Hazel Marion Eaton

Hazel Marion Eaton (July 4, 1895 – December 22, 1970) was one of the first "mile-a-minute girls" [1][2] to ride an Indian motorcycle in a carnival motordrome known as the Wall of Death.

Her mother, Jennie L. Johnson, a South Portland native, suffered from nausea due to paint fumes in the main house.

Raised in South Portland, Maine, Eaton enjoyed a local reputation for diving and long distance swimming.

[1] After the Portland Sunday Telegram ran a story touting her swimming abilities, representatives from the Johnny Jones Exposition hired her to perform shallow diving feats from an elevated platform into a tank, hoop rolling and trained monkey acts.

In 1920, due to the nomadic lifestyle of circus performers, Ira Watkins’s mother, Emma, took custody of Beverly and raised her in Rutland, Vermont.

A motordrome, also known as “The Wall of Death,” is a barrel shaped track made of smooth two by four inch boards that bank upward at a 45-60 degree angle.