-click to enlarge-The Lyric theater was at the southeast corner of Main and Front streets. At about the same time, the Ritz was owned by Mr. Coggins and was located near it's popular location west of Epting's.
"Screeno" was a form of, or was actually, Bingo. That was a very large amount of money for a jackpot prize in those days. WW2 hadn't started for the USA and the economy must have been pretty good.
Top photo is the actual Lyric theater in the early 40s.
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Thanks to John and Jo Carolyn (Anderson) Beebe for the newspaper photos.
Lyric theater photo by Claude Gentry.
15 comments:
Great material. I enjoyed reading it.
I think the Union Drug store eventually became Houston's. The Union was run by Archie Frost and a pharmacist whom I don't remember. Popeye Gentry was repairing watches in the rear.
Interesting stuff!!!!!!
Ain't it amazing how some of the things folks save will last for 60 years?
Don't know how you get all this stuff, but my graditude to you. Keep it up..
Other pharmacist at Houston's was Howard Floyd, a great checker player.
The Union pharmacist in 1940 may have been Ira Caldwell, Dr. R. B.'s brother.
The phone numbers were a bit of a puzzle to me. Bludworth's (and Gentry's) were 2 digits - just the number 15, while Basden's was 4 digits - 2103. I remember our phone number in 1946 was 2702, so maybe 1940 was the year the phone company switched from 2 digits to 4. Anyone else remember their phone number from the 40s?
Yep-- I do, it was 2861 then it was later changed to 7861-- then it got real modern in the 50's and it became Forrest 5-7861 and finally 365-7861-- and now you know the "rest of the story" tnx Cynthia
JMD
Ours was 3332. We got our first phone in 1949 or 1950.
Our 4 party line at Pratt was 3752, then FO(Forrest)5-3752,one long ring....
FOREST???? WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?
On Summer nights, the popcorn smell from the theaters was heavy all over Main street. It was almost impossible to not buy a bag even if you were not going to the movie!
The Ritz and Lyric were the coolest places in hot weather. Not air conditioned, but gigantic fans moved the air well enough to lower the temp dramatically. Outside in the alleys where the fans blew the whittlers and yarn spinners sat, getting the benefit of the exhausted air.
Mr. Len Rowan owned the "other" drug store, and Archie Frost was the pharmacist I remember with Popeye in the back. Mr. Len made great chocolate sodas. I don't remember the name of the store. Rexall? Joyce Houston bought it and Howard Floyd was the pharmacist.
Remember all of those drinks we made from vanilla ice cream and different flavored "cokes"? It started with Coke floats and root beer floats, and then came the "purple cow", with NuGrape. What were some of the others?
And, yes, Jo Carolyn, it was the Rexall Drug Store.
It was actually "frosted cokes" instead of "coke floats" in this neck of the woods.
Whatever they were called, they were excellent... especially the purple cow.
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