ringling Brothers co-workers, fellow clowns Mike Weakley and Lara Heidtman Smith for taking the time to share their experiences in the circus with Ceslee. Their insights are sprinkled throughout this episode.

Before working on this episode, my knowledge of clowns and the circus was pretty much limited to my own attendance at the Ringling Brothers shows I saw as a kid or took my sons to see. When people said she was known for her falls, I had no idea what that meant. But in the course of researching this episode, one video I saw of Ceslee absolutely wowed me in trying to grasp the athleticism and skill that goes into clowning.

Courtesy of Lara Heidtman Smith, we have a few photos of Ceslee and Lara on the road with Ringling Brothers:

You can read the NTSB Report here.