Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre [Staunton, Virginia] Campaign Booklets, 1950-1954

Repository:

Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University

Creator:

Shaffer, Frank K. (Francis Kinsloe), 1901-1988

Title:

Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre [Staunton, Virginia] Campaign Booklets

Collection No.:

SC 0305

Date:

1950-1954

Extent:

1 box, .47 Cubic Feet

Language of the Material:

English .

Abstract:

The Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre [Staunton, Virginia] Campaign Booklets, 1950-1954, comprise seven promotional booklets created by Frank K. Shaffer, manager of Staunton, Virginia's Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre.

The Dixie Theatre opened in 1913 as the New Theatre and was located at 125 E. Beverley Street on the corner of Market Street. It offered vaudeville shows and silent films. After a 1936 fire gutted the building, it reopened later that same year as a movie house. The theatre was updated in the early 1980s to accommodate multiple screens. The Dixie Theatre closed in July 2014 after more than 100 years in operation.

The Strand Theatre opened in 1930 and was located at 15 S. New Street, less than two blocks from the Dixie. It closed in the early 1960s and a parking garage is located where the theatre once stood.

Both theatres were operated by Warner Brothers during the early 1950s when the promotional booklets were made. Frank K. Shaffer (1901-1988) managed both theatres. Prior to managing the Dixie and Strand Theatres, Frank Shaffer was manager of Harrisonburg's Virginia Theatre.

The Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre [Staunton, Virginia] Campaign Booklets, 1950-1954, comprise seven promotional booklets created by Frank K. Shaffer, manager of Staunton, Virginia's Dixie and Strand Theatres. The purpose of the booklets was to document via printed ephemera, newspaper clippings, marketing materials, advertisements, and photographs a discrete film campaign that took place at the theatres. As such, each booklet documents a separate movie campaign or promotional event. Movie campaigns included midnight showings of Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (December 24, 1950); Saturday morning showings of The Prince and the Pauper, The Yearling, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (summer 1952); a double feature of the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup and Animal Crackers (November 1950); and Bride of the Gorilla (December 1951). Other promotions included a Lionel train giveaway and a double feature program. One booklet titled "Public Relations" documented various "community 'good will' incidents" in which Frank Shaffer and/or his theatre was involved. Those events included a soap box derby, babysitter plan, collaboration with the Staunton-Augusta Jaycees, and a church twilight softball league.

The booklets are arranged chronologically.

"Dixie Theater." Cinema Treasures. Accessed October 14, 2020. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/775.

"Strand Theatre." Cinema Treasures. Accessed October 14, 2020. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/39269.

Lauren Berg. The (Waynesboro) News Virginian. "Historic Dixie Theater in Staunton to Close." The Daily Progress, May 15, 2019. https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/historic-dixie-theater-in-staunton-to-close/article_fa03f574-0ed0-11e4-aae9-001a4bcf6878.html.