Unfortunately the body of the below article is difficult to read but Ill attempt to summarize. As noted in the headline Ralph Sobelson retired after operating downtown Bangors Strand Theatre for 44 years. Sobelson operated the Strand continuously from August 15 1920 until his retirement in Sept. 1964. During his time of operating the Strand there were two other theaters operating in Bangor. The Music Hall theater was just a couple buildings away from Town Hall, The Broadway theater had its entrance on Broadway in the Bray Buiiding which housed Marys Restaurant in 1964. Anyone recall that? To reduce competition Sobelson bought the Broadway theater which was just doors away. Sobelson alway kept The Strand current with the technology of the times and remodeled the building several times during his tenure there. Also the Blue Laws of the times yielded to modernity as Sunday shows started during Sobelsons reign. Sobelson called his 44 years as owner of the Strand as extremely rewarding.The years as owner brought him in contact with thousands of persons from all walks of life and was particularly appreciative of the people of the Slate Belt which was home to him as well. On a personal note I recall during my younger years when my friends and I would pelt amorous teenage couples with jujubes, a small hard candy popular during the 50s and 60s. Sobelson would parade down the aisle with his flashlight and tell us to knock it off before he gave us the heave ho! Also of note on this page is an article about the Bangor Bombers youth football team. If you can read it there are many familiar names of the era as players. And the coaches also are firmly entrenched in Slate Belt lore: Bobby Owens, Angelo Polo, Melvin Blake and Al Zito.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 22:48:02 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015