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Show I THEATRE MANAGERS OF SALT LAKE iC - ' "" - BEN'KtTCHAM OF THfc. . 1 COLONIAL 21 X I DRAWN BY WALKCPt O'LOUOHLIN. HE ift one of the younpeat theatre manaffers in the Uniterl 6tat , maybe he i the very youngat holding mich an important position. po-sition. Certainly he haa the pink, healthy complexion of youth ' and to this fact he owea much to hia early start in life. . He atarted ou a farm. Not many boya following along the furrow with plow handles han-dles in their handa ever dream of one day becoming the boss of a big playhouae in an important theatrical center, and fewer w4io have auch fanciful tl reams ever realize them. When Ben K etc ham waa tilling the soil on an Iowa farm nine yearn ago he might have had day dream about becoming be-coming a fnlted State senator or president presi-dent of the l olled State om day. but the theatre didn't offer any phantoms for blm. At that time Ben didn't know much about theatre and cared lea. He rmild tell you how deep the r -II ebon Id be plowed for com and he knew Jftat when to set out tomatoea and plant potatoes, po-tatoes, but the stage waa to him an undiscovered un-discovered mystery. Be that aa tt may. the hand that then directed the plow now signs the cbevke for tha Colonial theatre. It waa June 21. 1U. that Bene pa went down to the general etnre In Mt. , Pleasant. Ia.. and bought cigars for the; t own toa f e ra aa ha to Id the m of t he alork'a visit to hla home. When Be a waa a amall boy the family moved to the farm and the subject of thl aketch waa aoon milking eowa. -feeding hog and do- Ing other chore that make th middle I west coon try boya ready ' foe bigger I thing In life - Ben got hi early educa - I lion In the Mt. Pleaaant school and In I IK J. with hla brother and sister, moved . I to fteettle. his parent then hem dead. . J Hen entered the high achoot and mr two year while there acted aa property bor yaVB in the Grand opera, houae. John Cort owned the Grand opera houae and tha 1 former Iowa farm boy pleased blm. Aa a eonaequence, when Ben graduated from - J the Beat tie high achool. he waa placed In I the box office of the theatre and worked I In that capacity - one year and a half. - I Then he was aent to Rait Iake by Mr. Cort aa treasurer and assistant manager I In the latter beautiful Colonial the- I a tea. That waa In July. 1909, and tn tha I latter part of the I80-l10 aeaaoa Mr. K etc ham waa promoted to tha position I of manager of the Colonial. And be la I not only one of the youngeet in the buat- I neaa (31), but ana of the beat looking aa well. |