The Gem Theater: April 2015

Introduction

Downtown Wichita Falls, Texas, in the mid 1940’s was a bustling metropolis for a boy of 7 just away from the farm and ranch community where he was born. My father, a cook and cowboy by trade, had just started as one of the first cooks for the Casa Manana restaurant in 1947. He moved us to an apartment on Ohio Street, right across from the Gem Theater, between 7^th and 8^th Streets. It’s here that we would stay for the next three years. The Gem Theater became a magic palace for a young mind. But it had to share that distinction with the rest of the magic that was Wichita Falls. I attended San Jacinto and Carrigan elementary schools, as well as Reagan Junior High, and belonged to the Boys Club on 6th Street. Please join, and share your stories and pictures through a Guest Blog, of early Wichita Falls - or your home town. Contact me at fadingshadows40@gmail.com or leave a comment. We could use old pictures of movie houses, drive-in theaters, and other nostalgic pictures related to our youths.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Jerry Siegel

Jerry Siegel. Remembering Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, 1914-1996. The world discovered Superman in 1938. I discovered him in 1947, at 7-years old through my first discovery of comic books when we moved to Wichita Falls that year. In 1948 I watched the 15-chapter serial with Kirk Alyn at the Tower Theater in Wichita Falls, Texas. I’ve been a fan ever since.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Rocket Man

Rocket Man. I loved these old serials when I was a kid living in Wichita Falls. Jeff King, King of The Rocket Men, then on to Commando Cody, Sky Marshal of the Universe. How cool was it to strap on rockets to your back and fly!!!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Comic Book Rack

Comic book spinner rack from the 1940s. Here is another nice looking comic book display from the old days. Mostly Romance pulps, but there is an issue of The Black Hawk, Crime Does Not Pay, and Gang Busters on the bottom.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Echoes Revisited

The Shadow painting by David Burton for ECHOES REVISITED, our 20^th anniversary issue of ECHOES in 2002. I still have the painting in a frame, and copies of ECHOES REVISITED for $20.00 each.

The Gem Theater