“THE SHOW”
by Esther Farley
Ask any Putnam County native over the age of 50 to name their favorite spot to hang out with friends when they were children, pre-teens, teenagers and young adults. Nine times out of ten the answer will be, “The Show!”
The marque out front proclaimed it to be “The PEX Theater,” but to all the young people, it was just “The Show.”
When a good ole Putnam County boy asked a girl for a date in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, his question was usually, “You wanna go to the Show?” Girls never asked what movie was playing, because it didn’t matter what was on the screen. Good movie or not, the Show was the place to be. Couples could sit in the dark, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings. The Show was the perfect setting for romance. If your date turned out to be a bore, you could chat with nearby friends, or if all else failed—you could always watch the movie.
For those who didn’t have a date, the Show was the perfect place to meet up with someone. It was cool and easy to slide into the seat beside someone you liked and casually strike up a conversation. If feelings were mutual, you might soon be holding hands.
Mr. John Peck, owner and operator of PEX Theater, must surely have stars in his heavenly crown for patiently and graciously putting up with several decades of Putnam County’s kids and teens. Some paid the fare for the 1 pm matinee on Saturday afternoons and stayed until the Show closed at midnight. The cost, by the way, was free for kids up to the age of 6, 14 cents for age 6 to 12, and 41 cents for ages 12 to adult. 50 cents could pay your way into the Show and leave enough for a small coke and some candy!
It was a common practice for parents to drop their children off at the Show while they bought groceries, visited friends, etc. They couldn’t have found a cheaper babysitter. Parents would come into the Show, stand discreetly under the dim light at the back and wait until their children spotted them. One night, our Mama grew impatient when my brother Roy and I didn’t spot her waiting for us. Mama groped her way down the dark aisle, placed her hand on the top of what she thought was Roy’s head and said, “Come on, Honey, it’s time for us to go home now.” She jumped a foot, jerking her hand back when a little old man peered up at her and gruffly replied, “I ain’t through watching the picture show yet, Sweetie.” Roy and I got a lecture on the way home; after that, we were more careful to watch for Mama or Daddy!
The Show was luxurious with velvet curtains and plush comfy seats with tiny little lights on the aisle sides of the seats. The floors were sticky from spilled Cokes, gum and candy. Popcorn crunched underfoot, filling the whole place with its delicious aroma. It was dark, warm and cozy in the cold wintertime and dark, cool and pleasant in the hot summertime. Yes, the Show was just about the grandest place in the world to us.
In asking people to share some “Show” memories with me, my tender feelings have been reinforced by a couple of friends.
Clayton Welch began working at the Show at the age of 11. His most memorable night occurred when he was in the eighth grade. A monster called “Omar the Terrible” was scheduled to be part of a live, magic show performed at the PEX Theater. Omar’s monster suit arrived, but Omar never showed up, so Clayton was hired to portray the monster role! For $10, he was to don the monster suit, come out on stage, jump off, climb over seats until he arrived at the balcony, scaring the wits out of everybody. It worked! Screaming kids fled to the back of the Show, and some even leaped from the balcony to the seats below. Clayton was late getting his $10, but he didn’t mind. While he was changing into the monster suit, the magician’s beautiful assistant came into his dressing room, stripped stark naked and wiggled into her skimpy costume right in front of the impressionable bug-eyed boy. According to Clayton’s wife Jene, this could explain why the beast came out in Clayton as he jumped off the stage and over all those rows of seats!
One of Jene Welch’s special memories is seeing Tex Ritter in person. The PEX Theater was playing featuring a Tex Ritter movie, and Ritter himself came to Eatonton. After the movie, the singing cowboy movie star, dressed in his western finery, greeted patrons as they came out. Jene’s Daddy approached Tex Ritter and told him how much Jene loved his movies. Little Jene was overwhelmed when good old Tex scooped her up for a big hug!
When my husband Edge Farley and his sister Lenora were small children, they went with their mother on her daily milk route delivery. One Saturday, Mr. John Peck, Sr. saw the two children sitting in the truck and invited them to come inside and watch the picture show while they waited for their mother. Their mother agreed but warned the children that she had many deliveries to make and they would have a long wait.
Edge had never been to a movie and didn’t know what to expect; thus began two or three hours of pure terror for the little boy! Thinking the giants on the screen were real, he spent most of the time crouching under his seat in a sobbing panic. Finally his mother arrived and rescued him. Thankfully, that trauma didn’t spoil Edge’s love of movies. We began our courtship, holding hands at the Show like so many other local couples.
The Show offered affordable, safe, and wholesome entertainment for all of Eatonton’s children and adults, but when black and white television sets appeared in homes, attendance began to go down. Eventually, PEX closed its doors. However, sweet memories of that beautiful, magical place remained, and the Peck family will forever have a special place in all our hearts!
Esther Farley and her husband Edge have been valued members of the Old School History Museum team for more than a decade. Together they have served as museum docents, and Esther has also helped create permanent exhibits.