Our Past Is Present November 20, 2018

November 20, 2018

            You are reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            This is a reminder that from November 1 through March 1 our Museum will be closed on Sundays.  So, make your plans to visit our galleries Tuesdays through Saturdays for the next few months between the hours of 1 and 4:00.  We have three floors of artifacts in beautiful displays and a gift shop where you can purchase a gift for that special person in your life who loves Geary County history.  Admission to our Museum is free! Stop by for a guided tour or go by yourself to learn more about the development of our city since 1859 and the people who make it so special.

            And now for today’s story….

            While serving as a Host at the Museum last week, I looked at some of the events being held in 1928 at The Opera House which was then called the City Theater.  Ads read the City Theater “Under the Clock Tower.  Silent movies were being shown on Mondays through Saturdays. Apparently there were no Sunday performances.  The times for the showings were almost always the same each day.  There was a 2:30 Matinee, which cost 15 cents for children and 30 cents for adults.  There were two evening performances.  One was at 7:00 and the other at 9:00.  The cost was 25 cents for children and 50 cents for adults. 

            One of the movies shown included “Ben-Hur”.  This must have been really popular, because it ran for two nights and it was stated to have “a cast of thousands”.  The lead actor was Ramon Navarro. Other movies included “Rex: King of the Wild Horses”; “The Patent Leather Kid”, which was a comedy drama about a boxer and Lon Chaney starred in “London After Midnight”, which was a horror/mystery movie.   

            There was little or no mention of any other entertainment than movies in 1928 at the City Theater, which we now call the C.L. Hoover Opera House.

            Well, thanks for reading today and every day listen to the program at about 9:45 on KJCK AM 1420 or FM 107.9 and for the positive feedback we hear about this program on “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.