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Badger Theater
Entertains Many during the Past 73 Years
By William C. Schuette
Excerpted
from the book,
Reedsburg Remembers 150 Years.
When early settlers in the
village of Reedsburg got together to entertain themselves before the turn of the
century, they organized dances and picnics.
As the century turned, and
Thomas Edison’s popularization of the motion picture spread across the
country, Reedsburg was not bypassed by these magic moving pictures.
Around 1900, Mr. Frank and his
two sisters, from Tomah, were operating a theater in Reedsburg. The evening’s
show consisted of colored slides with vocal accompaniment and a two-reel feature
film for 5 and 10 cents. The theater was located at 325 Main Street (current
site of the Farmer’s Market).
In 1921, Oscar V. and Mida
Kelly bought the Majestic (originally opened in 1915) and provided entertainment
there until 1924. That year the theater was moved into a new 33' x 132' building
at 326 East Main, and renamed the Badger Theater. The auditorium held 400
patrons and had a pipe organ. It also boasted a 16' x 23' stage where programs
and plays could be presented. A newspaper article of the day noted that
"..the theater-going public may be assured the very best accommodations in
this neat little show house which will be one of the best in the state for its
size."
A fire broke out in the
projection booth in November, 1927 when the highly flammable film ignited.
Damage was mostly limited to smoke, and Mr. Kelly called attention to the fact
that the booth had been constructed of fireproof materials and automatic fire
shutters dropped down to protect the auditorium.
O.V. Kelly operated the theater
until 1942, and upon his death Mrs. Kelly continued the business. In 1948, the
Kelly’s son, Richard joined the management.
During the years the Kellys
owned the theater, a lighted canopy and air conditioning were added. The Badger
was one of the first theaters in the area to show the new "talkies"
when sound was added to the movies.
Wayne Kelly, son of the owner,
recalled, in a recent interview, some incidents that occurred when his family
ran the Badger Theater. He recalled that when the movie, "She Wore A Yellow
Ribbon" came to play in the theater in the early 1950's, the title was
placed on the marque the night before. Below the title was placed the words
"And also Selected Shorts."
It seems that a local clergyman
was offended by the implication of the wording and he called the Kelleys to
complain. Before 9 a.m. the following morning, the marquee was changed.
Mr. Kelly also recalled the
time when his young cousins came to visit. They were pre-schoolers, but wanted
to help in the theater. Wayne’s father gave them knives and told them to
scrape off the gum under the seats. Mr. Kelly returned later and asked how the
kids were doing. They responded that things were going fine—their cheeks
bulging with the refuse from the fruits of their labors.
In 1948, new projection and
sound equipment was installed and the inside was redecorated.
In 1960, Senator John F.
Kennedy, who was campaigning for president, made a speech from the theater’s
stage. Coincidentally, on that November day in 1963 when President Kennedy was
assassinated, the Badger was playing the movie PT-109, which was the story of
his military career. In respect the theater was closed on the day of President
Kennedy’s funeral.
Elmer V. Krueger purchased the
theater in 1962 and has owned and operated it to the present. Shortly after the
purchase, a new screen and proscenium curtain were installed. Seating capacity
was reduced from 500 to the present 400.
The theater lobby and restrooms
were completely renovated in 1972.
In 1994 a Dolby sound system
was installed in the Badger, the second theater in the state to be equipped with
the new type of sound enhancement.
Recently the gold finish was
restored to the auditorium columns and wall decorations.
In a May, 1990 interview with
the Reedsburg Times-Press, Elmer Krueger recalled several interesting
incidents which occurred during his career at the Badger. "One night a lady
who was standing at the inside box office window was greatly shocked when her
car, that had been parked in front of the theater with the motor running,
suddenly crashed into the theater doors in front of her. It seems that a child
left on the front seat had put the vehicle in gear."
Another time a van slid on some
ice and crashed into the ticket booth. Dorothy Seamonson, who was selling
tickets, had fortunately just vacated the booth.
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