Following are some of my reminiscences and other notes regarding the local movie theatre scene from about the 1930s to the ’60s. It is adapted from a 2010 limited-edition book of personal and local history that was not made available to the public.

 At 12 years old (nearing 13) I was seated in the Rose Theatre, during one of the popular weekend matinees, on Dec. 7, 1941, when the manager stopped the movie and announced that all military personnel should return to base. The Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor—and it wasn’t long before older friends and relatives began trooping off to war. Hard to remember precisely now, but those were the days of Hopalong Cassidy and similar screen heroes. The matinees, I do recall, in addition to the feature included a continuing serial often involving some rudimentary rocket craft from outer space. Also a cartoon and a newsreel.

Mickey DeLeo and Roy Stevens ran the Rose Theatre during my youth. Stevens was a bit of a nickel-nurser, but Mickey was more outgoing and popular with the kids. He’d let a guy in occasionally, even if he didn’t have quite the full price of a ticket (this was not the same Michael/Mickey DeLeo who was the oldest of the three DeLeo Brothers, although he too was an OK guy).

Historian Pam Clise commented a number of years ago that “Roy Stevens joined Meeker as a partner in the Rose in 1914. By 1920, Roy was listed as the only owner. Mickey C. DeLeo was Roy’s partner from 1923-1957, when Ernie Thompson purchased it . . ..” I also found a Port Townsend Leader headline of Sept. 28, 1933, that proclaimed: “Townsend Is Taken Over by the Rose. Stevens & DeLeo Complete Deal for Townsend Theatre; Announce Big List of Coming Attractions.” The story read:

F. R. W. Stevens and M. C. DeLeo, owners and operators of the Rose Theatre, pioneer moving picture house of Port Townsend, the last of the week completed a deal for the purchase of the Townsend Theatre which has been operated here since November, 1928. They assumed active management Monday and will continue its operation along with that of the Rose Theatre. Coincidentally they make an important announcement of coming attractions.

They will continue to bring to their patrons of Port Townsend, Fort Worden and the county generally one after another of the biggest releases made and are now under contract with most of the big producers including United Artists, Paramount, Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal and others. All of the major releases will be made and will follow the practice of the past in presenting them while they are new, many times ahead of the Seattle and other large city theatres.

Among some of the big recent hits which are to be shown at the Rose and the Townsend are the following: Eddie Cantor, starring in “The Kid from Spain;” Ronald Colman in “Cynara;” United Artists’ big attraction “White Zombie” and “Rain” with Joan Crawford.

“Tugboat Annie” Coming.--Two other attractions coming are: “Tugboat Annie” with Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery, and “I Cover the Waterfront” which is making a phenomenal hit all over the country with Ben Lyon in the leading role. “Tugboat Annie” was filmed on Puget Sound and those seeing this record breaking box-office feature may see many familiar local views throughout parts of the story. “When Ladies Meet,” with Robert Armstrong and Ann Harding is another of the big pictures coming soon. Others are “Reunion in Vienna” with John Barrymore and Diana Wynyard;  “Hold Your Man,” starring two big favorites, Jean Harlow and Clarke Gable; Mary Pickford in “Secrets;” George Arliss in “Voltaire;” and Douglas Fairbanks in “Mr. Robinson Crusoe.”

New Ventilating System.--Messrs. Stevens and DeLeo are at present installing a new ventilating system in the Rose Theatre which will add much to the comfort of their patrons . . 

That same summer of ’33, the Rose Theatre’s newspaper ad of July 13 featured “Opportunity Night Contest, on the Stage” for Friday and Saturday. Listed performers included Gay Deleo, Millis, Mary and Baby Stromberg, Betty Lu Deleo, and Jimmie Kimble. Betty (alive, well and active here in 2015) was about 5 years old at the time. She later married the late James Caldwell, and a number of their children remain in the local area. Betty is a daughter of the late Louis and Maude DeLeo. The Gay Deleo on the same program was her father’s brother Gabriel. “Baby Stromberg” was my later school classmate Cecilia “Pete” Stromberg, who married Fred Fields. They live in Arizona where they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in November 2012. Mary was Cecilia’s older sister, who married Fred Okert. Mary died last year.

Thursday night was “Pal Night, also with Stage Entertainment.” The scheduled movie, apparently for all three nights, was “Under the Tonto Rim.” Featured Sunday, Monday and Tuesday were John, Ethel and Lionel Barrymore in “Rasputin and the Empress” (also with news reel and cartoon comedy).

I am unable to separate all of the early theatre history in my memory. Ernie Thompson I recall as originally having had a problem getting city permission to open the Uptown Theatre in the old IOOF building Uptown, and the charge was circulating that city government was protecting a downtown monopoly.

By the time I returned to Port Townsend in 1954 (following Korean War service in the army and completion of my college work at U.C. Berkeley), both the Uptown Theatre and its associated Wheel-In Motor Movie were advertising in the Leader, where I worked. So Thompson obviously was doing business all right before he purchased the Rose. I don’t recall his operating it after he acquired it in 1957, and I do not know how or when he disposed of the property. I was gone from the community from April 1958 until September 1960.

Dale Pierce (cousin of Thompson; they were both from Spokane) and his wife came here to take over the theatre and drive-in about early 1960 and operate them for several years before passing the business along to  the Thompsons’ daughter Sharon and her husband, the late Richard Wiley. Ernie and Genevieve Thompson had gone to Mt. Vernon to operate a theatre there. They eventually settled in Oak Harbor. The Pierces’ daughter Donna has been my barber for quite a number of years. When her father took over the business, admission was 25 cents, she recalls. He later raised it to 35 cents. Pierce eventually retired from the local post office.  

I also have little recollection of operation of the Townsend Theatre after it was purchased by Stevens and DeLeo in late September 1933. It was located on the north side of Water Street down past Tyler. By mid-October following the sale to Stevens and DeLeo, previous owner Virgil Mulkey was ready to leave on his world tour as a magician. Mulkey was more of a performer himself than a movie theatre operator. His assistants in his years at the theatre were young local girls Julie Caprioti (whom he later married) and Ruth Benson who did not accompany him on his world-wide adventure but remained home and married (Lawrence Short) in Port Townsend. Ruth died last year.—to be continued.

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Sadly (to some of us) demographic displacement has rearranged local-area society to the point that a vast majority of residents, their parents or grandparents have migrated here from elsewhere the past 50 years. Native sons and daughters, with the attrition of mortality also factored into the equation, now constitute an extreme minority. Thus it is that more readers here will recognize the names of old actors  mentioned than will have a clue concerning most of the local residents I have named.

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