Oral History Interview with Marie Ellis

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“Stories From the Balcony”

Interviews about the Grand Theatre in Frankfort, Kentucky

Interview on Video with

Marie Ellis

On Location at The Grand Theatre

Tape 1 –

And

Conducted by Joanna Hay

April 28th, 2010

This project has been supported by the Kentucky Oral History Commission

And Save The Grand Theatre, Inc.

Interview begins with Marie Ellis sitting in front of a brick wall in The Grand Theatre.

HAY: Ok. My name is Joanna Hay. Today is April the 28th, 2010. I’m sitting with Marie Ellis and we are sitting in the downstairs lobby of The Grand Theatre, after renovation. It opened as a renovated, performing arts center in September of 2009. So, it’s now the spring of 2010. And Marie has wonderful memories of coming to The Grand Theatre and working at The Grand Theatre. When did you work at The Grand Theatre?

ELLIS: I think it was in 1953. I believe I’m correct. I think it was between my sophomore and junior year of high school. And I sold tickets. It was my first job. I think I made forty-five cents an hour. I’m pretty sure that’s what I made. Children were fifteen cents and adults were a quarter. And, I think popcorn was maybe ten cents and candy bars were a nickel. Had a lot of people come to The Grand Theatre. They had good movies. They had Doris Day, Jane Wyman, and a lot of cowboy, Western movies. And, it was always busy. I mean, this was the big thing to do was come to The Grand Theatre. I mean that was a big night out, you know. Saw a lot of people. It was interesting. I can’t remember any of the people’s names that I worked with though. I just don’t remember any of them.

HAY: Mr. Parsons?

ELLIS: I don’t remember that name.

HAY: Gene Lutes?

ELLIS: I don’t think he was here when I worked here. It seems like to me that there was a…that our manager’s name was a Mr. Bostik. I think that was the name that I remember. And then there was an elderly lady that worked, but I cannot remember her name. I just can’t.

HAY: Allie Combs?

ELLIS: No.

HAY: Jim Aderberry?

ELLIS: Now, I think he came after. I think Mr. Aderberry came after my time. Because I was only here just during the summer. During the summer.

HAY: Was it just that one year?

ELLIS: That one summer. It was exciting though. Oh, it was so exciting! Real exciting. [Chuckle]

HAY: Why was it exciting?

ELLIS: It was my first job. I was going to get a paycheck. My check probably wasn’t more than twelve…ten or twelve dollars, but that was…you know, back then…that was big money for a sixteen year old. It was fun. It really was. I can still smell that popcorn. [Chuckle]

HAY: So, where did you sit to sell tickets?

ELLIS: Ok, there was a little booth out front. And I think, there was sort of like a little machine and you pushed a button and that ticket came out. You pushed the button and the number, and that ticket came out. There was a window, and they put the money under that window for the ticket. I’m sure quite different today, everything is.

HAY: Were you the only one in the ticket booth?

ELLIS: Uh hum. Very small. There was just room for just one person. You had a chair to sit in, but there was just room for one person in there.

HAY: Now, I understand African Americans, of course, came into the door to the right of your ticket booth. Is that correct?

ELLIS: Now, I can’t remember that. You know, I really don’t remember that. Did they sit upstairs in the balcony? You know, I cannot remember anything about that. I just don’t. I really don’t. No.

HAY: Because I know they came in through the door…a separate door…and went straight up the stairs, but I’ve always wondered whether they bought the tickets from the same place…from the same person, and if there was only…you know…if there was just one window? People have talked about standing in two different lines. There was a line for the African Americans and a line for white folks, and I don’t know.

ELLIS: You know, I just don’t remember any of that. I really don’t. It’s kind of sad though, isn’t it? Very sad. Sure is.

HAY: So, there you were in the middle of everything. In the place to be, right? Where everybody wanted to come for entertainment.

ELLIS: Sure. Sure.

HAY: So, was it mostly on the weekends? Or was it during the weekdays? I suppose it was summertime. So, when was the busiest time?

ELLIS: Well, your Saturday night was your busiest time, of course.

HAY: And who came to the theatre? Who came on a Saturday night?

ELLIS: You would have young people. You would have older people too. You would have children. I mean, just a lot of people. A variety of people.

HAY: And what was downtown like on a Saturday in those days?

ELLIS: Oh, it was so busy! It was so busy. [Chuckle] So busy. You had a lot of stores. You had JC Penny. You had Lerman’s. You had Newberry’s, Woolworth…there were two dime stores. Carl’s Hardware. You had a couple of jewelry stores, a furniture store…I mean, everything was on this street. And on Saturday night it was so busy that it was just…oh, it was really something. It was exciting. I like to think about these things of years gone by, you know. I really do. Interesting.

HAY: What time in the day would you start? What time would you start working at the theatre?

ELLIS: I believe I started at five, and I think we closed maybe about eight-thirty or nine. And then, we had a little report. We had to bring our money in. There was an office somewhere. We’d bring our money in, count our money, and then we had to fill out this little report. Because I hadn’t learned to type yet, and I remember typing that report with one finger. I do remember that. And, that usually took about fifteen or twenty minutes before we were through.

HAY: So the typewriter was in the office here…inside the theatre?

ELLIS: Yes. Yes, ma’am.

HAY: And you would type it up?

ELLIS: Yes. Yes.

HAY: So, you’d finish selling tickets at about eight-thirty in the evening. And, would you ever get to watch the movies?

ELLIS: I can’t remember coming in and watching the movie much. I just can’t remember that. Because if I was working, that was my…that was my job out there, you know.

HAY: So you would stay the whole day because would people come…arrive even in the middle of a movie or would they arrive at the beginning? Only at the beginning?

ELLIS: Well, now see I worked from five until eight-thirty or nine.

HAY: Ok.

ELLIS: That was just three and a half to four hours.

HAY: Ok.

ELLIS: Now, in the afternoon, I’m sure they had afternoon movies too, you know, but I can’t remember working in the afternoon movies.

HAY: So how many days a week did you work?

ELLIS: I don’t remember. [Chuckle] I don’t remember. That’s been a long time ago. A long time ago. I just turned seventy-three. So, that was when I was sixteen, so…several years ago. But it’s good memories. Its real good memories. Sure is.

HAY: When the streets were full of people on a Saturday in Frankfort in those days, was it…where did people come from? Where were they from? The county or were they from town, or…who was downtown?

0: 1:00 …-0: 2:00ELLIS: I’d say a lot of your country people. Saturday was the big day to come to town. On Saturday. Because they worked on the farm all during the week, you know. Then, right across the street was the market house. The grocery store. And you’d see people going down the street with their bags of groceries. It was quite different than what life is now. Completely different.

HAY: What made that change do you think? Why did that change?

ELLIS: Oh, I don’t know. I just don’t know. You know, people have changed too though. Don’t you think so? I mean, we’re just different. Living in a different age now. A different time. Everything is different now than the way it was when I was growing up. And I think some of the changes are good, and some are not. I wouldn’t want to go back to some of the old things. I like a washer and dryer, you know. I wouldn’t want to go back to not having a washer and dryer. [Chuckle]

HAY: So, when you came to town, would you see all of your friends and…?

ELLIS: Oh, we saw everybody on Saturday. Yeah. Everybody that could came to Frankfort on Saturday.

HAY: So, where did you live? What part of town? Were you from town or did you live in the county?

ELLIS: I lived out in the country. I lived out at Peaks Mill, but when I was working here, I was living with some people on Wallace Avenue. But, I’d always lived in the country: Peaks Mill. That’s kind of far out. Do you know where Peaks Mill is?

HAY: I do.

ELLIS: It’s pretty out there.

HAY: Beautiful out there.

ELLIS: Sure is.

HAY: It sure is. And then, did you stay in Frankfort? Did you…have you always lived in Frankfort?

ELLIS: Always lived in Frankfort except for one year when my husband was in the military. We…when they built the Berlin wall, and a lot of National Guard people was activated, we had to go to Fort Stewart, Georgia for a year. And that’s where our oldest son was born, was in Fort Stewart, Georgia. But we were glad to get home and I hope to live here until I leave this world. Because to me, it’s just the best place to live, you know. That’s just my thinking. I’ve been very happy. Very contented. I have two sons and a granddaughter and a grandson. Two beautiful daughter-in-laws. Two wonderful sons. The Lord has really blessed me. I’ve been very blessed. I have a wonderful husband. I’ve been very blessed.

HAY: Do they all live here in Frankfort as well?

ELLIS: Uh hum. Well, my younger son and his family live in Shelbyville, and then my older son lives here in Frankfort. And I get to see them often. I enjoy life. I enjoy life. I really do.

HAY: What kinds of things have you been involved with in Frankfort? Did you work? Are you retired? Were you part of different…?

ELLIS: I worked for state government. I worked in vital records. I retired from there. Then when I had my grandchildren, I kept them quite a bit when they were little. I visit the nursing homes. That’s about…church is first. God’s first. And, then I like to visit the nursing homes. I know it might sound strange, but I just…my mother lived there for several years and I know how happy those people are when somebody comes to visit. And I just feel like they’re my friends. I’ve made a lot of friends at the nursing home. So, that’s probably my big things to do. [Laughter]

HAY: That’s wonderful. That’s a great contribution.

ELLIS: Hope I don’t have to go there to live, but…if I do, I do. But, I’ve been very blessed. Very, very blessed. I really have.

0: 3:00 …-0: 4:00HAY: So, back to those days…so in 1953 you were sixteen?

ELLIS: Yes, ma’am.

HAY: And where did you go to high school?

ELLIS: Peaks Mill.

HAY: Peaks Mill. And that’s that high school that is still there, right? That build is still there?

ELLIS: The building is still there. Of course, they have the new Peaks Mill School now. But the old building is still there. In fact, I went out a couple years ago and just took a tour of the school and that was fun.

HAY: Of the new school?

ELLIS: No, of the old school.

HAY: Of the old school?

ELLIS: Oh, yes! We knew the people that had bought the old school, so they let us come in and walk around.

HAY: Did that bring back memories?

ELLIS: Oh, yes! Oh, yes!

HAY: What kind of memories did you have when you went back to Peaks Mill? Do you have any stories that…of something you did with your friends, or something funny that happened?

ELLIS: Well, the school…the little settlement of Peaks Mill had a store then. Mr. Daily ran the store there in Peaks Mill. Sometimes we’d walk down to the store. And, you know, if you had a nickel for a candy bar, that was a big thing. I mean, a big thing. I know children now wouldn’t understand that at all, but sometimes we’d walk down to the store. And I had good teachers at Peaks Mill. Very good teachers. You know, it seems like my teachers were older, but they weren’t really. But I had good teachers. I had strict teachers. And our principal. Our very strict principal. It was just fun to walk to the school. The cafeteria. Eating in the cafeteria, you know. I remember those two cooks we had. Ms. Perkins and Ms. McDonald. I can just see them standing in there serving us our lunch. It’s very pretty out there. Very pretty.

HAY: You can see the creek, can’t you, from those windows?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: Yeah. It’s beautiful.

ELLIS: I think it is. Very pretty.

HAY: It is. So, when you were younger, you all would come in as a family on a Saturday?

ELLIS: Sometimes we got to. Uh huh.

HAY: And then, as a teenager, then you lived in town? And it was easier for you to have a job in town that way, and…

ELLIS: Yeah. Right.

HAY: What made you…do you remember why you came to The Grand Theatre to apply for a job, or how that happened?

ELLIS: No, I really don’t. You know, I was thinking about that the other day after I had talked to you. I’m not sure. I’m not sure why I came. Whether somebody had told me that they had an opening? I really don’t know. But, I remember working here.

HAY: And you probably felt important.

ELLIS: Oh, yes! Sure. Had that spending money and had a job. It was really a big thing.

HAY: What job did you have the next summer, or did you have a job the next summer?

ELLIS: Ok, on East Main Street there is a fire department. That was Blue Bonnet Ice Cream Company. Mr. Earl Harrod and Mr. Bill Catlitt owned that, and they gave me a job dipping ice cream cones. And I worked there for a while.

HAY: You had all the good jobs. Movie tickets and ice cream shoppes. [Laughter]

ELLIS: That ice cream is not good for your weight though. But I worked there some. Then, after I got out of high school for a while, then I met Dwayne and we got married and had two boys. I didn’t work when my boys were little. And, then I went to work for the state, and retired from there. Now I stay at home.

HAY: And where have you lived? Where did you raise your boys? In town or out in the country?

ELLIS: I lived on Parkside Drive for a few years, and now we live in Cloverdale and we’ve been there forty-two years, and we hope to stay there until we leave this world because it’s a good neighborhood to live in. Not any trouble. Very quiet. Very peaceful. So I hope we get to always live there. Hope so anyway. [Laughter]

HAY: When your boys were growing up, did you take them to the movies at all?

ELLIS: Very seldom. We had a neighborhood full of children, and there was just always something going on in the neighborhood. Our house was kind of the hangout. And they used to always play. And our oldest son played sports a lot. And there was just always something to do besides going to a movie, you know. So we didn’t go to many movies. In fact, after I got older, I’ve gone to very few movies. I like to watch some on TV now. I like Matlock and Perry Mason. I like Perry Mason. So that’s about it.

0: 5:00 …-0: 6:00HAY: So, when you were a teenager and you weren’t working here at The Grand, did you go to the movies with your friends?

ELLIS: Sometimes. Sometimes.

HAY: Where would you go?

ELLIS: Well, here and then there was a Capitol Theatre here in Frankfort. Do you remember? Are you familiar? Ok, now that was…a lot of people went there too.

HAY: Did the two theatres show different types of movies?

ELLIS: I think they were all probably pretty much the same. I think they were.

HAY: Do you remember any particular movies that you might have gone to? Any of the…I don’t know…what would have come out in the 1950’s that would’ve been a blockbuster? Gone With The Wind? When did that come out?

ELLIS: I was in high school when Gone With The Wind came out. You know, I think they took us on a school trip one time and took us to see that movie. And I really think that’s the only time I’ve ever seen it from start to finish.

HAY: It’s long.

ELLIS: Oh, yes! Too long. Too long. I’ll tell you a movie I watched on TV: Thorn Birds. Did you watch that? That was good. That was a good movie. But, I don’t like to watch a real long movie anymore. I guess my attention span is not that good anymore. [Chuckle] But, we haven’t gone to a movie in the theatre in a long time. A long time.

HAY: In the summertime, what about the temperature in the theatres? Was it cool in the theatres?

ELLIS: Oh, yes! Very pleasant. Yes, ma’am, it was.

HAY: Was it air-conditioned?

ELLIS: It must have been. But you know, I can remember going to stores as a child, and there’d be these big ceiling fans, you know. I don’t know whether stores were air conditioned back then or not. They probably weren’t. But I remember it being cool in the theatre.

HAY: I’ve heard some people say that’s why they came to the theatre: just to get cool.

ELLIS: Cool. Uh huh. Sure. But I remember the dime stores…I remember those big fans in the dime store. It was cool in there. I don’t know if they had air conditioning or not. I really don’t know. I just don’t know.

HAY: Do you ever remember if there were live shows in any of the theatres? Live performances?

ELLIS: I don’t think so. I don’t think there was. No.

HAY: And tell me again what was sold. You mentioned popcorn. Tell…go through that for me again.

ELLIS: Ok. There was candy bars a nickel, and there was popcorn and there was Cokes.

0: 7:00 …-0: 8:00HAY: So when you think back to the 1950’s and your teenage years and downtown Frankfort, how does that make you feel about what town was like in those days?

ELLIS: It was quite different. You don’t see many people, actually, downtown anymore. Even though we saw several people today, back in that day, I mean, that’s…didn’t have the shopping centers and everybody came downtown. So it was different. Quite different.

[An emergency siren can be heard passing The Grand Theatre]

HAY: People started shopping in other places, didn’t they?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: That’s when everything changed.

ELLIS: Uh hum. When they built the shopping centers, that’s when everything changed. Uh hum.

HAY: And, I guess, more people must have had cars too to get to the shopping centers.

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: Did your family have a car?

ELLIS: We had a car. Not the best one, but it was a car.

HAY: Could you get everybody into the car?

ELLIS: Uh hum. I had one brother and two sisters. Only one of them is left now. I have one sister left.

HAY: What are their names?

ELLIS: Phyllis Gibson.

HAY: That’s your sister.

ELLIS: Phyllis Gibson’s my sister.

HAY: She’s still here in Frankfort?

ELLIS: Uh hum. My best friend.

HAY: And then your other sister’s name?

ELLIS: Jean Clark, the sheriff’s mother. She’s been deceased about eleven years now. And then I had one brother. He’s been gone about fifteen years.

HAY: What’s his name?

ELLIS: Hobert Shaw.

HAY: So your maiden name was Shaw?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: And what were your parent’s names?

ELLIS: Mama’s name was Goldie. In fact, my first name is Goldie. [Chuckle] And my daddy’s name is Hobert.

HAY: H – O…?

ELLIS: H – O – B – E – R – T.

HAY: And where were they from? Were they from Franklin County?

ELLIS: No, they moved here from Nicholas County.

HAY: What brought them to Frankfort? Or Peaks Mill?

ELLIS: I don’t know because I was born in Franklin County. I’m not sure why Mama and Daddy moved to Franklin County. I don’t really know.

HAY: What were their occupations?

ELLIS: Farmer. Daddy was a farmer. Mama always stayed at home. Raised a garden, chickens, and worked hard on the farm. Farm work is hard work. Very hard. Especially back then it was. Very hard work.

HAY: And the kids have to help.

ELLIS: Oh, yes! Yes, we helped. [Chuckle] My summers, before I was old enough…before I worked at The Grand Theatre…were spent in the tobacco patch. I mean, that was my summer vacation. I always said I’d never marry a farmer. And I didn’t. [Chuckle] I didn’t.

HAY: What’s the work like working in a tobacco patch? What do you have to do?

ELLIS: You’ve got to set the plants. Then you’ve got to chop out the weeds. That was all summer long, chopping out the weeds. Then you’ve got to cut the tobacco and put it on a stick. Load it on a wagon. Take it to the barn. Hand it off the wagon to somebody that hangs it up in the barn. Now, I never did climb up in the barn. I just handed it off the wagon. That’s a hard days work.

HAY: How old were you when you started doing that work?

ELLIS: Oh, I imagine about ten. I imagine I was about ten when I started working in the tobacco patch.

HAY: So what changed that brought you to town at sixteen?

ELLIS: I started staying with this lady, taking care of her children. A couple of children. And then, when I was old enough, got the job here.

HAY: So you were staying with her so you were in town?

ELLIS: Yes, ma’am.

HAY: And then you worked at the theatre.

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: That summer.

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: How long did you stay with her?

ELLIS: I stayed with her about a year, and then I stayed with these other people when I started working at the theatre. So, I used to work quite a bit. I don’t anymore, but I used to. [Laughter]

HAY: So you were helping take care of her children. That was part of your job.

ELLIS: Yes, ma’am.

HAY: Some kind of an exchange for staying there.

ELLIS: Right.

HAY: You were a nanny really. Were you like a nanny?

ELLIS: Probably was.

HAY: What did you call yourself? Babysitter? What? What did you call…?

ELLIS: Babysitter. But now, my grandchildren call me Nanny Ree. Nanny Ree, so I guess I am a nanny now.

HAY: You’re a real nanny now. So you were good with children it sounds like.

ELLIS: Well, I hope so. I hope I was. [Chuckle] It takes a lot of patience. A lot of patience.

HAY: It also sounds like you were very motivated to work and make some money and maybe do things a little differently. Would you say that about yourself?

ELLIS: Well, our parents taught us to work. And to be honest. And we just grew up with the idea that you had to work. And that’s good. That’s very good.

HAY: Did your parents stay on that farm until…for their entire lives, or…?

ELLIS: Uh hum. Sure did. They sure did.

HAY: Did the farm stay in the family or did you all sell it?

ELLIS: We didn’t own the farm. Daddy only rented that farm. And they’ve torn the house down now. Every once in a while we’ll drive out that way, and there’s no house and it looks so…so empty and makes me shed a few tears. You know. Brings back a lot of memories.

HAY: You probably knew every inch of that land, didn’t you?

ELLIS: Yes, ma’am.

HAY: And now, what’s going on on that land now?

ELLIS: There’s nothing on that corner where the house was. When we lived there, there were very few houses on that road. And now, there’s just beautiful…beautiful, big houses built out there now. Beautiful places. It doesn’t really look like the same area anymore. It really doesn’t.

HAY: It doesn’t have the farming going on like it used to, does it?

ELLIS: No. There’s still some, but not…I think most of the people that live there now, work in town at jobs, you know, but just like to live in the country. It’s pretty. It’s a pretty area out there. It really is.

HAY: It is beautiful. The views and the rich land.

ELLIS: Uh hum. Sure.

HAY: Isn’t that interesting how everything changes? How the farmlands changed so much in Peaks Mill.

ELLIS: I know.

HAY: When you think back…and the town has changed.

ELLIS: I know.

HAY: I guess everybody’s at Walmart.

ELLIS: You know, I often wonder if the world stands another twenty years, what would be the changes in that twenty-year period? I often think of my grandchildren. What is their future? But we know God holds the future, and we just have to place it in his hands. But I do wonder sometimes. How many more things can change?

HAY: There was more change in the twentieth century than practically all of the changing that had come before in human history. So it’s happening so fast.

ELLIS: Uh hum. And, you know, we think we’ve seen a lot of changes. My mother-in-law is ninety-six, so she can really tell you a lot of changes. Ninety-six years old.

HAY: Let’s see…ninety-six. That’s before the automobile almost, isn’t it?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: She probably rode around in horse and buggy?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: Or on a horse?

ELLIS: My mother rode…drove…she used to talk about this pony she had and she’d pull this buggy, you know. Because they didn’t have cars back when she was little. Isn’t that something? Isn’t that something?

HAY: Now when you were growing up, did horses do any farm work for you all?

ELLIS: Yes. Yes. Sure did.

HAY: What kind of work would the horses do?

ELLIS: Oh, they’d pull that old wagon we’d put the tobacco on, and they plowed the field. Pull the plow to plow the fields. Oh, yeah, two horses was pretty important. We had a cow for milk. Chickens. It was so different than it is now. Just completely different.

HAY: So when you envision the future for your grandchildren, what do you think some of those changes might be?

ELLIS: You know, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Our little grandson…now he likes these computer games and he’s pretty sharp with the computer. And he tries to teach me, and I’m not really interested. One day, he said, “Nanny Ree…” When he was little. About three years old. “I teached you and teached you, you ought to know!” [Chuckle] But I’m not interested in learning to know. But, that’s just the day in age we’re living in.

HAY: And young people’s minds work completely different because they’ve grown up with…they were born with computers.

ELLIS: Well, sure.

HAY: It’s a different way of thinking.

ELLIS: That’s right. So you wonder will the day come that we’ll look back at this age and think this was sort of old fashioned? I don’t know why we could. I really and truly don’t. But we might. We just might.

HAY: What do you try to teach your grandchildren? What message do you want them to have from you that you don’t want them to miss out on?

ELLIS: I want them to be honest. I want them to have good work ethics. And if they put God first in their life, they’ll have a good life. That they make good decisions. You know, you just hear so many things that teenagers are faced with in this day and time. I just pray for them that they will make the right decisions in life. I really do. They’re pretty special. Pretty special.

0: 9:00 …-0: 10:00HAY: So your first job was selling tickets at The Grand. What about your boys and your grand…well, your grandkids aren’t old enough to have jobs yet but what about your boys? What jobs did they have?

ELLIS: Ok, Robin worked at Baskin-Robbins. That was his first job. Oh, that was a big job.

HAY: Like you. Scooping ice cream.

ELLIS: And Kent worked at Cliff Hagins. There used to be a Cliff Hagins here in Frankfort. He bussed tables. Now both of our boys have had good work ethics. They have. They’ve been good workers.

HAY: And then, how old are the grandkids?

ELLIS: Kristin is thirteen and Noah is seven.

HAY: So what do you think their first jobs will be?

ELLIS: I have no idea. I have no idea. I just don’t.

HAY: So you say you’ve loved Frankfort? This town that you’ve lived in.

ELLIS: Oh, yes!

HAY: What is it that you love about Frankfort?

ELLIS: Well, I’ve never really lived anywhere else except one year in Georgia, and to me Frankfort is just a nice, quiet…pretty…I think it’s a beautiful place. I haven’t traveled a lot. I’ve traveled enough. But, I’ve not seen anyplace I thought was as pretty as Frankfort. But that’s just me. I’m just kind of a stay at home person.

HAY: And you’re very involved with the community so…people always make a place, don’t they?

ELLIS: That’s right.

HAY: Friends and family and church members.

ELLIS: Uh hum. I have friends at church. It’s a small church. I have a lot of good friends at church. Now, Dwayne gets involved in a lot of things. He’s involved in Rotary, KPR, Thorn Hill Learning Center…oh, he likes to stay involved…and the Soup Kitchen. He’s very involved in the Soup Kitchen. He’s been involved…well, he helped start the Soup Kitchen…what? Twenty some years ago. Been very involved in the Soup Kitchen. And that’s a good work. There are a lot of homeless people. And that’s hard to realize, but there is. There’s a lot of homeless people. A lot of people that need some food. So he’s always involved in something. More than I am. I couldn’t keep up with him. [Chuckle] I just couldn’t.

HAY: Back to The Grand Theatre. What were your thoughts when you first heard that The Grand Theatre was going to be reopened?

ELLIS: Well, I don’t…you know, I really don’t know. I’m not sure what I really did think. I think it’s a good idea.

HAY: I bet it brought back memories.

ELLIS: Oh, sure! Sure it did. Sure.

HAY: And, you’ve been in here a couple of times now? You came to the…to the forum? Tell me about that.

0: 11:00 …-0: 12:00ELLIS: Well, we stayed here probably two hours and listened to…of course, the sheriff. That’s the main reason we came, but then we listened to some of the commissioners too. And, I’d never been to one of these forums before, but Dwayne had. And I decided to come. And I enjoyed that. I really did. I don’t get into politics, but I enjoyed that.

HAY: So explain what that was. Explain what that was and how it was set up. Who were the candidates and how did that work in the theatre?

ELLIS: Ok, they had the three candidates for sheriff, and they asked them all questions. One at a time, they would ask them questions and they could respond. And then they had eleven candidates for city commissioner, but one of them has dropped out so there’s just ten now. And they asked each one of them the same question and they responded. It was interesting. I don’t envy leaders though. You know, they have a big job. They have to take so much criticism. But, I just hope Steve wins. I’m sure they’re all good. Don’t get me wrong. I’m sure they’re all good. But, you’re going to be for your relatives, you know. I have to be for Steve. So, I hope he wins. I’ll be glad when it’s here. [Chuckle]

HAY: That forum was open to the public, is that right?

ELLIS: Yes, ma’am.

HAY: Were there very many people here?

ELLIS: No. Very few. Very few people. I was surprised. Very surprised. There were very few people here. So it almost made you think that people are really are not interested, you know. We’ll just have to wait and see.

HAY: Hopefully people will go to the polls and vote.

ELLIS: I know. I know. I know.

HAY: That’s what makes a difference. Let’s see. What did The Grand Theatre mean to the community back when you were a teenager?

0: 13:00 …-0: 14:00ELLIS: Well…it was a big thing if you got to go to The Grand Theatre. That was something big.

HAY: And do you remember hearing about when it was closing? Did you have any…in the 1960’s did you…do you remember having any feelings or thoughts about it closing?

ELLIS: You know, I can’t remember when it closed. Dwayne and I were talking about that a while ago. I can’t remember when The Grand Theatre closed. I really don’t. I don’t. I just don’t. Sure don’t.

HAY: I guess a lot of things downtown were closing in those days.

ELLIS: Probably. Probably so.

HAY: Because of the changes in the way people shopped, and…

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: I have another couple of names here. We talked through some people who worked here. You remember Jim Aderberry who probably came after you.

ELLIS: After, yes.

HAY: And you mentioned Mr. Bostik.

ELLIS: I think that’s the name.

HAY: You think that might have been his name?

ELLIS: I think it is. [Chuckle]

HAY: Ok. What about the name Roberta Wilson?

ELLIS: No, ma’am. No. No.

HAY: What about the name Callie Weathers?

ELLIS: No. Don’t remember that…those names at all. I just don’t. Sure don’t.

HAY: Some people said that The Grand Theatre was kind of dirty in those days, and not as clean as it should have been. Do you have any memories of that?

ELLIS: I don’t remember that. No, I don’t. I sure don’t.

HAY: People loved it too, didn’t they? Let’s see. Well, I think those are all of my questions. You’ve been so…Are there any other thoughts or memories you have of your days in the ticket booth? Oh, could you give me as detailed a description as you can of what that booth was like? What that ticket booth was like that you sat in?

ELLIS: It was a little, round…round booth. You had a chair. And I can remember where you punched a button for that ticket to come out. Child or an adult. And, you know, I can’t remember anything else about that. I don’t know why…they handed you the money, and how you pushed a button for their change. You know, I just cannot…I just can’t remember. I just can’t. [Chuckle]

HAY: But you remember there was like the…the slot under the glass where the money would come through?

ELLIS: Yes. Yes, uh huh.

HAY: Kind of like the one that’s out there now?

ELLIS: Uh hum.

HAY: And, you probably had some kind of a cash register that you’d punch it in, or…?

ELLIS: You know, I think you just took that money and put that in a little drawer. I think we had a little drawer in front of us, and I think you just put that money in that…sort of a money drawer.

HAY: And two different tickets? One for children and one for adults?

ELLIS: Yes, uh huh.

HAY: What did the tickets look like?

ELLIS: I don’t know, but I wish I had kept a couple of those. Wouldn’t that be…I wished I had. But you know, then…you don’t think. I like to go to Bridgeport Antique Shops. And I see all these things that…that was at Mama and Daddy’s house when we were kids. And they were thrown away. And, now they’re out there fifteen, twenty dollars. And I think, “Wow, I wish we’d have kept a lot of those things.” I wish that I’d have kept a couple of these tickets.

HAY: [Speaking to someone off camera…You out of here? Ok.] You were just saying about all of the things…if we’d had only known to save them then.

ELLIS: I know. I know.

HAY: So, what should we be saving now do you think?

ELLIS: You know, I’ve thought about that. I have thought about that. Things that would be worth something in years to come, you know. I don’t know. I just don’t know.

HAY: So, you mentioned you’d love it if you’d saved some of those tickets from The Grand, and some of those things from your mom and dad’s house.

ELLIS: Uh hum, yes.

HAY: What other things can you think of that you wished you’d saved from the old days?

ELLIS: I’ve got a paddle box Dwayne gave me for our first Valentine’s Day together. Now, that’s fifty-two years old. So that’s an antique, see? And I’ve got a bottle of Persian Wood Avon perfume from 1957. So, see…that’s an antique. I wouldn’t want to part with them. I’ve got a salad bowl that we got for our wedding. We were married fifty years last December. So anything fifty years old is an antique. What few things that I have I would want to keep. I mean, they’re special to me. I don’t know. I just don’t know.

HAY: Well, thank you so much for coming and talking about your memories here at The Grand and in downtown Frankfort. I really appreciate you talking with me today.

ELLIS: Oh, I’ve enjoyed this so much. It’s just like going back through time, you know. I’ve really enjoyed this.

HAY: Are there any other closing thoughts you have or is that about it?

ELLIS: I’d say that’s about it. I’m very thankful for my life. And, I am thankful that I have lived in Frankfort. I’m thankful the Lord has let me live seventy-three years in this beautiful world. And I’m certainly thankful for my husband and my family. I’m very, very blessed. Very blessed. And this has been a real pleasure. A real pleasure.

HAY: This has been a pleasure for me too. Thank you very…

END OF INTERVIEW

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