Windjammers Unlimited co-founder Charles Herbert Bennett, Jr. (WJU #1) died November 22, 2025.
Charlie was born in 1947, in Chicago, and when he was three, the family moved to Norridge, IL, a northwest suburb near O’Hare Field. In 1975 a job promotion took him and his wife, Beverly, to Wichita, KS.
Charlie inherited his passion for the circus from his father, who was a co-founder of Circus Model Builders. Charlie grew up in a household where the Merle Evans recordings of 1930 (Victor), 1941 (Columbia), 1949 (Capitol), and 1953 (Decca) were frequently playing on the record turntable. Whenever a circus was in town, his dad would make a point to get seats near the bandstand, so Charlie met Merle Evans at an early age. On his birthday in 1965, Charlie and his father were in Ft. Dodge, IA for a concert conducted by Karl King. This led to a close connection that lasted until King’s death in 1971.
With King’s long-distance mentorship, Charlie became an outstanding trumpet player and circus band enthusiast. He also carried forward his dad’s love of circus model building and model railroads. Bennett, Sr. was inducted into the CMB Hall of Fame in 1965, and Jr. was similarly honored in 2017.
Charlie’s first opportunity to play with a circus happened in 1963, as an 11th grader. The Mills Bros. Circus came to town for an 8-day gig. Charlie talked to band leader and trumpeter Joe Stefan (WJU Hall of Fame 2007) and got to sit in on solo cornet. It was a challenge, but his appetite was whetted and over the years Charlie sat in with numerous circus bands, often using his work vacation time to do so. In 1970, Merle Evans wrote Charlie asking him to organize the band for a circus in Delavan, WI that summer … and he pulled it off. He obtained the top three tuba players for that band – Harvey Phillips, Bill Bell, and Ed Livingston – and one of the drummers was Ringling’s Rollin Sherbondy.
Charlie graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago in 1971 with a B.S. in marketing and an advertising major. Simultaneously, Charlie and Art Stensvad (WJU #2) officially formed Windjammers Unlimited on January 1, 1971, with its mission of preserving and performing traditional circus music and educating others about the importance of this music genre.
Charles H. Bennett, Jr. was inducted into the Windjammers Hall of Fame in 2013. He was thrilled by this honor as well as seeing the organization’s continued success more than 50 years after its founding.
Our condolences to Beverly. May you rest in musical peace, Charlie. Windjammers Unlimited appreciates your legacy.
Charlie reflected upon the beginning of Windjammers in this 2020 recording for the 50th anniversary celebration of Windjammers.