Heather, who pens “Heather’s Musings” weekly in The Times, asked if I knew who owned the Bancroft theatre in the ‘40s and ‘50s. I could blame my glasses, or lack thereof, but in fact my brain, or lack thereof, translated theatre to Times and I happily sent her my response.
When Heather kindly corrected my eyesight I quickly realized that I had no idea. So I contacted Dave Walker at The Times who contacted Frank Thompson. I have previously written about Frank’s father, a Bancroft Game Warden, in this column.
“Frank recalls that Gord Broughton, an OPP officer, built the movie theatre ‘around 1947’ where The Market Café presently is located. Broughton also built the Drive-in theatre in Bird’s Creek but made a mistake.” He apparently built it too close to Bird’s Lake and just as movie-goers were settling in to watch the film a fog would drift off the lake obscuring their vision. Later, Carl Bosiak of the Princess Sodalite Mines bought the drive-in and eventually the Rockhound Gemboree was held there. Many readers may recall the large canvas tents that housed exhibits into the early ‘70s.
Fred Ayers painted a large mural featuring a wildlife scene on the east wall of Broughton’s movie theatre in Bancroft. You can see a restored version of another Ayer’s work on the Bancroft Legion. According to Walker, Tony Ciana (who created the Lions’ Club lions) did the stone work on the front of the theatre.
Previous to Broughton building the theatre Howard Gunter (Heather’s father) travelled from Coe Hill with a generator, movie projector and everything required to show movies. He used the community Hall that had a history of live performances. At one time it also housed the town jail and more than one performance was interrupted as the constable dragged a drunk across the stage to be incarcerated. Gunter also travelled to Maynooth to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows’ “Plank Theatre” for showings. Walker – “They used to set up three chairs and then place a plank across them for movie-goers to sit on.”
Karen Gunter of The Times recalls that Broughton sold the theatre to Ernie Lavoy who later sold it to lawyer Ron Lincoln whose law offices were across the street where West Wind is now located. Lincoln shut down the movie operation in the ‘80s.
On a personal note, I recall going to the theatre in the early ‘70s to see Clockwork Orange. As cultural experiences go this was a unique travel trip through time.
Then, Dave Walker told me that he thought Claude Best had some slides discovered in the attic of another building but he knew few details. So I called Claude who, as usual, was most helpful and informative.
“I’ve got 96 glass slides and I’ve been looking for a kerosene projector to show them ever since.” The slides were ads for the next week’s movie.
But they were in another building, next to Dr. Doren’s where Dr. Johnson once had his medical practice. At one time it was said that Dr. Johnson had the largest practice in Ontario. Whether this was in reference to the number of patients, the scope of its geography, or both, I can’t say.
Dave Walker put me in touch with Richard Eddy whose parents owned a drug store next to Dr. Johnson. Richard told me that Dr. Johnson bought the building from Mike Burns (former Postmaster in Bancroft) who had inherited it from his aunt George (surname).
In 1939 Archie Eddy moved to Bancroft from Cobourg to run a drug store next to Dr. Johnson’s office for Charles Johnson who also had a drug store in Madoc. Eventually Eddy bought the store. He married in 1942. Until that time Mrs. Eddy had taught school at Baptiste. Married women were not encouraged to teach so for many years her career was on hold. Until the mines opened and a surplus of students arrived. Mrs. Eddy then taught students at the Community Hall before transferring to Bancroft Public School.
Mr. Eddy died in 1964, Mrs. Eddy closed the store mid-’65 and Claude Best opened Best Foods, a grocery store in the former drug store. While remodeling the facility Claude found the slides (3×3 or 4×4) and also discovered two floors. The one was slanted for theatre goers. This theatre operated during prohibition in the 1920s. Then Best mentioned that a criminal used to hide out at the theatre but knew little else. Perhaps Richard Eddy would know?
“Word of mouth had it that Rocco Perri was a Hamilton gangster who had a fancy car, smoked big cigars and was a fancy dresser. His girlfriend was a Rutledge from Hastings Highlands and periodically they would come to Bancroft to visit her family.” Eddy suggested that I contact Dave Rutledge.
Dave Rutledge left an article at The Times written in 1991 by Paul Legall for his column Crime File in the Hamilton Spectator. Mike Burns told Legall that he recalled when Perri first walked into his uncle’s theatre where Burns was an usher. “It wasn’t often that he saw someone decked out in spats, fedora and top coat.” Perri was accompanied by Autumn and Catharine Rutledge, daughters by his mistress Olive Rutledge and Burns remembered that he insisted on an aisle seat and that during the silent movie which transfixed the audience Perri was focused on the door.
The article stated that Perri visited Bancroft “about half a dozen times in the 1920s.”
On Feb.15, 1922, a coroner’s jury concluded that Olive Rutledge, age 27, had committed suicide by jumping from the 7th floor window of a lawyer’s office in Hamilton. Dave Rutledge said his Aunt Edna, Olive’s sister, lived to be 105 and never believed that to be true. “Nothing would change her mind,” he said.
Apparently Perri offered the girls’ grandparents $5000 for their custody but they “never wanted to go with him.” George and Susan Rutledge adopted the girls who lived with them until their late teens. The Coroner’s jury recommended that Perri, who had disappeared, be arrested and forced to provide for the children.
Perri, born in Italy, was a major crime player expanding from bootlegging to gambling, extortion and prostitution. He was last seen alive in Hamilton on April 23, 1944. Police speculate that he was fitted with cement shoes and dumped in Hamilton Harbour.
All of the above uncovered due to one simple question.