Building Specialists Renovates Historic REX Theatre

THE GAZETTE
SECTION
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WEEKEND EDITION, FEBRUARY 28- MARCH 2, 2014
TWIN COUNTY LIVING
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SOMETHING TO DO/3B
TODD JENNINGS/4B
CROSSWORD/3B
CLASSIFIEDS/11B-13B
hidden
treasures
One generation’s trash is another generation’s treasure,
according to the construction company that is working on
a replacement ceiling to the Rex Theater in Downtown Galax.
After tearing down the old ceiling structure, they found and
salvaged a number of old pieces of theater memorabilia that
will be displayed in the theater after it re-opens.
By SHAINA STOCKTON
Staff
Renovations at the Rex
Theater started to resemble an
artifact dig when Building
Specialists Construction and
Design Superintendent Josh
Beisley began spotting piles of
old wrappers and boxes while
taking down the ceiling.
Old gum wrappers, a popcorn
box, aspirin bottles, ticket stubs
and receipts were among the
many things that had been
dropped by theater patrons over
the years at the movie house that
operated from the 1930s to the
mid-1980s, and collected where
they have now been found several decades later.
The historic landmark theater, now a music and performance venue, was closed in
January for renovations to the
ceiling, and the company is
also working with the Galax
Visitor Center to store these
surprise finds in a display case
just inside the entrance.
“I’ve found a lot of old items
during renovations, but I’ve
never found anything like this
before,” Beisley told The
Gazette.
The crew started seeing the
old wrappers and boxes while
they were pulling down the old
ceiling on the upper floors of the
theater. “There was so much dust
while we were working, but the
colors [of these wrappers] just
stood out.”
He brought out a sleek black
board mounted with close to 30
different wrappers, caps and
boxes that were found and kept
as the mess was cleaned out.
Some of the containers and
wrappers date back as far as the
early 1930s, he said.
“If you look at some of these,
you can actually see the evolution of the packaging through the
decades,” commented Kathleen
Haskin from the Galax Visitor
Center, where Beisley had taken
his findings.
Tourism Director Ray Kohl
said that he spent hours cleaning
what the crew brought him.
“I was using this tiny brush to
clean them off,” he said. Some
were very delicate because of
age and he didn’t want to damage anything.
Although he recognized some
of the old wrappers, he was surprised at a few, as well.
“My favorite one is the popcorn box,” he laughed. A box of
Burch’s Jumbo Popcorn, decorated with a circus clown and
Jumbo the elephant, claims what
is now considered a type of junk
food as a trusted source of nutrition.
One description claimed that
the consumer would have “sparkling eyes and more pep!” after
finishing the snack.
The prices were even more
impressive, with ticket prices
and snack labels adding up to
less than a dollar for a trip to the
movies. “I remember when you
Above: Kathleen Haskin holds up a Christmas
cardboard standee that construction workers found
while removing the old ceiling in the Rex Theater.
Right: The crew continued to find an assortment of
old wrappers and boxes as they worked, so they
brought them all to Ray Kohl at the Galax Visitor
Center for safe-keeping. Some old treasures included
gum and candy wrappers, and a box of popcorn which
was labeled as health food during its day.
Photos courtesy of Kathleen Haskin.
Gazette photos by Shaina Stockton.
could get a ticket and a snack at
the concession stand for around
45 cents,” said a bystander as he
looked at the collection.
Other random items — such as
an old Pepsi bottle with the cork
still inside the cap; an old pack
of Camel brand cigarettes and
old aspirin bottles, one with the
medicine still inside — were collected, as well.
But not all of the finds were
quite as small. Haskin pulled
out a Christmas cardboard
standee that once complimented
a larger likeness of Santa’s grinning mug; and Beisley mentioned that an old fire extinguisher powered by a soda acid
solution balanced at the top of
the tank, had been placed out of
sight and forgotten — probably
more than 50 years ago.
“To use it, you would tip the
extinguisher and spill the soda,
and it would create pressure
inside,” they explained.
They are still on the lookout
for a second extinguisher, since
they were required to be mounted at each exit.
Kohl is excited to put everything together inside the display
for others to see. “It will be great
for those of us who are nostalgic,
and for younger generations so
they can see the way things
were,” he said.
Renovations to the Rex are
expected to be finished by the
end of March.
From left: Joey Davis, Kathleen Haskin and Josh Beisley hold a collection
of memorabilia that was found during renovations to the Rex Theater.
Patrons will be able to view the collection in the theater lobby when
construction is finished at the end of March.