1948 Haven Kansas

Fred Jurgemeyer

Born July 4th, 1941

Haven Kansas

Interviewed on February 1, 2025 by Brody Nies

What was the first movie you remember seeing? What do you remember about the movie? Who was with you, and how did you get to the theater? 

The first movie that I think I saw, and maybe this is not quite right, the title, but I think it was called the Fuller Brush Man. We lived in a little town of Haven, Kansas and my folks when they left, to go out to eat or something like that or a small trip, they would leave me with my grandparents Grandma and Grandpa Jurgemeyer and they had enough money that they could afford to go to the movies. I know they always had a car, so we probably drove.

So that’s how I got there and plus I mean, I was only two or three, something like that, and the outcome… I have no idea. But I remember it was frightening and I had dreams that night afterwards about the movie and whatever happened in it. There was something about somebody being threatened or something like that. It wasn’t a kindly thing, and it was kind of an odd title. People bought things through the fuller brush man back in those days because they didn’t have stores to go to, and these guys pedaled all kinds of stuff – house cleaning items, make up items and everything. I’m puzzled why I just remember being frightened by it.

But I don’t have any idea who was in it. I don’t know exactly when this was, but it would probably be 1943 or 1944. The town probably didn’t have more than three or four hundred people in it. It’s a very small town in Kansas.

Was there a concession where you got popcorn or candy? Did you have a favorite candy growing up?

I don’t think so. If they did, I don’t remember even getting any popcorn. Oh yeah, Little Honey was one of [my favorite candies], and Cherry Mash. When I was older, like five six seven, there was a movie theater around the corner from where we lived in Wichita, and I’d go with a quarter and I could get in the movie and buy one candy bar, yeah.

After showing him some of the promotional material from the movie:

Oh, 1948 is a lot later than I’ve said then because in 1948 I would have been seven years old or so. There it is! The Fuller Brush Man with Red Skelton in it. That’s why! My grandparents loved Red Skelton and Janet Blair. Well I don’t know, there probably wasn’t anything scary about it.

See that? He’s spanking?? [In reference to a poster of Red Skelton spanking Janet Blair]. What?

Spanking this lady with a hairbrush, maybe that’s why I was scared.

Fred Jurgemeyer (I call him Grampy) is my Maternal Grandfather.