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Show DOWN MEMORY LANE- WITH JOHN J. CREEDON I the present Copperfield tunnel. It was equipped with the newest and latest devices for movie viewing, and through the years the operators opera-tors of the Princess have kept pace with the improvements in their field. The firstt talking picture was shown in 1930 and new projectors and screens were installed as the old one became obsolete. In 1954 in connection with the Galena Days celebration commemorating commem-orating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the incorporation of Bingham and the beginning of the Utah Copper Company, the theatre was completely com-pletely renovated, including a huge mural of the Utah Copper and GOODBYE PRINCESS! "Backward, turn backward, O time in thy flight, Make me a little boy, just for tonight" Forty years ago, three small boye were among the large crowd at the premier performance at the new Princess Theatre, and last Sunday evening these three met again in the foyer of the theatre and reminisced remin-isced about that exciting night so long ago. I must admit that through misty eyes, I detected a trace of a tear in the eyes of Joe Brisk and Harold Chesler. It is not easy to say adieu to on old friend, even if it is just a building of concrete and plaster. Without fanfare of any sort, the Princess Theatre passed into oblivion obliv-ion September 25th with its final show, witnessed by just a few of the faithful. For forty years, the Princess has been the center of entertainment in the Bingham area with a variety of events taking place in the history his-tory of Bingham. I remember well the excitement and anticipation during the building build-ing of the Princess. On its completion comple-tion it was judged the ultimate in theatres in the state with the exception excep-tion of one or two in Salt Lake City. The building was owned and built by George Chandler, on the site of the old Bingham Livery. What a gala opening night sometime some-time back in 1920. The theatre was packed and the picture was "The Valley of the Giants" with Wallace Reid starring. The new Princess was a far cry from the old narrow, single aisle show that stood near Bingham. Since that first picture, "Valley of the Giants", thousands of movies have been shown to movie fans in the district. 1 remember in the early days of the Princess, the Clays girls, Ada and Ruth operated the player piano to accompany the pictures. The mood of the picture was carried car-ried out by the piano. Who can forget for-get the stirring music signifying the charge of the cavalry, arriving just in time to save the wagon train or the fort from the attacking Indiana, In-diana, or the sad refrain during "Over the Hill to the Poor House". Mrs. Nellie Jones played the piano too and we had bits of vaudeville vaude-ville supplementing the movies. John Culleton would play the violin and Vera Chiara would sing. Several Sev-eral amateuro performed on the stage at various times. The high school plays were presented pre-sented in the Princess and I remember re-member in my senior year playing the role of Nick King, burglar, in our drama, "A Full House". Later that year our graduation exercises were hel dthere. This was to be the last one, as the new high school was completed the next year in 1925. and the commencement program pro-gram was held in the school auditorium audi-torium thereafter. Political rallies were an important import-ant part of our community life in those by-gone days, when the city offices weru fought for with much vim and vigor by the rival candidates. candid-ates. Oratory rose to great heights, especially during the campaigns of Dr. Straup and Dr. Flynn. 1 can still see Dr. Flynn leaning over the footlights and pointing his finger at Dr. Straup, and calling him "Little Napoleon" and a few other choice names. At the next rally, Dr. Straup had his day and made his charges and name calling at the expense of Dr. Flynn. Those were exciting days and votes were fought for vigorously. vigor-ously. Some very strange alliances were formed in city elections. Party lines were crossed and' politicians who opposed each other in national nation-al and state elections were buddies in the city voting. The Princess was the scene of many Fourth of July speeches and free shows for the children, Christmas Christ-mas parties and war bond drives. One spring when the creek flooded, the water rose and washed wash-ed the stage of the theatre out into the seating area. The firemen and other volunteers worked long hours with pole to try and dear the creek bed so the floor water would subside. Guiding the desting of the Princess, Prin-cess, beginning in 1917 were Ted Chesler and Max Brisk. Later Mr. Chesler became the sole owner and after his death, his son, Harold, carried on. At the last performance, the sons of these two pioneer movie men were present to write finis to 43 years in the entertainment busi-nM, |