Use Restrictions

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Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Dixie Theatre and Strand Theatre [Staunton, Virginia] Campaign Booklets, 1950-1954, SC 0305, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Booklets were purchased from Tim Abbott Americana in July 2020.

Processing Information

Folder titles were applied based on the cover title written on each booklet and the theatre where each campaign took place.

Bio/Historical Note

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.

Scope and Content

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.

Arrangement

The booklets are arranged chronologically.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Advertising
• Amusements -- Virginia -- Staunton -- 20th century
• Newspaper clippings
• Photographs
• Printed Ephemera
• Promotional materials
• Staunton (Va.) -- History -- 20th century
• Theater -- Virginia -- Staunton -- 20th century
• Theater programs
• Theater programs -- Virginia -- Staunton -- 20th century