At the beginning of the twentieth century, hoop rolling juggling acts were quite popular. The genre began with William Everhart of Columbus, Ohio, who began performing with hoops around 1888. By the early 1900s, performers such as Ollie Young, Paul Renner, and the Alpha Troupe were popular acts on vaudeville stages and music halls. Perhaps the most unique hoop rolling act was performed by the Kratons. The Kratons was headed by the husband and wife team of Harry and Ethelyn Kraton.

Harry Kraton was born on February 14th, 1883 in Lynchburg, Virginia. Ethelyn was born in Denver, Colorado on January 15th, 1887. Harry was working as a juggler and wire walker at least as early as 1900, appearing in minstrel shows such as Black Patti’s Troubadours, the Georgia Minstrels, and Oliver Scott’s Minstrels. Early on, he used an alternative spelling of his last name, spelling it “Craton.”

By 1902, he was performing hoop rolling. It was said that he could control up to 24 hoops at one time.

Harry Kraton

Harry Kraton

With the development of his Hoopland act, he and his wife made the leap to Vaudeville and European music halls and found great success.

At times, the duo was joined by Harry’s brothers John and Delma, married couple Clarence and Leonora Johnson, Fred Diegman, Tom Johnson, and Tom Hart. Whether as a duo or as a larger troupe, the act, known as Hoopland, stood out from all other hoop acts.

At times, there were multiple versions of the act performing. Part of the troupe might be in the USA while another part was in Europe. When Harry and Ethelyn were in the act, it was called Hoopland. When other members did the act without them, it was referred to as Hoopville.

We have several descriptions of their very unique act. The first is from juggler Jack Greene, who wrote the following write up of the Kratons’ act in the May 1946 Jugglers’ Bulletin.

I cannot help mentioning The Kratons who were at their peak around 1908-09. The Kratons were not in the same category as Rastelli, Cinquevalli, or a host of other jugglers of world renown. They were primarily and exclusively, hoop rollers. They billed themselves as, “The Only Act Of Its Kind,” and they certainly lived up to that billing. For originality they were in a class by themselves. I cannot recall any other act presented like theirs. Imagine, if you can, a stage setting of a city with its stores, church, school, saloon, factory, and other buildings that a city boasts of. These buildings were busy places while The Kratons were doing their act.

Hoops represented people. Different colored hoops meant different people. The smaller ones were for the children. Hoops came out of a store and entered a dwelling. Some went into the church and others went into the factory. One hoop came out of the saloon, staggered around, and landed happily against a friendly lamppost. Some of them just sauntered down the street and disappeared. A bell rang, the school door opened, and out rushed the children headed in every direction. The factory whistle blew, and out came the workers. Some went down the street, others went into the various buildings, and a considerable group hightailed it for the saloon.

A couple of hoops came out onto the stage and did a dance. Another rushed out with a loud “Whoopee,” picked up a handkerchief, and continued on its way. It didn’t take too much imagination to picture a cowboy galloping along as he picked up that handkerchief.

Throughout the act, there wasn’t one person to be seen on the stage, since all of the work was done offstage. All sound effects were also handled offstage by The Kratons.

If my memory serves me correctly, the finish went something like this: The lights were dimmed slowly. The church bell rang and along came a couple of kids followed by mama and papa. They all went into the church. Then more and more families went in, until the church was just about full. A hymn was sung by the congregation, as the curtain lowered gently. Then all of the lights flashed on, and out came The Kratons for their well deserved bow.

The hours of practice and skill required to put this act together was undoubtedly lost to the layman, but all jugglers who saw the act realized the great effort, and perfect teamwork and timing that was necessary to make the routine run smoothly. While I never saw or heard of The Kratons stopping a show with this act, it was nevertheless one of those good old standby acts that always worked. So my hat’s off to them for their original “Hoops Are People” idea.

Another description of there act reads as follows:

“Of all the great hoop acts, one stands out. The Kratons, popular in 1908, set their stage as a small town with stores, churches, factory, saloon, school and other buildings. The hoops showed individual personalities of people in the town. Singly, in pairs or in groups, the hoop people would roll out of a store and into a house, or leave home for church or the factory. One hoop came out of the saloon, staggered around, and landed happily against a lamppost, friend of all drunkards. When the school bell rang, a passel of kids rushed out the door in every direction. When the factory whistle blew, the worker hoops headed for home, some making detours to the saloon. Hoop couples danced. A girlish hoop dropped a hanky and a courting hoop, with the aid of a pin embedded in the rim, raced along to pick it up and follow her behind some stage scenery. At the finale, the lights dimmed, the church bell rang, and families streamed into the church where a hymn was sung and the curtains lowered. Until that moment, there hadn’t been a single person on stage. Only then did the Kratons appear for their final bows.”

The Hoopland set

You can see in a close up of the Hoopland set that the hoops had cutouts of people inside of them.

Closeup of Hoopland set showing human figure cutouts inside the hoops

Variety (10-5-1907) described their act as follows. “A special set of a miniature village is used, showing residences, shops, police station and saloon. The men, women, policeman and cowboys, all represented by the hoops, are distinguished by various colors, a table being printed on the program, making it easy to follow. After the first four minutes, in which time the couple do seemingly the fastest and best hoop rolling and juggling possible, both leave the stage, the hoops thereafter going and coming from the various buildings with remarkable speed and accuracy. The whole act is a constant succession of comedy surprises. The “drunken” hoops which leave the saloon, stop, start back, and then go ahead, as well as the “cowboy” hoops that come out, pick up handkerchiefs, and then return, are not only amusing and interesting but puzzling. Nothing like it has been seen before. The offering closes with a prisoner breaking jail, and a chase by the police. The hoops rapidly follow one another across the stage in and out of the various buildings, the chase finally ending with the prisoner’s capture and return to jail. It makes a good, snappy finish to a novel and most excellent act.”

Harry Kraton and his troupe were some of the most successful African-American performers in all of Vaudeville. Harry was a champion of the inclusion of black performers on Vaudeville and music hall stages and even wrote a piece for Variety calling for the acceptance of other African-American acts.

The Kratons’ act was so original and successful that it comes at no surprise that others would attempt to steal his ideas.

Harry, Ethelyn, and John Kraton

The Kratons were wildly successful from about 1907 until Harry’s death on October 10, 1912. The act continued without Harry until at least 1917, with Harry’s brother John and Clarence and Leonora Johnson making up the troupe. A photo of John Kraton (1884-1933) is below.

John Kraton