Entertainment : Reminiscing: 25 Years at the Palace

Opening night, November 14, 1999. L to R: Jan McLeod, Shirley Cromer and Claudette Alpers longtime bookkeeper of the Palace

The Palace marquee the day of the grand opening on November 14, 1999

Andrew Elwick helped to identify the lighting issues with the marquee and to find a solution

The Vinton Palace Theatre ...before its facelift 25 years ago!

By Marcy Horst

In 2020, our 20th Palace Theatre anniversary celebratory year was abruptly interrupted by the pandemic. We are hoping to make up for that loss now, celebrating 25 years! Watch this space every week as we rewind the story of the Palace. I'll also be sharing updates on special anniversary deals and activities at the movies.

I attended the first movie at the Palace, "Runaway Bride," with my family, on grand opening night, November 14, 1999. We paid $25 a ticket for that inaugural show, as our contribution to the more than $500,000 renovation fundraising effort. Oh my gosh, was it worth it! My husband Gerald and I have always been movie people. In Vinton, while raising a young family, our main entertainment consisted of DVD rentals from Videoland and, later, Movies and More. But attending a big screen showing at the Palace, with movie theater popcorn, and all our friends and neighbors, was an absolute delight. I think the thing that surprised me most - I knew almost everyone in the auditorium!

1999 was also the year I started directing ACT I Stage! Children's Theatre productions with my good friend, Shirale Hanson. I spent most of my Sunday nights at the movies and my weekday mornings on the stage. As a result, I got to know the first managers, Lu Karr and Jan McLeod, very well. In 2006, when the Palace Trustees were searching for new management, Lu asked me if I'd be interested in running the theatre with her. Thus began my 19-year film and stage career. Ha!

Dear readers, and lovers of stage and cinema, I have a long list of Palace memories to impart, my own and those fond remembrances from patrons and volunteers. I hope you'll continue to join me here every week. Please do share your stories (and edits!) and photos with me in person, via social media comments, or email at managers@vintonpalace.org. I'll do my best to pass them along.

The Marquee

The Palace Theatre marquee, a beloved Vinton landmark, is the first thing you notice as you drive by 210 W 4th Street. What you may not realize if you aren't downtown at night, is that the top middle of the marquee is dark. And has been since 2019!

The original marquee was installed the week the Palace opened by Scott Tharp and Andrew Elwick, along with an assortment of volunteers and well-wishers who lined the street in anticipation. Scott and Andrew literally burned the midnight oil to be sure the marquee was in place and lit up for the long-awaited opening.

To get the full story I consulted an expert, original manager Jan McLeod.

"Oh, Marcy, the first thing I thought of when thinking about {the marquee} was the excitement that surrounded {the theatre} the day it was put up."

At that time, Jan recalled that the community was concerned that the downtown street reconstruction project was still incomplete.

"But putting the marquee up seemed to give the whole town a real positive feeling of what was to come with that project. The fact that the streets weren't quite completed didn't seem to matter so much. Progress was being made."

Jan added a personal note, "I remember thinking that the two guys {Scott and Andrew} most instrumental in the marquee construction were former students of mine, and I was so terribly proud that Vinton-grown boys had the ability and know-how to complete such a feat! I can't remember the exact timeline, but I don't think it was too long after its installation that Andrew requested permission to use the marquee as a means of asking his girlfriend to marry him!"

The original marquee had to be manually changed - each black letter installed every week, individually.

According to Jan, "Changing the letters was usually the projectionist's job but occasionally the managers got involved, too. It, of course, was a far more palpable task when the weather cooperated. Handling the long pole and keeping the letters attached 'til they were up and in place wasn't an easy task. When the digital mechanization was installed a few years later, it was certainly welcomed."

As I mentioned earlier, in 2019, several of the marquee bulbs went out, and when Andrew brought in a ladder and bucket lift to replace them, he found that the fixture that lights the vertical "PALACE" of the marquee was no longer functionable. Andrew consulted with Scott Tharp and it was determined that the best solution, the long-term solution, would be to replace the current marquee lighting with LED fixtures.

To that end, we are beginning our Light Up the Palace 25th Anniversary fundraiser to coincide with our year-long celebration. Donations may be made online at www.vintonpalace.org, or checks written to ACT I/Palace Theatre and mailed or dropped off at 210 W 4th St, Vinton, Iowa 52349.

Next week's column will feature more about the marquee, and 25 years of film and projector history.

Our first anniversary event will take place on Wednesday, November 13 at 7 pm when we screen 1999's "Runaway Bride" with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. We hope you join us as we splice together this old favorite! Just kidding, we'll be streaming it. But more on that next week!

Note: Can you help us to identify the ladies in the second photo of the ladies standing below the marquee? We have all but two of their names.

L to R: Linda Radcliffe, Kathe Karr, Dyann Buckingham, Kathy Knutsen, and ? (can you help us identify the woman standing here?), Judy Wood and ? (we need help to identify this woman as well!)