This Week @ Monday Creek: A visit with Jack R. Cox, Historian, Author, Clown, Puppet Master, and More

Local Author & Historian, Jack R. Cox and son, Bret
Nelsonville Public Library Ohio USA

 

A visit to the Nelsonville Public Library is always a top-drawer experience. I miss the old, wooden tables and chairs. They removed the wooden tables and chairs, and replaced them with a Formica/plastic (whatever it is). It’s cold, gray, and blue. I liked the wood. I asked a librarian why they removed the old tables that were the library. The librarian explained that lice lives in wood and they had a lice infestation. With that said, I was happy to see the cold, gray, and blue.

I was at the library yesterday afternoon to meet for the first time southeastern Ohio author Jack R. Cox and his son Bret. Jack is the author of many books, a former magazine editor, professional clown, and much more. He has a title out of print Whiteface & White Wardrobe: Life, Love, Tragedy & Triumph in a Big Top Clown Alley, and a new title in the works, The Two Billys. The meeting was to provide insight on publishing and book markets/promotion.

Jack has a fascinating background. He writes historical fiction based on life experiences and stories. Whiteface and White Wardrobe begins “on a sweltering July morning in 1917…”. Since the book is out-of-print, it is being revamped with a 2026 release date (TBD).

Jacks’ Bio: Former magazine editor, Jack R. Cox, has always had a passion for writing. That enthusiasm, coupled with abiding interests in puppetry, clowning, and circus history, were just the right ingredients for the creation of this story [Whiteface & White Wardrobe].

          For years, the author, his wife Shirley, and children, Erin and Bret, presented marionette (string puppet) shows in the Redlands, California area. It was only natural that this involvement in the entertainment world would lead them to the clown troupe of the Great Y Circus, a community show, also in Redlands. Eventually, Jack and Shirley would become Producing Clowns (directors) for this organization, putting together the acts and training young mirth makers.

          Years later, with children grown and on their own, and careers concluded, the senior Coxes returned to their native Ohio, settling in the hill country of the southeastern part of the state. There a whole new interest - local history - was discovered. When it was learned that there were circus stories in the Nelsonville area, the final storyline was arrived at for Whiteface and White Wardrobe.

          Cox is a graduate of Sandusky (Ohio) High School and holds a BA Degree from Baldwin-Wallace College. Retired now, he lives contentedly in a wooded hollow near Nelsonville.

 

Throughout the afternoon, Jack told stories of his days as a clown and puppet master. He was friends with Ringling Bros & Barnum Bailey Circus, Master Clown “Frosty.”  Founded in 1929, the Great Y Circus is still a highlight for the Redland, California community. Look for more from Jack R. Cox in the near future.

Thank you, Jack and Bret, for the opportunity to propel your success.