1939 Owensboro, Kentucky

Charles Thomasson
Born in 1930
First movie memories from Owensboro, Kentucky, population 30,000
Interviewed on 1/11/17
by Camille Thomasson

Owensboro was the fifth largest town in the state of Kentucky, 30,000 people. The home of
seven distilleries. And the home of Kenrad — Kentucky Radio — the world’s largest independent
radio tube maker.

Mama had read Gone with the Wind, and by God, she was going to go to that movie. So there
we were. That was in the fall of 1939. I was in the fourth grade. So many people read that book,
that movie was a huge event.

I only had a babysitter once in my life. That was in Chicago when my parents went to World’s
Fair in 1933. I threw a fit. And I never had a babysitter again. If Mama wanted to go to that
movie, she had to bring me along.

Gone with the Wind was really long. There were some exciting parts. It was pretty exciting, that
burning down of Atlanta. And the little girl getting killed. And Clark Gable. He was always a
good hero. He was a studly fellow. Boys liked him.

Mama would have been thirty-four when she took me to that movie. She was an English
teacher. Her favorite actress was Bette Davis.

I’m pretty sure the name of that theater was the Marco. They served popcorn and candy from a
very small counter out in the lobby. But next door was a confectioner. They had a whole row of
taffy candy. I liked that taffy candy so much, I don’t know what else they had. My eyes
never wandered past that taffy.

There were ushers. That was considered a good job for a young fellow. They got paid. They got
to watch movies. They got a uniform. They carried flashlights so they could point the way.
Gone with the Wind was the first nighttime movie I ever saw. I saw matinees before that –
when I was seven and eight. Those matinees didn’t have much romance. In most of them, if
there was heroine to be rescued there might be a kiss on the fade to black. Girls were
appreciative of being rescued. If stuff got lovey dovey, I’d talk or even walk out. A seven-year
old kid isn’t interested in that.

Hopalong Cassidy had white hair and he wore a black hat. He was very wise. He didn’t fool with
girls, he just rescued them.

The bad guys were really bad. Matinee westerns weren’t ambiguous. Good always triumphed
over evil. The good guys wore white hats – except for Hopalong.

Kid’s weren’t quiet back then. Kids would shout out to warn the hero: Watch out!
The older people went to evening shows. That was a very big dating thing for young adults.
They’d be more likely to see adventure stories or romantic comedies. Then they’d go get a
coke.

In the backyard we would adopt the names of the characters – but not the story. Then we’d
chase around. Johnny Mack Brown was an All American football player. They made him a B
cowboy. When he did something heroic, he looked like he could actually do it, because he was
big and buff.