"RAISING THE CURTAIN" - PRINCESS THEATER

Some of you may remember my post “The Princess Theater” back in July of 2007. I said then that there was an effort underway to restore the theater. Well, I’m happy to report that is happening now and being pushed forward by two neighborhood friends Gary Baker and Bennie Lowery. You’ll remember Bennie, or Jaybee, from “It Was the Summer of ‘62”. Gary and Bennie (of Dallas, TX) have stayed in contact all these years and are business partners. They are now involved in “Share the Vision” a group dedicated in bring about the restoration of the Princess Theater and revitalize downtown Harriman, Tennessee.

“Share the Vision,” is a program determined to restore Harriman’s Princess Theater, and is sponsored by the Roane Alliance and spear headed by Gary Baker and Muse Watson of Harriman, Tennessee. An awareness kick off was held Friday evening (5/30) in the O’Brien Theater on the main campus of Roane State Community College. Muse Watson and Bill Landry hosted the event, that featured Marshal Andy, Luke Brandon, the Pick’N’Grin Bluegrass Band featuring Larry Mathis and Bud Brewster and other area talent.

Bennie sent me an email last night telling me about the awareness party held Saturday evening at Doctor Terry Bingham’s home. Bennie was in town to help Gary with the “Raise the Curtain” program. He wrote:

“It started at Roane State Friday night and ended at Dr. Bingham's house last night. Gary (Baker) and Terry (Bingham) threw a great party to kick it off with Clint Black as entertainment. So if you hear rumors it was true he (Black) was in Harriman. In attendance were the likes of Bill Landry, Muse Watson, Archie Bell, Coach Pearl, Dr. Goff and a whole host of City, County and State officials.

It was done Right and now the awareness is in the right places. I hope money can follow the will to get a viable venue for talent in Roane County.”

The Princess Theater first opened in 1926, but the 900 seat Princess was damaged by fire six years later. In 1939, the theater was completely destroyed by a blaze, but was rebuilt in within 10 months with an “Art Deco” design with 854 seats, courtesy of Paramount Studios.

During World War II, while the secret city Oak Ridge was under construction a few miles away, there were three showings a day, each one sold out.

The theater screened its last movie in 1999, when Cecil Johnson, long time operator and lessee of the building, retired. It officially closed in 2001.

Local officials are now joining hands with Hollywood bad guy Muse Watson to restore and revitalize the theater. Their plans include a $1.9 million renovation with a vision of creating a new public access TV station for Harriman, run by Roane State Community College.

Other hopes are that the Tennessee Technology Center will teach theater lighting and stage design, while Roane County public schools may use the building for programs, plays and events.

“It would be an ideal location for weddings, concerts, dance recitals and screenings of classical movies,” Baker has stated. “It's hoped a vibrant Princess Theater will lure restaurants, specialty shops and other new businesses downtown.”

IT WAS THE SUMMER OF ‘62

Just before my sophomore year at Coffee High ended in Florence, Alabama, dad gave us the news that we would be moving to Harriman, Tennessee as soon as school was out. He had gotten transferred by TVA to the Kingston Steam Plant on the Tennessee River near Kingston, Tennessee.

This was the only time I remember moving that I did not have a girlfriend. In a way that might seem sad, but at least it was not near as sad as spending the remaining days pining over each other and looking deeply into each other’s eyes while explaining that you had "...no control over things, and besides we will stay in contact and meet up again someday soon." I suppose our young and tender hearts actually believed that or we have just run away somewhere and starved to death on the fruits of love!

The real pain of such partings came while looking back through a rear car window and slowly waving goodbye while mouthing, “I love you – I’ll write you” to the fading image of a little heart broken girl. All the time, I was trying to keep my emotions in check and hidden from my parents in the front seat. Besides, I was not speaking to them for ruining my entire life – again!

We had lived in Harriman before from the second part of the first grade in 1953 until the middle of my fourth year in 1956. Therefore, I had high expectations of knowing at least a few people when school started in the fall. However, I had to spend the entire spring and summer of ’62 without friends or at least that is what I expected.

Turns out I met “Jaybee Whale,” or that is what the neighborhood kids called him. His real name was Bennie, but we rarely called him that. He was and has always been “Jaybee” to me, and if you ask anyone in these parts about ol’ Jaybee, they know about whom you speak, since they will probably not remember his first name either!

The “Whale” part was added by someone because of his size, which was befitting an Our Gang character and official “He-man Women-haters Club" member! Truth be told, “Jaybee” did not have a lot of friends and played by himself in his basement most days.

“Jaybee” had an exclusive club himself and that was my first introduction to his world. Having been invited to visit the club in the basement, I found him to be a funny guy, not funny – funny, but very humorous, quick witted, and very talented. He was at least four years younger than I was, but he made me laugh frequently and we soon had comedy and model cars in common.

His passion was the model car demolition setup he had fashioned from plywood. If you had model cars, and I had plenty, then you would quickly be inducted into the “crash club” at “Jaybee Whale’s” demolition track! Guys all over the neighborhood showed up at the “demolition derby” once a week, having worked the rest of the week at reinforcing their plastic models to win the next “smash off!”

Anything went and nothing was illegal as long as the car was still the original model on the outside and had its original working wheels.

I soon learned to pour molten lead inside the front fenders and around the grille area, using aluminum foil as an insulating shield. Extra strips of plastic, like those long round pieces the pretty chromed parts came attached to worked well…just like 2'' reinforcing pipe used in real race cars. A whole tube of glue might be used in one “welding” session!

During the event, opponents ran their cars down two opposing eight-foot sheets of plywood and into each other at full speed…by the end of the tournament, owners would be using full-arm shoves to increase the speed to that necessary to crack the opponents car into splinters! What fun - juvenile yes, but loads of fun!
“Jaybee” and I were fast friends that summer and he kept me from being bored and lonely for those few weeks before school.

Soon, summer ended, school started, and as I got reacquainted with former classmates, I soon put the childish things aside. “Jaybee” must have been hurt when I began to ignore him for my older friends.

I never went to his basement again after the summer of ’62; however, as I passed by “Jaybee’s” house with a new friend or date, I would see him standing alone in his yard. I thought about the basement and even longed, at times, to be laughing again with him as our cars exploded into a hundred pieces – probably much like his heart did as he watched me pass.

1 Corinthians - 13:11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But, when I became a man, I put away the things of a child.