One is tempted to believe otherwise but, yes, that was his real surname.
Wes Upperman was born in 1938 in Bexar Co., Texas and grew up in San Antonio. Oh yeah, he was also born legless.
When Wesley was nine years old the local papers published a small story about him and it wasn't long before San Antonions, under the aegis of the Fourth Army recruiting service, began donating monies into a fund set up to help purchase artificial legs for the young man.
Before long a total of $4,000 was raised - enough for the legs and maybe even a pony for the boy. The San Antonio Light continued to follow the story concluding with a photo and article of Wesley standing on his own two legs.
Wesley Upperman then might have simply faded back into relative obscurity except that two years later he, or rather his mother Mattie, decided he would have a go in the (side)show business.
Since the carnival season conflicted with the school year it wasn't long before school attendance officers figured out where the truant was. The local DA filed a complaint on behalf of the two officers against Mattie Upperman claiming that she was contributing to the delinquency of a minor by permitting him to be in a sideshow when he should have been in school. "He's being allowed to roam the streets which tends to injure his morals, health and welfare", they asserted.
The officers alleged that Wes was an above-average student who should have been attending a local school for handicapped children.
The charge was serious enough that Mrs Upperman was threatened with the possibility of losing custody of her son.
No photos exist of Wesley as part of a sideshow after that time but the pics here indicate that he enjoyed career, brief as it was, in the outdoor amusement business. |
