HUGO, Okla. — There’s a place not too far from Shreveport where the lure of life under the big top still runs through town.
Just about 180 miles away — a one-tank trip from Shreveport — Hugo, Okla., sits west of Idabel at the crossroads of Highway 70 and Highway 271. The town proudly carries a nickname that reflects its colorful past: Circus City USA.
A town built on the big top
In its heyday, Hugo became a winter haven for traveling circuses. Thanks to its mild climate, performers and animal trainers would overwinter here, giving their acts — and themselves — a break from life on the road. Children of circus families attended local schools, blending show business with small-town life.
Locals still share stories from those days.
“He had a real good friend — they called him Flip Flop,” Margaret Brock recalled of her husband’s friend. “When they’d walk to school, he did flip flops all the way there and all the way home.”…