Don Bernardo "King of the Swinging Wire"

The Bernard family of Lakeland, Florida was for three generations a family of circus and vaudeville performers. The family was enshrined in the Sarasota (FL) Circus Hall of Fame in 1965.

The family's circus tradition began with family patriarch Floyd Bernard. Born Floyd Hardman in Boone, Iowa on July 23, 1885, he ran away from home to join the circus at the age of twelve and changed his name to Floyd Bernard. Bernard learned contortion and high wire acts and barnstormed with small circuses across the mid-west until joining the nationally known Ringling Brothers Circus in 1905.

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Staff are often asked about Lakeland's History by visitors and students.
The PDF document below can be downloaded for use.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LAKELAND.pdf