Moving Picture World (May - Jun 1918)

1408 THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD June 8, 1918 Getting Out of the Well Beaten Track a World Correspondent Looks In on Some of the Smaller Cities Near St. Paul and Minneapolis By Sam Spedon DEPARTING from the usual custom of only visiting the larger cities and judging conditions from that viewpoint, we dropped in on some of the smaller centers and got an ear and an eye full from their way of looking at things. At Stillwater, Minn., about twenty-five miles from St. Paul, we talked with F. W. Boll, the owner and manager of the Majestic theater, which seats 400. The Majestic is the only regular motion picture theater in the town and caters to a population of 12,000. There are three shows of six or seven reels given every night, at 15 cents admission, matinees only on Saturday and Sunday. There is an auditorium in Stillwater where legitimate performances and large meetings are held occasionally and where a special picture is featured now and then. The Majestic is well ventilated and employs a women's orchestra of three pieces : piano, violin and traps. These musicians have been in the employ of Mr. Boll for nine years, here and other places where he has exploited theaters. He has had control of the Majestic for five months and has finally decided to locate in Stillwater. He keeps his house in good shape, his pictures standard and his music excellent. Everything indicated he is a regular showman. Stillwater is characteristic of all towns of its size. There is a sashweight factory, and recently a munition factory has been established there. It is surrounded by a great farming country. Mr. Boll told us business is good, but he finds that the war has drafted about 1,800 of the young men who were all theatergoers, and that number is considerable and means a large percentage of patronage and a big attraction to the girls, now minus their escorts, who used to take them to the show almost every night. Just now the weather is fine and automobiling is popular pastime in this section. . Another reason, which is general in these smaller places, for the falling off of business, is the daylight saving. Most people work in their war gardens until 9 P. M. now, which makes the second performance better than the first, at the same time many are so tired after their labors they do not go out at all. Canning the Town. Air. Boll told us of a very good advertising stunt he pulled off. He announced he was going to clean up the town, a startling statement. To make good, he offered prizes to the three youngsters who would collect the largest number of old tin cans scattered about the city and deliver them in front of his theater. One youngster collected 1,963 and so on down the line. The winner of the first prize received $3, the second $2 and* the third $1, and to all the rest he gave a ticket of admission. The Mayor was so pleased with the result he gave $3 additional to the winners. The sashweight factory bought the old cans, carted away five double truck loads, and Mr. Bolls gave the proceeds to the Red Cross Society. This only goes to show what a real enterprising showman with ideas can do to help his town, popularize his theater and do another little bit towards winning the war. Over invested. At Eau Claire, Wis., we found a peculiar state of affairs. There are five theaters, the Unique, Oklare, Lyric, Grand and Orpheum, The first two are open all the time, the second Saturday ami Sunday, the Orpheum is permanently clpsed ami the Grand is used for stae,e productions and special features. All five air owned b\ the Kau Claire Theater Company. We did nol see Mr, Schwann, the manager, he was out of town, hut we saw B. J. Bostick, his assistant. lie told us business was good, hut decreasing as the fine weather progressed, lie assigned the same reasons tor the decline as Mr. Boll of Stillwater, (hit of a population of eighteen "i twenty thousand an unusually large proportion of the men were in the army. Standard and quite recent pictures are run here. We attended the matinee performance at the Unique. It was poorly attended, at admissions of 10 and 15 cents. In the evening there was a full attendance. ^ A Town of Retired Farmers. Chippewa Falls, Wis., a town of 9,700, twelve miles from Eau Claire, has four theaters, all owned by the Chippewa Theaters Company, Inc., and controlled by C. M. Waterbury. All of them are well equipped, showing best pictures. The Rex, seating about 500, is thoroughly up to date, with a six thousand dollar organ. This and the Lyric are the only ones running. The Palace and the Empire are closed. We attended the evening shows. When we asked Mr. Waterbury "How's business?" he said: "Judge for yourself. It couldn't be much worse." "Over 800 young men of this town have been drafted," Air. Waterbury continued. "They all spent money on the girls and now the girls don't attend the shows. We have the greatest water power in the country, but no munition plants. which are a boon to most towns and would be to this. "Sunday is our big day, that's all. That doesn't pay our overhead on all the theaters. The daylight saving is a drawback to us. Wre used to have a large attendance of farmers and their families from the surrounding country. The cows won't change their habits. Daydight saving means nothing in their young lives, and they won't come in to get milked until 6 o'clock (7 now) and the farmers can't get through their milking until it is too late to get in town. Last September, when I got control, everything was booming here. Now it is different. I will be doing well to keep my two places going. During the summer I think I shall shut down altogether." It appears that both Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls have overinvested. They have too many theaters for the patronage of the towns. The foregoing information gives us a different angle to small-town conditions than we get bysitting on our swivel chairs in the home office or by visiting metropolitan centers and getting it second hand. It is worth careful consideration and all the time and travel to get it direct from the source. It was most gratifying to note in our journeydngs the thriving crops and their progress, which are indicative of a prosperous fall and winter. Quiet, but Hopeful. At Winona, Minn., 18,000 population, we met L. G. Roesner, president of the Colonial Amusement Company, which owns the Colonial, the Opera House and did own the Princess theater, recently sold to be converted into a business house. The Colonial is a large house of 1,200 seats, built on theatrical lines and thoroughly equipped. Mr. Roesner reported business as very bad since last September. He runs the best pictures that cost on an average of $50 a feature, and says he has hardly covered his overhead for the past two months. The Dream theater is closed, the Opera House is used for stage performances. There is another house in Winona of 500 seats, the Unique, with a three-piece orchestra, run by L. Bolvieki. While the Colonial charges a regular admission of 15 cents and 20 for special features, the Unique charges 11 cents. Mr. Bolvieki said his business was satisfactory. We were informed that Bolvieki is going to build another house at the east end of Winona, a residential section, from which the town theaters draw much patronage. Both the Colonial and the Unique are well kept houses. Bolvieki is not an experienced showman, while Roesner is a thorough and systematic manager of long service. The owner of the Unique, we understand, has been a keen competitor of the Colonial, with his lower prices, together with the advantage of owning the building and living above the theater, also having the assistance of his two sons in running the place. We heard the same plaint at Winona as elsewhere, that war conditions and interests hurt the business. There are 800 young men drafted from Winona and no industries that hold them there. Between Eau Claire and I. a Crosse we noted two small towns— Durand. Wis.. 1,700 population, and Wabasha. Minn., 2.500 inhabitants. Each has a small theater. At Durand, A. \. Storey is manager of the Durand. 250 seats, running every evening except Friday, at 20 cents admission, and making a living business. At Wabasha the house, seating 500, is run occasionally. The manager has another business there. Normal and Seasonable. La Crosse, thirty to thirty-two thousand, has eight theatersMajestic, Bijou, Casino. Rex, Star, Dreamland, Strand and 1 a Cross Opera House. The latter is used occasionally