Along The River… “Shows”

silverturtle — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:29:23 +0000

I was having lunch with my oldest daughter and my two grandsons yesterday. She suddenly looked at me and said, “You’re cute. You know you say 3 things that no one else says. You call the movies, the “show”, you call the Interstate the “expressway”, and you call Cheetos “corn curls”. Well, yeah I do because that’s what those things were called when I was young. Since I believe that life is like a river, I’ve decided that when I reminisce I’ll call it “Along The River…” because these are things that have happened along my river of life. So, something about “shows”

When I was a kid my Dad would give me $1.00 to take my brother and I to the “show”. Yes, I said one dollar. The “show” we would most often go to was the “Cinderalla Theatre” on Jefferson Avenue on the East side of Detroit.

It was opened in 1924 and had about 1,900 seats including a balcony. Cool. On Saturday was the matinée and you got to see 6 cartoons, 2 newsreels, and 2 full-length movies. It cost 15 cents to get in. So, for my brother and I that was 30 cents out of the $1 we’d started with. We still had 70 cents left. 35 cents each.

For refreshments every candy bar that then existed including Snickers, Milky Way, 3 Musketeers, Baby Ruth, O Henry, Clark Bar, and the rest, were 5 cents. Keep in mind that all of these candy bars were then bigger than the versions we have now. A large beverage was also 5 cents. A large, buttered popcorn was 10 cents and a large Cracker Jack was 5 cents. They had a large, and I mean large, Holloway Slo Poke sucker that was so big it had like a 1/4″ dowel rod for a stick. It did indeed last all day and it was 10 cents.

So, with my 35 cents I could have 2 large Pepsi’s, a large buttered popcorn, and 3 candy bars. Or a variation thereof. Kids would line up outside and the line would wrap around the corner along the side where you see the fire escape in the picture. Kids who got up in the balcony would often toss stuff down onto kids below, but there were always “ushers” to keep the peace. What is an usher? Every “show” had them and they were people who patrolled the ‘show’ with a flashlight while constantly walking up and down the aisles. They could help you find a seat or they could throw you out.

I’d get in my seat, next to my younger brother, and I lay my head on the back of the seat and look up at the ceiling. I wish I’d had the foresight to take pictures of that ceiling. It was like the ceiling of a European cathedral. Beautiful plaster work and paint, really magnificent. It really makes the “shows” of today look drab. There were lush drapes hanging down from the walls, beautiful sconces that lit up the side aisles, and rich carpet.

I remember going to the “show” with great fondness, spending time with family and friends. The “show” is gone now, swept along in the river of my life, but part of it exists within me.

Silver Turtle - Out of His Shell

Along The River… “Shows”