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Show Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg GRANTSVILLE ---- ~~ OLD OPERA HOUSE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET ... Interviewee: Charles Stromberg -Place of Interview: Charles Stromberg's Home, Grantsville, Utah Date of Interview: January 15, 2012 Interviewer: Pat Eatough Recordist: Pat Eatough Recording Equipment: Olympus Handheld Recorder Transcription Equipment: Express S~ribe Pro with Infinity Foot Control Transcribed by: Nikki Scow Transcription Proofed by: Ellen Yates Brief Description of Contents: Charles Stromberg speaks about growing up in Grantsville and attending events at the-Grantsville Old Opera House. Reference: PE = PatE-atough (Interviewer) CS = Charles Stromberg (Interviewee) NOTE: Interjections during pauses or transitions in dialogue; suqh as, "uh" and starts and stops in conversations are not included in trascription. All additions to transcript are noted with brackets. TAPE TRANSCRIPTION [00:01] PE: What is your full name? CS: What? 1 Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg PE: What is your full name? CS: Oh, Charles Stromberg. PE: Where and when were you born? Where were you born? CS: Well, I was born in Grantsville, Utah in September the 20th, 1926. PE: And who were your parents? CS: Was Murray Stromberg and Ima Stromberg. PE: How long have you lived in Grantsville? CS: I think I've lived here all my life except when I went into the service and then I was gone for about four or five years, up in Schofield, Utah. PE: How would you describe your community? CS: I think it's a great community; wouldn't live no place else. PE: As a child and a teen and also as an adult do you remember your family discussing local, State or world events? CS: No, I don't remember too much about that, but I think my Dad was a Republican. PE: As you grew up and you heard discussion did they involve the Grand Opera House and its use at this time? CS: Yes, I think my Mother, who was in quite a few plays that they put on and she performed there quite often. PE: As a teen and a child and also an adult do you remember your family discussing local, State or world events? CS: No I don't. PE: Okay. Did they talk about the Grand Opera House and its use with you? CS: Yeah, there was quite a bit of discussion about the Opera House and the, you know, the plays that were coming and the shows that they was going to hold. PE: What are your impressions of the physical structure of the Opera House, both the exterior and the interior of the building? 2 Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg CS: In the years ago I thought it was just great, you know, both the exterior and the outerior. But the outside was starting to develop a crack in the Northeast corner of the building and so, but, so I think that's one of the reasons why they later, you know, it was structurally torn down years later. PE: Was it in use quite a few years though? CS: Oh yes, it was. People came from all over and performed in the Opera House. You know, and, but they had a community Opera House group that was always put on these drama plays and stuff. And there was quite an event. I can remember, you know, like John William Anderson, I think he was one of the main actors they always had there. And I can't recall some of the others but I know that I was in one of the plays when I was about 12 years old and participated in that. And I think it was Eva Arbon was the director at that time of the play we put on. And still we had a lot of graduations over there, you know, we didn't have them at school. You know, just more or less actually the gathering place back, you know, when I was younger for everything. All the events was in the Opera House. So, you know, that's where of course they held all the Old Folks Sociable programs, was in the Opera House. And then you'd cross the street to go over to eat lunch at the school. Of course, at that time too they had the people bring the stuff from home and you would deliver a lot of roast around to people to cook and so it was all done and brought in by the people. In the early, you know, early times. But I can remember that mostly the picture shows that they had over there and they had them every Friday and Saturday night. And in order to get in free you had to pay your budget to the church, the church owned it, so if you lived in the 1st Ward and so you had to - I think the budget cards were a dollar. And so Gertie Jefferies was the ticket taker. She sat in a little booth off to the side and you had to go in there to show your budget card, or else she had you on the list. And if you didn't have the budget card you had to pay. She wouldn't let you in and she was quite, pretty staunch about that. (Laughter) And if you tried to get in, if you went Friday night and you tried to sneak back in for Saturday she'd get you. She knew who you was. And in the shows they had, you would call 'em bouncers now, but they had Joe Rupp was one and I think, it seems to me like there was Jim Worthington, were the guys that went around with flashlights and if anybody was talking and disturbing they would give you that flashlight. And even if you put your arm around your girl, boy they'd blast that light on ya. And so it got pretty rowdy sometimes but they kept it down and no fooling around, not making any noise. And let's see. They had, I told you I guess, they had a lot of school graduations there. Now, I can't remember too much way back, they had, I think I've seen 'em but I can't remember much. They had these soundless movies -you know, before they had the sound. And they had Emma Sutton played the piano. And so they'd send the music out, you know, with this film. What do you call 'em? They was movies but they was silent movies and kind of like if bandits was chasing or the Indians was com in', you know, she'd play it on the piano. So, that's all there was, they had for the audio on it. guess at that time, when I was growing up, I guess the 1st Ward was the main Ward 3 Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg that was using the building and so we held a lot of activities in the dance hall down there. And so like on some nights when they had a party for the young men or young women, you know, they'd meet down there and so a lot of activities were in that dance hall. And the thing about that dance hall, it was one of the best dance halls in the State of Utah really. Because the acoustics were so good because they had a cove on the North end where the band would sit and so the music it was the same all around the whole building. Like if you hold it up to the High School, if you had an orchestra playing on one end of the gym, well, it goes clear back to the far wall and then bounces back. Well, that's about two steps behind. You know what you get so. But up at that Opera House it was just, and I don't know what kind of floor they had but it had a little spring to it and it was really, really - I guess it probably was the best dance, you know, hall in the whole State. I told you about Gertie Jefferies and the budget ticket. And the thing, while you are going around getting this information, if you can find out about the heating. Now, Dave Lawrence says he remembers a stove being in there. And I thought I remembered a stove too. But then I got to thinkin', where they had that pot belly stove, where did the smoke stack go? You'd have to go through the top roof, you know, the roof. And I can't ever remember a smoke stack. And so I've called several people and some say Dave Lawrence said he remembers the stove. And I thought I remembered the stove but then I thought: well, where'd they put it and where'd the smoke stack go? So, if somebody could tell me that I'd being interested to know myself. I even called Vonda Angel and she's really got a good memory and she says that she can't remember a stove. She said "I cleaned the place but I can't remember a stove". talked to Verl Young and he's older than me and he says "oh, it had a stove in there because it got smoky all the time in there". You know, from the stove - a lot of smoke going around in there. But all us young people we all headed for upstairs, you know. And we'd sometimes we'd try to sneak past Gertie at the window and sneak up the stairs. And if you could go up on the West side and if you went up on the East side they had the projection room up there and Charlie Anderson always ran that projector for the shows. And he had a little room up there so he could, you know, shoot film. And one time or two they locked him in. He had a lock on the outside and he just left it hangin' there and there was a prankster went up and took the, he had the key to the thing in his pocket and we locked him out. (Laughter) Shouldn't admit that though. (Laughter) But it was just, everything was really centered around that Opera House, you know, when I was growing up and even before, you know, I was into my teens, everything was still centered around there. And that's where my wife got the idea that we wanted to bring back the Old Opera House Theater Group and so my wife and I and Tom Stam and Marge started this new theater group. And we put on I think what eight plays or something; nine plays, before the school burnt down. But, there is really a lot of talent in Grantsville and them plays were really well attended. I know the first play we put on was like Fiddler on the Roof. Maybe you don't want to hear this about the school but anyway, it was Fiddler on the Roof and I was in charge of tickets. And, but to go back a little bit we had to borrow some money to get the script. So we borrowed $500.00 and Tom and I signed to get the money, or Marge and I. And I was scared to death we weren't going to make our money back or get the crowd. And man alive we broke all 4 Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg the fire rules and everything. I was carrying chairs from every place to get the people in there. But every night we had them plays, every, you know, the several plays we had was just packed. And I think we kind of got worn out and then the school burnt down. And I think later there was a group that tried to do it again, they done it for about two years and then I think it just fizzled. So, but I know the Opera House was just, you know, to me just the center of the town. And I can remember there was, the Oliver's lived down on the East end of town and, next to where the Mexican cafe' is now, but anyway, he'd bring a whole load of people up in that Model A Ford he had and he'd put, and some of the windows were broken out, but he had cardboard in the windows. Of course, this was during the depression time and I can remember some kids that was older than me, or guys, they put one of these car bombs on his, while he was watching the show, put it on his Model A. And of course when he turned the key on that set the bomb off and that made a big bang_and a lot of smoke. And kids were pouring out every window of that car, runnin'. (Laughter) So, that was quite an experience because, you know, they were coming from every place, they was car pooling when they had them old cars and. But I think the people who got the most use of it was the old 1st Ward and they were kind of more or less in charge. And all the activities we had as kids was in that building, down in the. And like Johnny related, you know, they had the Gold and Green Ball down there and they'd decorate that center post. And anyway the last time that I can remember much about is, was after I got back from the Army they had a dance or two down there that I went but then it kind of fizzled out. There wasn't really a lot of dances but there was quite a few. But that's just about all I can, you know, remember. And a lot of stuff might read a little bit out of Alma Gardner's book, he's got a little bit of information in there. But, let's see, I know, I kind of hated, you know, to see 'em have to tear it down but I think a lot of people wanted to save it. It was remodeled once and Claude Sutton told me that, and they must of done that remodeling during the War because I can't remember it. But he said upstairs there was a big piece of plaster that had fell down, you know, in there. So they felt they had to do something with it so they went up and they tore a lot of the plaster out and they found out that the beams that was going across wasn't setting on the pillar that was coming up. They'd even slid off of the pillar of the building. And I think that's one of the reasons why they probably condemned it because it didn't, you know, it didn't line up good. But they did do a lot of repair work and it went for a while longer. But the main thing that I can remember is some of those plays that they put on and the graduations and in fact I think we had our seminary graduation there - when I graduated from seminary. So, it was just basically the center of the, the attraction for the whole town. I mean, just wish it was back. PE: Wonderful. What is the one, is the most, what's the one thing you would like people to remember about you? CS: About me? Oh, that's a, uh, well, I guess, I think that, you know, I've been honest, you know, all my life. And I think that and that I've did a lot of work for my church and I've served my County as a Commissioner and I've served my City as a City 5 Grantsville Old Opera House Oral History Project, Daughters of Utah Pioneers-Charles Stromberg Councilman and I've got almost 60 years in the volunteer fireman in Grantsville. So, I guess, I can't think of anything, I'm no hero. So I don't know. (Laughter) [19:56] 6 |
