Emily's Trapeze Legacy

There’s a life-size picture of a woman, Emily (Kletzien) Underberg, hanging from a trapeze bar inside the Manitowoc County Historical Society’s McAllister House Welcome Center. Emily passed away in 2012 at the age of 96 but her legacy lives on as an inspiration for all who learn her story.

Emily was born March 1, 1916 in Valders, a descendant of William F. Christel, the founder of Valders.  As a teenager during the Great Depression, Emily began attending the Manitowoc Vocational School to earn credits for high school.  Her brother, Kirby, brought Emily to the Vocational School to use the gym, under the director of Mr. Billy Schultz. Billy Schultz, a retired circus performer, was the janitor at Washington Junior High School.  He was approached by the Boy Scouts to put on a circus in 1925 and again in 1926. Following the experience, Billy wanted to teach youth circus acrobatics, teeter-board, clowning, trapeze, wire-walking and much more — and the Billy Schultz Indoor Circus was born. Being a circus performer ran in Emily’s family – her brother Kirby was an acrobat and sister, Ione, performed with the Boy Scout Circus on the swinging ladders. 

The Billy Schultz Indoor Circus started in the upstairs gym at Washington Junior High School and a field near Grand Avenue and South 16th Street in Manitowoc. Youth like Emily flocked to the circus training school, which Billy ran for no charge. Their first circus performance was in 1929 for Manitowoc’s “Manito-ween” Halloween celebration.

In 1932, the Manitowoc Vocational School opened with the gym being turned into a circus tent and Billy Schultz taught any youth who wanted to learn the skills. More than 20 different types of circus acts were offered, and it remained free to participants.

While training at the Vocational School, Emily heard that Charles West, president of the Manitowoc Shipyards, was looking for a maid.  She worked as the family’s maid for seven years, allowing her to have her own bedroom for the first time in her life. 

Back at the Vocational School, Emily worked hard with Schultz on the trapeze.  Within five years, she began performing on the revolving trapeze - suspended in the air while doing somersaults – without any net or restraints. 

According to her obituary, “She was known as the ‘queen of the revolving trapeze’ and in 1938 she broke the world's record which was recorded by NBC by turning 146 backward summersaults spinning head over heals on the high bar, hanging on only by her arms. Her act was known as the ‘muscle grind’ for the strength and endurance it took to accomplish it.”

Emily married a fellow circus performer, Don Underberg, a clown, and retired after nearly 10 years of participating with the only circus training school in the country.  Emily was so talented that she was sought after by many national circuses but chose to remain in Manitowoc County. Emily’s cutout greets thousands of guests each year at our museum. We are honored to share her story and her role in bringing the Billy Schultz Circus to life.