The Family and Mid-Town Drive-ins

Jim Thornton asked me the other day about the old drive-in that was where McDonald's is today.  It don't seem possible to younger folks that a drive-in theater could possibly fit in the area next to the Exit 347 ramp, but one did back in the 50s!

I followed up by asking Dub Harmon what he remembered, and even though he couldn't remember full names, he could remember much of the timeline.

A Mr. Bryson actually owned the land where The Family Drive-in was, and Buster Clark was the manager of the drive-in up until about 1959 when the land was finally sold to the state for right-of-way for the new Interstate 40 construction.

At the same time The Family was in operation, Mr. Jones was operating the Roane Drive-In in Midtown.  Martin Theaters, who then owned the Princess Theatre in Harriman, decided to buy the Midtown drive-in.  They asked James "Dub" Harmon to become the new manager and changed the name to the Mid-Town Drive-in.  Dub replaced a Mr. Waller, who managed the old Roane Drive-in.

Dub remembers that the projector and rectifiers from the Family Drive-In were brought to the Mid-Town Drive-in, and the rest of the Family was dismantled.  Martin had purchased the equipment, including the screen, which must have been newer than that being used at the old Roane Drive-in.  Apparently Midtown didn't need new supports, so the utility poles that held up the screen, were sold to the city of Harriman for $11 each.  Martin wanted $20, but Dub settled on the lesser amount in order to complete the transaction.

At the same time all this was happening, Dub was also the Princess manager, having moved down from the Webbo sometime earlier.  Dub needed a solution to his fortunate, yet burdensome predicament,  of having three jobs!  He had just recently gotten into the furniture business (H. G. Furniture) with Junior Ballard, so he needed some relief!

Dub decided to bring Cecil Johnson, his brother-in-law, down from the projection booth at the Princess and teach him the managerial ropes.  Cecil took to it right a way, so Dub was free to work his furniture day job, and manage the Mid-Town Drive-in at night.

He did this for years.  Working until 5PM at the store, then running the drive-in until the last movie was over at night.  He did all this and still had time to plan and teach a Sunday school class each Sunday morning at Riverside Baptist Church.

Dub continued to give Cecil his night off each week, and time for a yearly vacation, up until 1999 when Cecil finally closed the Princess.

So, that's a bit of Roane County history that few remember anymore.  The movie industry in our county has always fascinated me, so every time I'm around Dub I ask him to feed me a little more.  I told him he should write a book!

Thanks Dub, for the memories!

If any readers have more info on this, or remembers it differently, please post comments.  I would love to hear more details!

The Magic of the Princess Theater

I am proud to present this guest post from Jerry Lemons.  Not only does it give insight into what our Princess means to him and others in the area, it also gives us a little understanding of why Jerry loves acting.  If you haven't caught him in a Roane State production, maybe you will get another opportunity to see him perform on the stage of this beloved Princess Theatre soon!

 

A note from the author (Jerry Lemons): The following article was written by me in 1993 while the Princess Theater was still in operation. Given that the Princess has been restored and will soon be opened, I thought it appropriate that the following article be posted...

 

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There aren't many of them left:  the old-time movie theaters, ornate and adorned, yet muted and intimate, with a stage and staircases leading up to a balcony.

 

Most movie theaters today are sleek, plastic, sterile affairs, totally lacking style, grace, atmosphere--and a stage and a balcony. They are completely contemporary, possessing no history, no past, no magic.

 

No, there aren't many of those cinema palaces remaining, and the day will probably come when there aren't any left. But until that time comes, there is the Princess Theater.

 

For as long as I can remember, I've had a love affair with the Princess. That love affair began in the 1950s, when I was just a little kid. Once a week, on Saturdays, I would make a trip to Harriman and go to the Princess. I would enter that majestic building, and it was as if I had entered another world, a world of fantasies and dreams. I would sit in a soft-cushioned seat with a bag of popcorn tucked between my knees and a Coke in my hand, look up at the big wide screen, and for a few hours I would be transported; I would look through a window upon a magical world.

 

It has changed but little.

 

Although I no longer make weekly trips to the movies, when I do go to the Princess I have just about the same feeling I had as a kid.

 

That's because the Princess Theater is a place of magic, a "field of dreams," a very special, wonderful and unique place. In the whole of Roane County there is only one real magical place--and that is the Princess.

 

As it is, the Princess Theater is registered with the state as a historical place, and well it should be, for it is one of the few old-time movie theaters still operating.

 

The origin of the first Princess is shrouded in a kind of mystery. There are different accounts of when a movie theater first opened on the site of the present day Princess Theater.

 

According to Cecil Johnson, present manager of the Princess, "The first Princess Theater burned in 1938 or '39, and it was rebuilt on the same location. I don't know how long the theater was there before it burned."

 

According to Mr. Johnson, "There haven't been any major changes in the Princess Theater itself; the changes have been in the movies made and in the number of movie theaters in Roane County. The Princess is the only one left, and even though it's the only movie theater left in the county, we haven't raised our ticket prices in ten years."

 

When I asked Mr. Johnson if he could foresee a time when there wouldn't be any movie theaters, he answered "No. People will always want to get out, go to a theater and watch a film."

 

That's probably true, and movie theaters will most likely continue to operate. But I wonder...

 

Will all those theaters be sleek, sterile, lacking in style, grace, atmosphere, possessing no history, no past, no magic? Will the day come when there aren't any old-time movie theaters--the kind that are ornate and adorned, yet muted and intimate, with a stage and staircases leading up to a balcony?

 

Probably so.

 

But until that time comes, there is a place of magic in Roane County, a field of dreams. There is the Princess Theater.

THE PRINCESS OPENS DOORS FOR SNEAK PEEK!

The Princess welcomed hundreds of courteous visitors this past Saturday and Sunday, and created enough buzz to get herself on WBIR's 11PM newscast! Reporter John Henry himself seemed impressed by the positive outlook that beamed from the faces of everyone that came.

People barely looked down long enough to greet each other. The new Princess auditorium even brought tears to some, like long time supporter Freeda Breazeal (on the right below) of Atlanta, Georgia.  She's never given up hope and called frequently to keep up the spirits of those working hard to see the restoration to fruition.

The tour seemed to be what the people of the area wanted; an up close look at what all the talk and disruption on Roane Street has been all about.  Although, the restoration is only about 90% complete, the progress is at a point that you can see what the finished product will look like.  

The marquee was lit for a short time during the tours, but there is still more neon to be added to it and the front of the building.  However, the hopes are now for a January/February grand opening.

I almost came to tears myself when I saw Cecil (Johnson) and Dub (Harmon) coming down the aisle!  Wow, I was overwhelmed with the emotion of seeing them once again in the Princess.  All the days gone by passed again through my mind, and brought back to me the whole reason I agreed to take on the documentation of the restoration.  It was because of these men, who have been special to me since 1967!  They spent so much of their lives in the Princess and I shared a lot of those special moments and to see them, together, there once again was an emotional moment.

Cecil even said that he would still be there working had he had the $30,000 for a HVAC system in 1999, but the building wasn't his and he didn't have the cash to invest in a building he didn't own.  So, he closed shop.

So, there they were, three of the last managers of the Princess in the auditorium together.  James W. (Dub) Harmon, Cecil Johnson, and now Megan Anderson.  I especially loved this shot of Dub and Cecil standing by the old ticket stub box that they stood by for decades.  If given the opportunity, they would do it all over again.

Megan and the other volunteers did a wonderful job of leading visitors through the Princess and telling the Princess story.

Still documenting the history of Harriman and Roane County were Dr. Joe Williams, Gary Baker, Gerald Largen, and Lewis Spivey. 

Over in the old Dr. Zuckerman part of the lobby Megan had erected a collage of "before and after" photos.  Visitors were amazed at the condition of the Princess prior to restoration, and how much it had changed over the course of the project.  Many stood there a long time, ate Ruby Tuesday finger foods, and discussed their past lives at the Princess.  

Now a new chapter begins, and I have a feeling this one will be the best!

THE PAST MEETS THE FUTURE OF THE PRINCESS

What a wonderful historical event I was privileged to witness Wednesday - James "Dub" Harmon, manager of the Princess from 1951 until 1964, met Megan Anderson, the fifth and newest Princess manager, for the first time!

I think they hit it off immediately, and the first meeting ended with a warm "welcome/thank you" hug!  This can only mean there will be more such meetings.  Meetings where Megan will soak up all the Princess and Harriman history she can.

Dub began by telling us what the Princess meant to Harriman and the surrounding area.  People used to fill the fifteen-foot-wide sidewalk (before the four-lane), all the way back to where Chase Drug is now, waiting to get into the Princess.  This is evident is clearly shown in the 1939 grand opening film clip!

One 4th of July years ago, Dub related, they ran 3900 people through the Princess between 10AM and 11:30PM!  At that time there was a city park where the American Legion is today, and people came there to celebrate, and then would come to the Princess.

There was always something going on at one of the theaters in town.  The Princess used to have a special "Academy Award" promotion, where patrons attempted to match up the actors to the awards, and the closest won a living room suite!

Dub began working at the Princess in '41 or '42, time gets away from him a lot today, so he couldn't be exact, and Crescent thought he did such a great job they wanted to make him manager.  However, it wasn't until 1951 that he became old enough to be "bonded", which was a requirement of the manager position.

As Dub remembers it, when the Webbo closed, O. L. Pritchett came to the Princess to replace outgoing manager L. W. Bevel.  That was about the same time Mr. Harmon began working there, at about the age of 15 or 16.

About the only thing that did not burn when the Princess was destroyed in 1938, was the marquee.  He remembers they cut the "SS" off the end of the Princess, and moved it down to where the Roxy was located, which was where Hall's 5 & 10 used to be located.  It was not in a separate building, as some have speculated on Facebook.  So, the Roxy/Prince building still stands in Harriman today.

The Roxy/Prince had only about 200 seats, and if you are old enough, you remember how narrow Hall's was!

One Halloween, the Roxy sold so many tickets to the scary movie, that they had to run a second movie up the street at the Webbo.

I asked Dub if he remembers a theater standing where the Princess is today and he said no.  I asked what about the "Gay"?  He thought a long time and then said that the Gay Theater was located on Clinton Street, somewhere on the block that H. G. Furniture is on, but on the opposite side of the block facing Clinton.  I followed up by asking if the Gay was ever located where the Princess was built.  He says the Gay may have moved to Roane Street, but isn't sure about where, or if that happened at all. Way before his time!

I plan on asking Lewis Spivey about this history next week.  Megan also wants to meet this great Harriman historian, so I'll tag along!

So, when Cecil Johnson, the last Princess manager, got back from Korea in the early 50's, his brother-in-law, Dub Harmon, gave him a job as projectionist at the Princess.  Cecil had experience at this job from his younger days at the Roxy.  However, it wasn't long before Dub brought Cecil downstairs and began teaching him the managerial job.

Sometime in '64, Mr. Harmon and Junior Ballard began managing H. G. Furniture Company, which they later bought.  Dub still works there today!

Cecil became the fourth Princess manager.  Dub kept working in the theater business, except it was at night, after his day job, at the Midtown Drive-In.  By then Martin Theaters had bought Crescent, and all sixty some theaters.  So, Dub and Cecil had new bosses!

Cecil remained the manager until 1999, when he finally closed the theater, after having leased the business from Martin Theaters for a couple of years.

Folks, again I see in Megan Anderson someone that can and will carry the flame forward.  She hung on Dub's every word, as he answered her tough questions.  You can see the pride building in her for our Princess and Harriman.  She has already made many contacts for support, for historical answers, and for thoughts on what the Princess should bring back to Harriman.

We gave her a t-shirt, after she admired the one I was wearing the first time we met.  It was kind of a "we believe in you" gift, and she beamed when it was given to her.

Please get behind her and support her in her highs and lows folks, and let's keep the interest in this project and revitalization going.  She will really mean it when she wears her "turning the lights on" t-shirt around campus and town.  She wants to succeed in her new job and she wants the Princess to succeed!

HISTORICAL 1939 VIDEO OF THE PRINCESS THEATER AND HARRIMAN, TENNESSEE

Some years back a Kiwanis Club member in Somerset, KY discovered an old film clip that had been left behind when a member died. The member was a former manager of the Princess Theater in Harriman, Tennessee and had taken the film clip with him when he moved. The clip was 15 minute Newsreel clip of the 1939 reopening of the Princess Theater after the second fire.

The Kiwanis member thought that the film belonged to the people of Harriman and Roane County, so he got in touch with Cecil Johnson, the last manager of the Princess, and sent him the film. Cecil had the presence of mind to have the strip preserved to DVD and later passed on a copy to James “Dub” Harmon, also a former manager and his brother-in-law. Dub, once being my father-in-law, gave me the DVD and I converted it to an .avi file and uploaded it to FACEBOOK, so I could embed the clip for your viewing pleasure.

This clip means so much to us working with Princess Productions to restore the Princess Theater, and I’m sure you will enjoy it too.

On the clip you will see many people in the street, maybe some of your kinfolks from yesteryear, who knows. If you see someone you know, let us know by either sending an email or leaving a comment.

You will also see Mr. L. W. Bevel, the manager in ’39, being greeting and congratulated by city officials of the day. You will also see many young kids streaming out of both the Harriman and South Harriman Schools…maybe you will see your parents or grandparents!

Let us know what you think of the clip and if you see someone you can identify.

PRINCESS MEMORIES

The Princess Theatre was the highlight of entertainment during the days of my youth. Oh, there were other theaters, skating rinks, a bowling alley, a drive-in theater, and a number of drive-in restaurants, but my fondest memories are of being at the Princess watching great old 50s and 60s movies.

I remember watching all the great westerns there. My heroes were Roy Rogers, Rex Allen, Gene Autry, Rod Cameron, Will Bill Elliot, Lash LaRue, and even ol’ Gabby Hayes, and Smiley Burnette, whom I met once!

Sometimes these screen stars visited the Princess too!

I remember the popcorn smell of the theater and the sticky/tacky touch of the floor between the seats and the little squishy sounds it made when you walked over it.

I remember the low hum of teenage voices, just under the movie sounds, whispering in the ears of their dates or remarks made out loud meant to make an impression on some pretty girl.

Occasionally, there was a live show, or at least a prelude show to build up the intrigue for the up coming horror show. “If you frighten easily, or if you have heart problems, or if you are here alone, I advise you to leave now!”

This, of course, only made you want to see the movie that much more. “The screen will flash red just before a scary scene to warn you. That will give you time to hide your eyes!”

“Okay, okay,” everyone would shout, “get on with it!”

I also remember watching the Harriman Christmas parades, back in the 70’s, from beneath the canopy marquee, and holding my son on my shoulders (pictured far right).

Corey was Dub Harmon’s grandson and Cecil Johnson’s nephew, so he, and his cousin Brandon Powers (pictured on left, atop James Keebler’s shoulders) had the run of the theater back then.

As his childhood friend, Jason Whitus, reminded me the other day, Corey’s birthday parties used to be in the balcony of the Princess. It’s good to remember that the balcony was used for some good other than separating us from each other.

How about you…got any Princess memories?

Why not send them to us and get them posted here!?

Who can guess what the banner behind us says?