GOING TO THE PICTURE SHOW
The town of Carbon Hill Alabama (population 3200 when I was a kid) was the home of the Pass Time Theater. Not nearly as elegant as big city movie houses, it was never the less a fine edifice to us local folks. The Pass Time had pop corn, Coca Cola and most of all, air conditioning. Saturday afternoon admission for a kid was 10 cents. Pop corn and a Coke would raise the total cost to 35 cents.
Saturday was the high point of the week. People from all the outlying areas came into town for supplies and to just catch up on gossip and such. I'd say the towns population doubled on Saturday. All of the towns businesses were up and going at 7am. Most folks tended to buy their dry goods and hardware items during the early hours. The perishables would wait until just before heading home.
A popular part of the day was the noon time drawing. Each merchant in town gave a numbered ticket with each purchase. A ticket with the same number would be put into the drawing barrel. At or about high noon everyone gathered on a vacant lot next to the Alabama Power building. After several good cranks on the ticket barrel to mix the tickets, an audience member would draw the winning ticket. The prize was usually 50 dollars and you had to be present to win. It was a big deal back then.
From the second week in May until the second week in September there was no school. Me, my brother Lowell and cousins Boyd and Mitch would come to town and stay with our grand parents. We could make money by collecting empty whiskey bottles. We would then sell the bottles to a local bootlegger. We could easily earn about 3 dollars each. If we got lucky enough to find a bunch of half pint bottles. our walking around money could run up wards of five dollars a piece. The half pint bottle was much preferred by the moon shine "connoisseur ". Easy to hide and fast on the draw, worth 10 cents dirty or clean. The Whiskey Bottle Saga is a story in itself. I might also add that me and my brother gave most of our earnings to our mother. She claimed 2 dollars each was enough for two young boys. The rest went to help with household expenses.
Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Ben Franklin five and dime. Everyone called it the ten cent or dime store. Calling it by its real name would just draw a blank stare.
The reason for going to the dime store first was twofold. Extra big ice cream cones and a selection of cheap toys the store stocked. We decided no ice cream until later. You have to remember that this was the early 1950's. Japan was turning out junk toys as fast as they could get coffee cans for metal. Actually my favorites at that time were those little clear glass trucks and cars. Each was filled with tiny red candies. They cost ten cents each. I'd usually buy maybe three of the things, while keeping in mind the other expenses this day would bring. On Saturdays when we had extra cash we'd hike on down to Mrs. Bowen's cafe. It was a special place to just about everyone in town. Mrs. Bowen was a cranky old woman but sweet at the same time. We'd all claim to be her kin. She respond by saying kin or not you aint eating free. Truth was that she helped anyone that asked.
After leaving Mrs. Bowen's place we'd walk back up town and hang around the Public Well. The Well was a landmark of sorts. It really was a well. It had for many years supplied water for the horses and mules that brought folks to town. At this time in history the animal traffic was starting to taper off but it wasn't done just yet. Heck we even had one old gray Ox that showed up now and then. The Ox was named Buddy and was owned by George Engle. My family had rented a house from George at one time. I had my first meetings with Buddy during that time. He was just a1500 pound marshmallow.
We'd hang around the Well until about 10:30AM. Next event was the drawing up by the Alabama Power building. We had enough time to visit our aunt Tootsie. Her real name was Margret, she was my dads baby sister and a truly sweet woman. Her house was just across the street from the elementary school. A really nice neighborhood. Lots of pretty old Oak trees with equally pretty older homes. Exactly the kind of house and neighborhood I wanted when I got grown. (getting grown in southern dialect meant becoming an adult) Of course you knew that didn't you?
Well before you knew it was fifteen minutes till noon. Me and brother along with my cousins would head down town. The crowd was a big one. It was at least one hundred and fifty folks. Liberty and DC bib overalls and Brogan shoes on the men folks. The ladies wore their home sewn dresses and their go to town hats. Everyone smelled like Life Buoy soap. Something that always struck me was the happy murmur of the crowd. It was comforting just like the night sounds of an Alabama summer. It was enjoyable.
The drawing was usually short, thirty minutes at the most. The winner would go up on the makeshift stage and get his or her money. The crowd would then break up and head off to where ever their next stop was. My bunch would head off to Ben Franklin store to get the biggest ten cent ice cream cone you ever saw. Come this time of day the temperature would be approaching 90 degrees. Enough to cause you to break a sweat. With ice cream in hand we would cross the road (U.S. 78) and go to the Public Well. We'd see who could eat that much ice cream before the summer heat turned it into a gooey mess. It was just a labor of futility. Good news was that we had plenty of water to wash the ice cream off our faces and hands. As you'd expect all the activity and such would usually result in a full bladder. The rail road depot was handy to the Well but you had slip past the station master. Mostly it was less hassle to walk down to Grady's Gulf station. Grady and his wife run that station for as long as I could remember. Both my cousins would later get their first jobs from Grady. They are both now successful business men but they still remember working for Grady. Matter of fact I reckon nearly every kid in town got his start from Grady. Both Grady and his wife were good people.
Before you knew it, it was show time. We liked front row seats so we got there early. The Past Time Theater was located just up the street from the power company building. Oak street ran between them. The entire south side of the theater was parallel to Oak street. The theater owners home was on the other side. It was a large house with a screened in porch and a Gold Fish pond in the front yard. The fish pond always fascinated me.
As I said earlier we liked to set in the front row. The surest way to get the front row was of course to get there first. If you got in the door first it could mean waiting an hour before the program started. The trade off was that you were in an air conditioned building. Not a bad trade in July and August. .
Saturday at the Past Time was pretty much a constant and predictable proposition. One cartoon, one chapter of what ever weekly serial was running at the time and then the main event. The "B" westerns from Republic Pictures were the bread and butter movies at the Past Time. People showed up from all over to watch the likes of Johnny Mack Brown, Lash LaRue and Bob Steele to mention just a few. My favorite was Red Ryder and Little Beaver. Like I said before, the admission was ten cents, popcorn and soda pop would kick the outlay up to thirty five cents. Not a bad deal by any means
Television and to some extent drive in movies spelled the end for all but the most famous movie houses. The Past Time closed its doors in the late sixties if memory serves me right. After years of neglect a tornado damaged it beyond repair. The city knocked down what was left. I'm not sure what happened to the property. A sad end for the old place but I reckon it happens to all of us eventually.
Do you have a picture show in your past?
http://www.youtube.co=UflTR1OSCkQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?
Saturday was the high point of the week. People from all the outlying areas came into town for supplies and to just catch up on gossip and such. I'd say the towns population doubled on Saturday. All of the towns businesses were up and going at 7am. Most folks tended to buy their dry goods and hardware items during the early hours. The perishables would wait until just before heading home.
A popular part of the day was the noon time drawing. Each merchant in town gave a numbered ticket with each purchase. A ticket with the same number would be put into the drawing barrel. At or about high noon everyone gathered on a vacant lot next to the Alabama Power building. After several good cranks on the ticket barrel to mix the tickets, an audience member would draw the winning ticket. The prize was usually 50 dollars and you had to be present to win. It was a big deal back then.
From the second week in May until the second week in September there was no school. Me, my brother Lowell and cousins Boyd and Mitch would come to town and stay with our grand parents. We could make money by collecting empty whiskey bottles. We would then sell the bottles to a local bootlegger. We could easily earn about 3 dollars each. If we got lucky enough to find a bunch of half pint bottles. our walking around money could run up wards of five dollars a piece. The half pint bottle was much preferred by the moon shine "connoisseur ". Easy to hide and fast on the draw, worth 10 cents dirty or clean. The Whiskey Bottle Saga is a story in itself. I might also add that me and my brother gave most of our earnings to our mother. She claimed 2 dollars each was enough for two young boys. The rest went to help with household expenses.
Our first stop on Saturday morning was the Ben Franklin five and dime. Everyone called it the ten cent or dime store. Calling it by its real name would just draw a blank stare.
The reason for going to the dime store first was twofold. Extra big ice cream cones and a selection of cheap toys the store stocked. We decided no ice cream until later. You have to remember that this was the early 1950's. Japan was turning out junk toys as fast as they could get coffee cans for metal. Actually my favorites at that time were those little clear glass trucks and cars. Each was filled with tiny red candies. They cost ten cents each. I'd usually buy maybe three of the things, while keeping in mind the other expenses this day would bring. On Saturdays when we had extra cash we'd hike on down to Mrs. Bowen's cafe. It was a special place to just about everyone in town. Mrs. Bowen was a cranky old woman but sweet at the same time. We'd all claim to be her kin. She respond by saying kin or not you aint eating free. Truth was that she helped anyone that asked.
After leaving Mrs. Bowen's place we'd walk back up town and hang around the Public Well. The Well was a landmark of sorts. It really was a well. It had for many years supplied water for the horses and mules that brought folks to town. At this time in history the animal traffic was starting to taper off but it wasn't done just yet. Heck we even had one old gray Ox that showed up now and then. The Ox was named Buddy and was owned by George Engle. My family had rented a house from George at one time. I had my first meetings with Buddy during that time. He was just a1500 pound marshmallow.
We'd hang around the Well until about 10:30AM. Next event was the drawing up by the Alabama Power building. We had enough time to visit our aunt Tootsie. Her real name was Margret, she was my dads baby sister and a truly sweet woman. Her house was just across the street from the elementary school. A really nice neighborhood. Lots of pretty old Oak trees with equally pretty older homes. Exactly the kind of house and neighborhood I wanted when I got grown. (getting grown in southern dialect meant becoming an adult) Of course you knew that didn't you?
Well before you knew it was fifteen minutes till noon. Me and brother along with my cousins would head down town. The crowd was a big one. It was at least one hundred and fifty folks. Liberty and DC bib overalls and Brogan shoes on the men folks. The ladies wore their home sewn dresses and their go to town hats. Everyone smelled like Life Buoy soap. Something that always struck me was the happy murmur of the crowd. It was comforting just like the night sounds of an Alabama summer. It was enjoyable.
The drawing was usually short, thirty minutes at the most. The winner would go up on the makeshift stage and get his or her money. The crowd would then break up and head off to where ever their next stop was. My bunch would head off to Ben Franklin store to get the biggest ten cent ice cream cone you ever saw. Come this time of day the temperature would be approaching 90 degrees. Enough to cause you to break a sweat. With ice cream in hand we would cross the road (U.S. 78) and go to the Public Well. We'd see who could eat that much ice cream before the summer heat turned it into a gooey mess. It was just a labor of futility. Good news was that we had plenty of water to wash the ice cream off our faces and hands. As you'd expect all the activity and such would usually result in a full bladder. The rail road depot was handy to the Well but you had slip past the station master. Mostly it was less hassle to walk down to Grady's Gulf station. Grady and his wife run that station for as long as I could remember. Both my cousins would later get their first jobs from Grady. They are both now successful business men but they still remember working for Grady. Matter of fact I reckon nearly every kid in town got his start from Grady. Both Grady and his wife were good people.
Before you knew it, it was show time. We liked front row seats so we got there early. The Past Time Theater was located just up the street from the power company building. Oak street ran between them. The entire south side of the theater was parallel to Oak street. The theater owners home was on the other side. It was a large house with a screened in porch and a Gold Fish pond in the front yard. The fish pond always fascinated me.
As I said earlier we liked to set in the front row. The surest way to get the front row was of course to get there first. If you got in the door first it could mean waiting an hour before the program started. The trade off was that you were in an air conditioned building. Not a bad trade in July and August. .
Saturday at the Past Time was pretty much a constant and predictable proposition. One cartoon, one chapter of what ever weekly serial was running at the time and then the main event. The "B" westerns from Republic Pictures were the bread and butter movies at the Past Time. People showed up from all over to watch the likes of Johnny Mack Brown, Lash LaRue and Bob Steele to mention just a few. My favorite was Red Ryder and Little Beaver. Like I said before, the admission was ten cents, popcorn and soda pop would kick the outlay up to thirty five cents. Not a bad deal by any means
Television and to some extent drive in movies spelled the end for all but the most famous movie houses. The Past Time closed its doors in the late sixties if memory serves me right. After years of neglect a tornado damaged it beyond repair. The city knocked down what was left. I'm not sure what happened to the property. A sad end for the old place but I reckon it happens to all of us eventually.
Do you have a picture show in your past?
http://www.youtube.co=UflTR1OSCkQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?
Cost seems to be going through the roof theses days, any way, great post and well composed
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Thank You for your comments.
Hope you have time to read the entire blog.
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