It was a sad spring day in 1948. I remember that
day very well; it was the day our picture show burned. I was about five
years old then and I remember hearing the fire siren that bright spring
morning. My grandmother and I walked outside our home on Spring Street to
watch for the fire trucks. The fire siren was mounted on the south wall of
the sewing factory building where the American Legion is located today. It
sounded quite differently than the air raid type Grayville has today and
wasn’t as loud. We didn’t have to look which way the fire trucks were
headed; a tall column of black smoke was rising high into sky from downtown.
We stood on the front lawn watching the smoke and worried that it might be
our restaurant, Werzner’s Café. Suddenly a man came running down the street
and shouted, “the picture show is on fire.” Remember, back then there were
no TV stations in the area and what few sets there were, could barely pull
in the snowy black and white pictures from far away St. Louis. To have the
only picture show in town burn back then, was like having the only TV set in
your home suddenly taken away today. I’m sure any five-year-old would
remember that for a long time.
Grayville’s
Premier Theatre was located in the Masonic Building’s ground floor where
Fisk Hardware is today. We used to watch the newsreels, cartoons, and those
old classic western movies with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hop Along Cassidy,
Red Rider, and so many more. Charles “Charlie” Brechner and his wife Chloe
ran the place, and if you were looking for trouble, Charlie was always
ready. No drinks or concessions were sold there, Charlie was afraid such
things would attract rats. The only candy items sold there; as I recall,
were roll lifesavers and they had to be purchased at the ticket window.
Getting caught talking, putting your foot on a seat, or worse; slipping in a
coke from Madden’s Drug Store next door, could easily get you a ticket to
the street. When Charlie wasn’t prowling the theatre, he was usually
standing under the triangular marquee that overhung the sidewalk. I can
still remember that tall lanky gentleman standing in front of the Premier
and asking him when the next Roy Rogers movie would be shown. The Premier
was also one of the few, if not the only building in town that was
air-conditioned back then. It was a welcome respite from those hot summer
evenings to sit in that cool dark theatre and watch a movie so long ago.
Years later I heard some say that it was in the air conditioning system’s
“straw box” mounted on the boiler room roof near the alley, where the fire
started.
Grayville
had two fire trucks back then. A 1946 International and a 1924 open cab
Ford. I believe the Ford was sold to a museum somewhere in Kentucky around
1960. I remember the models of those trucks because my mother ordered
license plates for them when she was a notary. Both trucks were on the way
to the fire with their crew of volunteers as my grandmother locked the house
and we began a hasty walk downtown. By the time we reached the four way
stop, traffic was blocked and a large crowd of spectators filled the highway
and street. At first it appeared only the front of the building was on fire
and some of the people thought that it was only the projection room that was
burning. Surely those powerful fire hoses that were being trained on the
front of the building would soon put it out, or so we wished. A ladder was
raised from Madden’s Drug Store roof to a second story window, and as I
recall, one or more people escaped down that ladder from the upstairs area.
Suddenly, a great cloud of black smoke billowed from the front followed by
bright orange flames, and everyone retreated. The firemen bravely beat back
the flames and a cheer went up from the crowd. Little did anyone know that
the entire theatre was on fire from the street to the alley. Soon it became
apparent that this was no minor blaze, and we walked a circuitous route
around the block and down to our restaurant. I remember my father saying,
“well no more picture show”. Sadly, I sat on the back steps of the
restaurant, listening to the roar of the fire trucks and watching the smoke
towering into the sky. Dan Brooster walked up to the kitchen and told my
mother that they were expecting the walls to fall. Still, I was hoping the
firemen would save day and the show would reopen soon.
The firemen fought that stubborn blaze for the rest of the
day, and I’m sure there were some neighboring towns that sent in men and
equipment as well. Late that afternoon I walked up the alley with my dad to
see the damage. The whole downtown seemed to reek of charred wood and the
firemen were rolling up some of the few remaining hoses. Two large holes
were broken open in the brick wall of the building to the east. From there
some brave firemen crawled under that building and broke through the brick
wall of the theatre in order to extinguish the fire in the middle of the
building. One can still see where those holes were patched to this day. Yes,
my dad was right, no more picture show. Some time later the building was
remodeled. I remember when they cleaned out the fire-damaged interior there
were hundreds of large coil springs from the burned out seats piled near the
alley. Bob and Don Ragsdale were my playmates back then. They lived in a
trailer home near the Legion building and we kept sneaking up there to
collect those springs. Every kid in Grayville must have had one or more to
play with during that summer.
The closest theatres for us
Grayville folks then were in Crossville (yes, Crossville had a movie theatre
back then), Albion, or Carmi
(both had two theatres each). The old Premier Theatre became a memory and
the new Leader Department Store opened in the remodeled building. Some of
you older folks no doubt remember that fateful day and can embellish what I
have written from memory as child back then. Perhaps someone has photographs
of the Premier and the way it used to be. Today, a hardware store occupies
that building and the pillar in the middle of the store, well; about fifty
or so years ago, that’s about where the Ragsdale brothers and I used to sit
and watch movies. Don’t think of taking it down, it holds up those charred
ceiling joists which used to be the theatre ceiling. Don’t talk too loudly
in there either. Old Charlie’s ghost might get on your case. And whatever
you do, don’t spill a coke, or he’ll nail you for sure.
Write
Bill Werzner
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