PrintWalking down the boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J., just isn’t the same these days. What once was a prime vacation destination for the rich and famous in the early part of the 20th century, rich in upscale hotels, attractions such as Steel, Million Dollar and Iron Pier, side show acts, entertainment and nightlife, has now become a boulevard of towering casinos prevailing over the Atlantic Ocean’s horizon.
Not that there’s anything wrong with casinos, I’ve certainly had my share of fun at the roulette table and slot machines, but some of Atlantic City’s magic is gone, which I discovered the first time I visited a few summers ago.
Perhaps I was being too optimistic though, considering my vision of Atlantic City came from the movie Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, which took place in the city’s heyday more than 75 years ago.
But I wonder how many people know that the film was based on the life of a real woman named Sonora Carver, who made a CCI**** drop look like a baby step with her diving horse show.
Born on February 2, 1904, Carver was the oldest of six children. When she was 20 years old, she saw an advertisement in the paper looking for girls who weren’t afraid of heights and willing to travel. Carver answered the ad, which had been placed by W.F. “Doc” Carver, and as the over-used cliché goes, the rest is history!
Doc Carver, who partnered with Buffalo Bill Cody and put the Wild West show on the road and on the map, invented the act. There are many different theories on how Doc came up with the idea, but the most popular is that he was riding across a bridge when it collapsed, sending him and his horse into the river below. The horse “dove” into the water, and they swam safely to shore. He died in 1927, leaving the show to his son, Al Carver, who married Sonora.
The diving horses became a huge success and a permanent fixture on Atlantic City’s Steel Pier beginning in 1929. Sonora easily became the most famous diving girl, and her sister, Annette, quickly followed in her footsteps. The horses would run up a ramp, and the riders would wait at the top, mounting as they ran by to take the plunge together. In the beginning, the dives were measured at 60 feet, but as time went on the heights were slowly lowered.
Throughout the show’s existence, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was constantly looking for evidence of abuse, but according to Annette, they never found anything because the horses were so well loved and throughout the years not a single one was injured.
