It seems like Almost Yesterday that the circus came to De Soto, Missouri. In the days before television, color movies, and modern entertainment options, a high light for every community was when “the circus” came to town. Colorful costumes, trapeze artists, beautiful ladies, wild animals, and entertaining clowns — provided an escape from the hard work and isolation of rural and small town America. The Al G. Barnes wild animal shows regularly stopped in De Soto, Missouri and moved up St. Louis