I'm sure that anyone who ever lived in Wallins or nearby was familier with the movie theatre. It was a place that provided entertainment and a break from the humdrum of everyday life. It was a central gathering place that drew people from miles around. If you were there, you remember the show music that would play over the loudspeaker. This music could be heard for quite a distance, and would announce to all that the show would be starting shortly. To me and other boys like me it was our signal to start thinking about finding a way to get money enough for admission. Even though admission was only 20 cents, money was very scarce. It wasn't easy finding 20 cents in those days.
The quickest way to get the money was to beg Mom, but that didn't always work. I quickly learned by experience when this approach was not going to end in success. Another way that sometimes worked was to chop kindling to sell. I had an uncanny gift that allowed me to stack, what appeared to be a bushel basket full of kindling, but was in reality a half bushel of wood precisely stacked. One customer that learned my scheme was Burvel Howard. I think he learned after a time or two, to inspect the bushel before paying.
The Wallins Creek theater not only showed movies, but had a lot of stage shows. These stage shows featured traveling stars from the silver screen and also other unique showmen. Some of the people that I remember on the stage at the theater were Gabby Hayes, Tim Holt and Lash Larue to name a few. If you remember Lash Larue, his claim to fame was his bullwhip. I was so enthralled with him as a kid, that I carried a whip around. I used this to whip imaginary guns from the hands of the bad guys. Needless to say, I was very enthralled with his stage visit. All of these stars from the westerns that I watched on the screen were quite a thrill for a young boy to see in person.
As a kid I was fascinated with seeing them in person. I remember one show in particular in which I got to be personally involved. The performer was an Indian who billed himself as the greatest shot alive. He was shooting cigarettes out of a female assistant's mouth, and doing all types of other trick shots with his rifle. He also used a mirror to shoot targets behind his back. At a point in the show, he asked for a volunteer. I was sitting up close to the stage and very eager to participate. He chose me to be his assistant.
I can't believe now in retrospect that I placed myself in the hands of a stage performer, whom I didn't know, who intended to use me as a target. This man was also an expert at knife throwing. I remember that he first threw knives at a board with an outline of a person's body to demonstrate his skill to the audience. He then placed me with my hands tied to this same board. I almost fainted when he added an additional element of difficulty by having his assistant blindfold him.
The Indian proceeded to throw knives at me. What was I thinking? Obviously I had made a very poor decision, confirming the suspicions of some that my wrapping was rather loose. For those of you from Loyall, Kentucky, I had made a rather dubious decision. Since I am now relating this story you may have guessed that I survived this incredibly stupid decision to place my life in jeopardy. The man threw several knives, sticking them very close to my limbs and torso. One of them landed between my legs very close to my groin. When he came over to remove the knives from the board, he got a big laugh from the audience by making a big show and effort of trying to work the knife out that he had stuck in the board between my legs.
Another thing that happened at the theater was the weekly drawing for prize money. This occurred every Tuesday night, I believe. Each seat in the theater had a number painted on the underside. Some time during the movie, a drawing would take place. It was done most of the time by G.D. Saylor, the owner. He would have someone draw a numbered ticket from a jar that held all the corresponding seat numbers. If you were sitting in the seat number that was drawn, you won the jackpot. If no one was in the seat, the jackpot grew until next week.
As you can imagine, as the pot grew larger, people packed the theater. I never won this drawing, but my Mom won it four times. I always thought she was a very lucky person as a result of this. I was never able to understand about this concept of luck. I was convinced that I had no luck, as I never won anything it seemed.
Upon reflection of my life, one might say that I was lucky to be alive, given all the situations that I placed myself in. As I said before, I like to think of it as divine intervention instead of luck. God had a bigger plan for my life. I was only to discover this later on in life.
The Saturday Matinees were particularly memorable. It was usually a double feature. There would also usually be one or more cartoons, a newsreel, and a serial feature if you were lucky. I remember this as a special treat. This was an on-going adventure or mystery thriller. I remember these as taking you up to the point of imminent danger, then leaving you hanging until next week. You had to see the next installment to see if the hero survived. You knew that they would. It just didn't seem possible, though. I recall that I would spend all day at the movies. They would just play everything over and over. You could come late and stay to where you came in. This coined the phrase, "this is where I came in." What a forgotten concept in today's culture.
Another well known feature of the theater was one that we didn't pay to see, but was present anyway. This was the rats. Yes I said rats, enormous rats. I never sat with my feet on the floor. I always rested them on the seat in front of me. It was not uncommon to have the rats scurrying across your feet as you watched the movie. What is a movie without popcorn, right? I love popcorn, but I never ate it in the Wallins theater. The reason I didn't was a well known fact to most of us boys. On many occasions we looked through the front window of the theater after hours to see rats inside of the popcorn machine feasting. Needless to say I never had popcorn again in the theater.
There were lots of times that I didn't have the money for admission to the theater. I remember that there was a side door near the alley. It had a small opening at the bottom. I could not see the movie. but if I lay on my stomach, I could hear the sound. I could also feel the rush of cool air in my face. Many times I lay there listening to the sound of the movies allowing my imagination to form the picture in my mind. This helped to develop my keen imagination, as I have already alluded to.
Scary movies were both a treat and a fright. I can remember going to scary movies, then running home through dark alleys and streets. It was especially bad to pass a vacant house. I remember the house that sat next door to where I lived. It was the Aldie Howard house. We called it "Aldies." For some reason this house stood abandoned for years, but was completely furnished. It looked as though the inhabitants just walked away.
It was vandalized over the years and things were stolen or destroyed by people that entered. The house had a certain fascination for a young boy, but also was spooky. I entered the house on many occasions, not to steal or destroy but to look at pictures and other personal possessions. I was always with someone else. It was too spooky to go in alone.
There were other houses that were surrounded by tales of ghosts and other strange occurrences. I remember the two-story brick building that sat close to the turn off to Little Creek. "Dog Charlie" lived just behind it. The story goes that a ghost that would look out of the second floor window as you passed. Needless to say, I never passed that building after dark unless I was running. It was scary to pass some of these buildings after dark, especially after watching a movie that conjured up all kinds of scary thoughts.
On passing these houses "Old Lightning's" feet barely touched the ground. I remember all the good scary movies, classics such as, Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, The Mummy and others. Orson Well's, "The War of the Worlds", was one that really frightened me. My imagination ran rampant about an alien invasion.
Movies truly had the ability to transform and entertain you. Too bad Hollywood has chosen to go for the non-family oriented type films. Most films today are not suitable entertainment for families. I would be embarrassed to watch them with my grandchildren or even adult children.
