The Courier Wishes
One and All a
Happy Prosper
ous New Year.
VOL. XI—No. 13
FOREST CITY'S NEW $150,000 THEATRE OPENS TONIGHT
Magnificent New Play House
Opens Thursday, January 3rd
Elaborate Program Will Feature The Formal
Opening of the Largest, Most Complete
Theatre Between Charlotte and
Asheville
Bv MRS. MAUDE MINISH SUTTON
Forest City's new $150,000 theatre
will open Thursday evening, Jan 3rd.
The formal opening of the Romina
will be an event in Rutherford coun
ty history, not only because the
Romina is the most beautiful and
best equipped theatre in any town this
size in the state, but because this
magnificent new playhouse belongs
to Rutherford county in a very real
and vital sense. It is an investment
of one of the county's foremost busi
ness men, the beautiful building was
designed by a Rutherford county
architect, built by a Rutherford
county contractor and the force of
employees are all homefolks.
The Romina Theatre is a beauti
fully designed, and artistic structure
of cream pressed brick. It repre
sents a large investment and a care
ful inspection of the big building and
its equipment shows that the money
has been wisely spent. The exterior
of the Romina is striking in its
graceful simplicity and the arrange
ment of the interior is ideal. The
handsome entrance, floored with
cream tile, which matches the brick
of which the building is made, and
decorated to match the interior, is
one of the most artistic theatre lob
bies anywhere in North Caroliria and
adds a great deal to the beauty of the
street. This lobby is flanked on
either side with a commodious room: (
the one on the left is to "be used as
a bus station and the one on the'
right will be used as a ladies wait
ing room. There are three large, at
tractive and ideally arranged office
rooms over the lobby, bus station and
waiting room. The theatre office will
be in one of these second floor rooms i
and Dr. R. R. Howes, one of the
leading dentists in Forest City, will
occupy the other two offices.
The theatre proper, a large bowl
shaped auditorium and balcony, will
seat 750 people. It has an orchestra
pit that will accomodate a fourteen
piece orchestra and organ grills for
the installation of a big organ. The
commodious, well lighted stage is
equipped with every convenience for
actors and will take care of vaude
ville, musical comedy, or any similar
form of entertainment. The "talkies"
can be brought to the Romina any
time, for it is designed and arranged
to take care of this new type of
drama.
Thl seating arrangement, stage
placing and shape of the auditor
ium are features which strike the
observer. They are perfectly design
ed for the comfort and convenience
k>f the patrons. There is no corner
of the room from which a perfect
view of the stage can not be obtain
ed. The seats in the main auditorium
are both handsome and comfortable.
They are upholstered in leather and
the placing in the sloping floor is
such that an unobstructed view of
the stage is obtained anywhere in
the auditorium. The mechanical ar
rangements for the comfort of the
patrons are perfect. The artistic
three-color lighting scheme, with a
complete dimmer control, the auto
matic oil burning furnace and ty
phoon system of ventilation insures
that the Romina will always be com
fortable.
The Romina Theatre is a creation
of the active brain of Mr. Walter
Haynes, Rutherford county capital
ist, and is strikingly indictative of
his splendid vision and belief in the
future of this section. Even the
theatre's pretty musical name is Mr.
aynes' own idea. It is a clever and
Effective combination of the name of
his two daughters; Rosa May and
Amanda Elmina. Mr. Haynes has a
great many clearly defined and ex
cellent plans in connection with the
operation of the Romina. It is his
purpose to make the theatre an inti
mate part of the life of Forest City.
He believes that the town and com-
FOREST CYtY COURIER
FOREST CITY—"ONE OF THE TEN BE' rS ANNED AN "D MOST RPATTTTI?TTT TTTTPO ——
j munity are ready for the highest
j class type of entertainment, and that
j a good theatre, well managed, will
j pay here. He has staked a good deal
| upon this belief and he has planned
| every detail of the -theatre's manage-
Jment with a desire to cooperate with
j every agency in the city. Mr. Haynes
jis by no means alone in his pride in
his . beautiful theatre, every citizen
j of Forest City takes a personal in
terest in it and feels that it is a
great contribution to the beauty and
charm for which our City is famous.
A young Rutherford county archi
j tect, Mr. R. E. Carpenter, of Cliff
j side, designed The Rorfiina. This
building is clearly indicative of the
artistic ability and practical know
ledge of this rising young man. The
profession of architect is one of
America's most interesting profes
sions and the one for which our na-
Ition has attained the widest recog
nition. American architecture is re
garded the world over as our great
est national artistic achievment. Mr.
Carpenter shows great promise in i
his chosen line and the Romina is i
greatly to his credit. He has de- j
signed in it a rare combination of i
beauty and utility, without sacrific- j
ing each to the other in the slightest j
instance. i
Mr. G. K. Moore, of Cliffside,
built the Romina. This fact, in it
self, is enough to guarantee the qual
ity of the workmanship. Mr. Moore,
who Tias built some of the best build
ings in the county, has never'done a
better piece of work than he has on
this building. All the decorators and
visitors comment on the excellent
quality of the work and Mr. Moore
is very justly proud of it. Mr. Haynes
takes great pride in the quality of
the work.
} "I knew that Mr. Moore would do
[it right," he said. "He built most
|of the buildings at Cliffside and we
I can depend on his work."
! The beautiful Haynes Memorial,
| the school building, some of the mills
I and most of the other important
: buildings at Cliffside were built by
; Mr. Moore. He is a former Forest
City citizen and takes great pride in
| the beauty of the town, consequently
!he is especially proud of the new
! theatre and of the addition it makes
to the appearance of the city square,
i The theatre has been decorated by
Mr. L. F. Ingram, of Biltmore, and
is entirely in keeping with the rest of
! the building. The flame proof cur
j tain and stage settings were put in
I by Parker and Gardner, of Charlotte,
i They are extremely beautiful and of
| the very best quality. The decoia
jtor is indeed an artist and he has put
in stage setting that is unequaled in
very many much larger city theatres.
Mr. Haynes has consistently follow
ed his policy of having The Romina
'the most beautiful theatre in this
[ section in every detail, and the dec
orations are the best of their kind.
It is this policy of Mr. Haynes,
that has made The Romina such a
wonderful theatre. A trip of inspec
tion fails to show any detail two
small to receive the most careful
thought, and to have been given the
attention necessary to .fit and equip
the theatre perfectly. The plan,
workmanship, mechanics, decorations
and furnishings are in harmony, are
j beautiful and have been chosen with
.thought and care.
1 Mr. Haynes regards himself as
especially fortunate in his force at
The Romina. The manager, Mr. C.
D. Hughes, has had a great deal of
successful experience in the
operation of a theatre. He
has run the theatre at Cliff
side and will continue to operate
it in connection with The Romina.
Mr. Hughes is very optimistic about
the future of The Romina and has
| some very interesting plans for the
j future. He is now in touch with five
lof the leading moving-picture cor-
I
PUBUS |IN THE INTEREST OF FOREST CITY AND RUTHERFORD COUNTY
—_____ £ Ai
J O 3REST CITY. NORTH CAROLINA THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1929
* • P
The above is the picture of the new Romina Theatre, recently completed at a cost of approximately
$150,000. This building ranks among the biggest, best and most completely equipped theatres in the state. —
Photo Gilbert's Studio.
porations in the United States, and
he plans for the theatre to offer five !
changes weekly with special features!
on Monday and Tuesday.
"We will not confine ourselves to .
pictures exclusively," Mr. Hughesj
said, "We will give a variety of en- ,
, tertainment. We are equipped to ]
take care of any kind of theatrical j
! production, and we plan to put on.
vaudeville, musical comedy and any I
other form of entertainment that is i
available." !
Mr. Hughes will be assisted in the j
management of The Romina by Mr. j
Milton H. Mauney, of Forest City, j
The ushers and cashier will be \
Forest City people, so the theatre j
will be run by "Home Talent". The |
solitary exception to this popular
policy of Mr. Haynes' is the opera
tor, Mr. Edgar Shrew, of North
Wilkesboro; Mr. Shrew is well known
to Forest City people, and is a very
skillful cinema operator and Mr.
Haynes feels that he is fortunate in
securing his services.
One of the most striking instances
of Mr. Haynes' foresight, vision, and
big planning for The Romina is
shown in his selection of a musician
to direct the musical activities of
The Romina. He has secured the serv
ices of Mr. Wesley Norris, whose
ability and training place him in the
very front ranks of concert per
formers. It is safe to say, that there
are very few large city theatres
which will be able to offer to their
patrons music of the quality that
Mr. Norris will give The Romina
patrons. With the magnificent equip-
ment of .the theatre, and Mr. Nor-1
ris' musical ability, every perform
ance will be a musical treat.
Forest City is attaining much rec
ognition as a musical center. Mr.
Haynes took the musical activities
and appreciation of Forest City peo
ple into consideration when he se
cured Mr. Norris' services and he
feels that he is indeed fortunate in
getting a musical director who is
already well known and popular here.
Mrs. Nell Padgett Forest
City's own singer, will assist her
husband, and the program on which
New Theatre Ranks Among Finest in North Carolina
I 'l
GOODFELLOWS ON
ROMINA PROGRAM
The Goodfellows Music Mak
ers organization, of Charlotte,
one of the outstanding musical
organizations in the State, will
be present for the opening of
the Romina Theatre Thursday
night and will render a pro
gram. The complete program
will be found on page four of
this section.
I
she will appear are awaited with
great anticipation.
The opening program will be a
rare musical event. Mr. Haynes has
secured the Good Fellows Music
Makers, of Charlotte, the best known
musical organization in the Caro
linas, to give the musical program.
There will be several local speakers
and the picture to be shown is the
popular feature, "Ramona."
The Good Fellows Music Makers will
bring with them thirty performers,
orchestra, soloists and chorus. It
represents the best talent procurable
in this section and its programs are J
prepared to have an appeal to folks
of all musical tastes. The Good Fel- j
lows are at home in all classes of j
music. They sing every type of music, '
from a light ballad to a grand opera,
selection. The orchestra is composed
of ten professional musicians and is;
one of the most popular orchestras!
in the entire South. »
The Good Fellows Music Makers,
is a civic musical organization made
up of some* of the foremost people j
of Charlotte who are deeply inter- j
fcsted in music and they have work- j
ed so hard and faithfully at their 1
hobby, that the organization has j
been taken entirely out of the am-J
ateur class, and it shows the freedom, i
abandon, and degree of showmanship !
of professionals. Some of* the sing
ers are: Earl Rasor, tenor; John
o'Daniel, bass; C. M. Hassell, tenor;
Emily Cullum, contralto; Grace Kohn
Johnson, soprano; Gertrude Gowner, i
jsoprano; Joan Gottheimer, soprano;
Annie Mae Pritchett Baker, contral
to; Mary Sims Sloan, soprano; Wm.
'Clegg Monroe, baritone; Rachael Roz
:zelle,"contralto; W. H. Neal, baritone;
Ralph Urey, bass; Joseph Over
-1 meyer, tenor; Bennie Withers, con
tralto; David Orens, Eugene Craft,
i accompanist and Frank Crayton, di
rector.
»
The orchestra is made up of:
David Lajoie, violin; Elizabeth
' Trappe, violin; Remo Malinarolli; cel
lo; Eugene Hayes, cornet; Johnston
i H. Brown, trombone; E. E. Houston,
'bass; E. D. Shaw, clarinet, and How
jard Beatty, drums.
( The Good Fellows will be accomp
anied by Secretary Keuster of the
i Charlotte Chamber of Commerce,
| who is extremely enthusiastic about
jthe Romina, and in fact about Forest
j City as a whole.
S The Forest City Kiwanis Club will
j entertain Mr. Haynes, Mr. Hughes,
! and their guests at dinner in their
| banquet Hall at Blanton's Cafe at
■ six o'clock on Thursday evening. This
! will be a notable event in the wel
come given the new theatre and its
management by Forest City people.
The program for the evening will
consist of the Good Fellows program,
the picture "Ramona", and some op
ening exercises that will feature
some excellent speakers. Mr. Keuster
on behalf of Mr. Haynes will present
the theatre to the people of Forest
City and Rutherford County. The
acceptance address for the city will
be made by Mayor Charles Z. Flack,
and for the county by Supt. Clyde
Erwin.
Forest City is indeed fortunate to
have such a beautiful theatre and
the quality of the productions off
ered makes The Romina a particul
arly valuable addition to the town.
There have been few additions to
the town that will have the signifi
cance of the new theatre. Good
amugtement is an important feature
in modern life and the cultural value
of good motion pictures and music
is one of the accepted facts of pres
ent day civilization. Mr. Haynes and
Mr. Hughes recognize these facts
1 6 Pages
96 COLUMNS
?(.09 Per \ rin
1928 PROSPEROUS
AND PROFITABLE
YEAR FOR CITY
Building Permits Totaling
About $300,000 Issued
During 1928—Out
look for 1929
Bright
Forest City has every reason to
look back with abundant satisfac
tion on the year 1928. In spite of
the fact that it was election year,
which according to some people, is
every reason for a business slump, it
was a good year. Much has been ac
complished by the town during the
past year, the merchants have all
prospered and many new firms have
been established.
[ Building permits totaling nearly
$300,000.00 have been issued by the
city clerk during the past calendar
year. Thirty-five permits, amounting
to approximately $100,000.00, were
issued for the erection of residences.
Seven permits to erect business hous
es were issued. These amounted to
about $150,000.00. One of these
was a permit to build a new $150,-
000.00 theatre, which has just been
completed and will be formally op
ened Thursday night. Permits were
also issued amounting to several
thousand dollars, for repair work.
Forest City's handsome new city
hall, was also erected at an approx
imate cost of $30,000.00 during the
past year.
Forest City has purchased new
fire fighting apparatus, but it is not
expected to be delivered until some
time next week.
Many new firms have been estab
lished in Forest City during the past
year. Among these are two ice cream
parlors, clothing store, grocery store,
drug store, dry cleaning establish
ment, automobile dealer, restaurant,
furniture store, several radio deal
ers and filling stations.
Four new buildings have been
erected in the main business sec
tion of the city. They are as follows:
A new city hall, the Romina Theatre.,
which has just been erected by Mr.
W. H. Haynes, of Cliffside; an auto
mobile display room and filling sta
tion combined, which is used by the
Huntley Motor Co.; and the Young
Filling Station.
The year 1929 is expected to be
even a more prosperous year for
Forest City. Mr. W. L. Horn is
planning the erection of a new
'theatre, while Mr. T. R. Padgett is
contemplating the erection of a new
furniture store and undertaking
establishment.
FOREST CITY TO PLAY
GASTONIA FRIDAY
| The Golden Tornado, of Forest
j City Hi, will play the strong Gastonia
hard floor quint on the local court,
Friday night, Jan. 4, at 7:30. Gas
tonia has one of the best teams in
the state. Forest City has playsd
Gastonia this season winning by a
small margin. If you want to seee
a good basket-ball game come out
Friday night. Back the local boys
give them a good start toward the
state championship and the boys
will do their part in winning the
games that they have to play this
season. Come out, the boys need
the town's support.
PORTER-HOLLAND
Mr. Calvin 0. Porter of Charlotte
was married Wednesday to Miss
Mary Janet Holland, attractive
daughter of Mr. J. L. Holland of
Forest City. The ceremony was per
formed at the home of the bride's
parents by Rev. C. C. Matheny. Both
the bride and groom are from well
known families.
and in their plans have taken them
very carefully into consideration.
They plan to have the best pictures
and to co-ordinate with these pic
tures the best music obtainable.
These aims are in their way, as great
a thing, for the town as the beauti
i ful building.