Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4-B
4 Goose’ Clowns His Way Into Your Heart
In away, a clown has to
be a natural ham.
He has got to shed his
inhibitions and, at a
moment's notice, enter a
fantasy world.
But, above all. he has to
be human ... and project
this intimacy to his
public. At the same time,
he must love his
profession.
That is the philosophy
of Henry C. (Goose)
Griggs, a quality
assurance specialist at
the Warner Robins Air
Logistics (ALC), Robins
AFB.
Griggs, a white face
clown, goes by the stage
name of “Goose the
Clown." He prefers to be
called Goose, a title he
was given from horsing
around in younger days.
He has always admired
clowns. "As a youngster I
seemed to keep people
laughing.” he says. "I
guess it was because I
always loved people.”
His admiration sur
faced when he saw his
first circus in 1950. “I was
thrilled with the per
formance by the clowns
and the response they
drew from the audience,”
Goose recalls.
Griggs, now 44 years
old, saw his childhood in
Butler, Ga., mirrored in
the antics of those circus
clowns. As a child , he
always was playing
tricks on people, doing
funny things to make
them laugh. It drew him
the nickname of "the boy
who laughs all the time.”
His interest became a
reality in 1970 when he
joined the Shrine. “But I
wouldn't have had the
courage to follow through
with the hard work and
preparation that is in
volved in being a suc
cessful clown if it were
not for my good friend,
Jim (Dune Buggy)
Russell,” he points out.
Russell, a veteran
clown, had moved into
Griggs’ home town of
Butler in 1971 from Nash
ville, Tenn. He im
mediately took an in
terest in Griggs' clowning
and encouraged him to
become a clown.
"He impressed upon
me to keep trying,"
Griggs says. “He en
couraged me by com
plimenting me and telling
me the things I needed to
do to be a good clown. He
kept me busy with per
formances at churches,
nursing homes, retar
dation centers, etc., until
I began to feel confident.
"He started me off by
loaning me a costume
and the makeup I needed
to start out. Since then,
with the help of my wife,
Adriane, I have designed
some 10 costumes for the
various activities I have
been in."
In addition to his wife,
his three children, Cindy,
17, Buddy, 14, and Marty,
5, have all clowned with
mmm
ON THE JOB ~ Goose Griggs works in the Quality Control Division of
the Directorate of Distribution as a quality assurance specialist. (U.S.
Air Force photo by Clarence Chase)
him. He makes them up
and they accompany him
in parades.
Griggs and his buddy,
Russell, became involved
with youngsters in Butler
in 1976. They taught a
group of 30, ranging in
age from five to 17, how to
make up, how to parade
and how to act as clowns.
They performed in
several bicentennial
parades during a six
month period.
Goose still gives lec
tures to adult clowns. He
puts on clinics on the
proper application of
makeup and advice on
how to become a good
clown.
He believes a clown
should drop to his knees,
get down on eye-level
with the kids and talk
with them. He will
casually offer them
balloons and, if they
refuse them, he will give
them to their parents.
Then, he feels he was won
them over.
Goose will make no
sudden moves around
youngsters until he can
see how they will react to
his clowning. He ap
proaches them slowly so
he won’t frighten them.
He doesn’t believe in
smoking, drinking or
doing anything to show he
is a person and not a
clown.
"Once you put on your
clown makeup, you cease
to be a person,” he ex
plains. "You join the
realm of clowns. Children
will measure you against
what a person would
normally do, so you
should never put yourself
in the position of being a
person.”
Evidence that Griggs
practices what he
preaches is borne out
through his career as a
clown.
Since joining the A1
Sihah Temple Shrine
Clowns of Macon, in 1971,
Goose has advanced to
the post of unit president
in 1977.
Besides his mem
bership in numerous
clown association, i.e..
Clowns of America (No.
4115), the Southeastern
and International Shrine
Clown Associations, he
has held honorary
memberships in the
Omar Imps of Florence,
S.C., and the South
Atlantic Clown
Association.
Griggs also is a
member and past master
of the Fickling Masonic
Lodge of Butler, past
master of the Third
Masonic District of
Georgia and is a member
of the York Rite Bodies
and Ivanhoe Company
Knights Temple and
Scottish Rites Bodies,
Macon Consistery.
He is past district
deputy of the Order of the
Eastern Star (OES),
state of Georgia, and past
patron of the Stella Butler
Chapter of the OES.
Goose’s clowning
ability has been
displayed in the movie,
“Greased Lightning”,
starring Richard Pryor.
He appeared in one scene
as a clown with balloons.
Goose has also per
formed at the Georgia
State Fair in Macon,
before numerous school
groups, during picnics, at
nursery homes and at
various public events in
Middle Georgia.
As further proof of his
professional ability, he
has been asked to judge
regional clown com
petitions for the last five
years straight. He has
lectured on clown
makeup and on the art of
clowning for two in
Houston Forester Says
False Alarm Fires
Can Cost County
The Houston County
Unit of the Georgia
Forestry Commission
reminds residents of this
area of the high costs of
false alarm fires.
"We certainly want the
people to report all
wildfires as soon as they
are spotted,” said
Ranger Batchelor, "But
they should also call us
when they are carrying
out control burning.”
He pointed out that it is
very costly for the
forestry unit to move
crawler tractors mounted
on heavy transport trucks
into an area and find that
the smoke came from a
brush or trash fire that
was under supervision.
"This is a critical time
in which we are dedicated
to conserving energy
wherever possible,” the
ranger said, “and if we
spot smoke from a
controlled burn that was
not reported to us, we
have to respond as if it
were a wildfire.”
Ranger Batchelor said
Houston County is one of
the Georgia counties in
which it is unlawful to
start outdoor fires before
notifying the forestry unit
of the approximate time
and place of the burning.’
"It is well worth the
expense when there is a
fire that needs at
tention,” the ranger said.
"Many times, thousands
Phr^iaS
SHOP
PERRY
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1979
‘Above All , Clowns Must Be Human ’
temational conventions.
“This is my personal
opinion,” he says, "But to
be a good white face
clown I believe you
should stick to the basics -
- white, black and red.
The blues and greens look
well on some people, but I
have found that children
seem to be frightened by
them - blue especially.”
Goose first started out
as a walk-around type of
clown, working with
balloons and making
balloon animals.
But during the past
year he has added magic
to his act and has put
together a one-hour
magic show which he
performs from a stage.
of acres of valuable
timber have been saved.”
He explained, however,
that when the fire turns
out to be a controlled
blaze that is well con
tained, the cost of
dispatching heavy
equipment to the scene is
prohibitive.
Ranger Batchelor said
the Commission is
grateful to citizens in this
county for their
cooperation in reporting
fires. It is important to
cut down on false alarms
during this time of ex
treme energy shortage.
—
V* s Santa & Mickey
For The Kids!
fcr If it :an be Christmas wrapped, Westgate's probably
got It tor up to 75% less That's fashions, shoes, books,
JsHßnß’ maternity wear, sports equipment, jeans, jewelry, silver
"lMßPp' fWI ware, china kidswear, TV's, and more' How can our
V prices be so low 7 Because in most cases you're buying
mm jf j%. f JB| BB direct from the manufacturer So why not eliminate the
middleman and save this Christmas 7 It's like buying
Bf I direct from the North Pole'
ji|| - I ™ Christmas Calendar November 17th
iB, tSMhHb to 1100 a m Concert ' special Christmas music py The
BUB CC. V ...Central H S Sugar Bear Band under the
-vlEy! direction of Bob Barnette
■* ,v ‘ll 00 a m Santa & Mickey will be accompanied by
ML i> ®iiiy me Bullfrog Wralph the Wrangler Kids
Dog Slush Puppy and Piggly Wiggly Pig
SB; (®|||| twith tree gifts for the iuds as long asthey last 1
!■ Santa will be at Westgate through
bIBIHF VB Christmas (4-9 p.m. weekdays, 10-9 Sat.)
lywai i I
’iipßKQ Wall Disney
'■s, « Productions. Inc M&^fr
7 / / / \ \ \ v■ \
Goose s most recent
appearance was early
this year at the In
ternational Shrine Clown
Convention in Jackson,
Miss.
In competition with
some 600 Shrine clowns
from throughout the
country, he placed third
in individual white face
and third in overall clown
categories.
But it wasn't the first
time he has drawn
national recognition. He
was fourth in the
Southeast in 1977 and has
been in the top 15 in in
dividual clown com
petition in the Southeast
and with the In
ternational Shrine Clown
Association for the last
eight years.
Griggs, who came to
work at Robins AFB in
June 1955 as a
warehouseman, is in
volved in checking on
quality work as a civil
servant in the Direc
torate of Distribution. He
believes being a clown
has helped him on the job.
"A clown should love
oeople and should be able
to communicate with all
types,” he said. "I have
to deal with people and
their problems in quality
control every day and I
have found that clowning
has helped give me a
better perspective in my
work.”
But the biggest reward,
he will admit, is when a
youngster runs up to him,
hugs his neck and kisses
him and says, "Thank
you, Mr. Clown,” when he
introduces himself as
"Goose the Clown.”
>| fHHpr
v * " -* *. ' ■' #
jB i 4
||JK ’ »■ ■^’"^
k. - I
JBfc- *” —» ,
‘.pjr . ,
■PT !5^ fi’ -■- f/. . ‘
Hbm.
GOOSE ENTERTAINS - Goose entertains children at the Robins AFB
Day Care Center. (U.S. Air Force photo by Clarence Chase)