March 20, 1935

Durham, North Carolina

Carolina Theatre Usher

Written by Michael Escobar

I’m a writer and I was assigned by the WPA to interview an average person about these hard times. I decided to interview a movie house usher because of my great love for the entire movie experience.

When I first arrived at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, North Carolina, I took one glance at what was showing, saw the new Marx Brothers movie, "Duck Soup," and couldn’t resist seeing it. I have really become attached to the Marx Brothers after seeing their earlier movies such as "Animal Crackers" and "Horse Feathers". After the movie was over, I met with the usher I had come to talk with.
 

I walked towards the door and saw Mr. Lime in one of those fancy suits all the ushers have to wear. Since this was the last show of the night, I knew he would have time to speak with me. I walked up to him and we sat down in the nearby seats and he began talking.

"When the Depression began 6 years ago, Mom and I were hit with a terrible reality we never even dreamed possible. When Mom was fired a week after that dreadful black day in October 1929, we had to live off the remaining money she had saved from working at the factory. After that ran out, we reached complete despair, getting food free from the Holy Divinity Baptist Church down the street."

"I remember standing in line around all these men and feeling so embarrassed for them and myself. It was so pathetic that we had reached the point in our financial status when we couldn’t depend on ourselves to live. It was like in our childhood, when we depended solely on our mom for love and food." Mr. Lime paused and looked down at the floor. He continued speaking.

"Eventually, if all else failed, I would gather up 10 cents and make my way to the Carolina Theatre every Saturday and try to get away from reality by watching a movie. More and more I found myself relying on the movies to just barely stay alive mentally. The women on the screen were so beautiful, especially Fay Wray, whom I saw in "King Kong". After seeing it for the first time, I couldn’t stop thinking about her and the movie and had to go back and see it again that next weekend."

"I remember back in 1926 when I was a young teenager and the theatre was built. A company named Publix-Saegner had been sponsoring Broadway shows and other vaudeville acts that traveled around North Carolina. It became very popular so they decided to build a permanent place for the acts to perform. They built theaters in various cities around the state such as Winston-Salem and of course Durham. They called all of these theaters "Carolina Theatre". In 1929 as movies became more and more popular, the Carolina Theatres made the switch to becoming movie houses."

"In 1931, a spot opened in the theatre to be an usher, and I immediately asked the manager for the job. Since we had become acquainted over the past year, he gave it to me."

"That was a glorious day for me. I came home that night and told my mom the wonderful news and her eyes lit up for the first time in a long while. In days prior to that one, I had come home feeling so guilty that I couldn’t provide for my mother. She was getting rather old and ever since dad died when I was a young boy, I had always felt a sense of responsibility for her."

"I’ve had this job ever since and haven’t ever regretted one day of it."

Mr. Lime continued: "Every Saturday, I arrive at the theatre around 6:00 PM and put on my suit and prepare for all the people to arrive. Once they start coming, I take their tickets and show them to their seats. During the show, I keep an eye out for rowdy boys. A lot of times they begin throwing food and other things from the balcony onto people down below. I also have to look out for boys sneaking in from the emergency exit. After I catch them, I promptly throw them out of the theatre."

"It seems that I have developed a certain superiority over all the children. They seem to be highly intimidated of me, because of the power I have to simply kick them out if they dare misbehave. That is certainly the last thing they want to happen since this experience is obviously one of the few highlights of their lives right now."

Mr. Lime went on to describe the sad situations of some of kids.

"Many times, I watch the kids as they walk in with their heads held high. They don’t realize how ragged and skinny they look. But they don’t care because they are here at the movies. This is the most wonderful part of their childhood right now. The movies is all they have. And as they leave I can see they have been truly entranced and are just filled with happiness and imagination. The poor kids, I don’t dare think what would happen to them if they were to let go of the movies."

As he ended with that remark, I felt there was a way out of this Depression in the future. The movie business seems to have become a part of everyone’s lives, giving them hopes and dreams that help them deal with the harsh reality they face every day.

Mr. Lime stood up, ready to go home for the night. He added, "Hope to see around here soon."

I replied, "Absolutely, and best of luck to you in the future."