By GLENDA MCCARTHY,
the Georgian
Movie theatres have been providing entertainment to the residents of the Bay St. George area since the first theatre opened in the 1940s.
Over the past 50 years, Stephenville has had three theatres, the Page, the Dome and the Harmon Theatre.
The Harmon Theatre has been open since the late 1940s when it was run by the Americans. At that time, residents of Stephenville were not routinely permitted on the base for recreation so eventually the Page and Dome theatres on Main Street were opened for them.
The Harmon Theatre closed in the 60s but was reopened in the early 70s by the well known theatre chain Famous Players.
"Shortly after the liner board mill closed up, Famous Players hauled out of here," says current owner Tony McDonald.
The theatre was then taken over by an independent group until 1987 when Mr. McDonald purchased it.
According to Mr. McDonald the theatre is considered a landmark.
"It was known far and wide during the war when the Americans were here. People such as Mae West, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope performed on the stage."
Neil Sheppard who currently takes ticket stubs at the Harmon Theatre, also worked at the Dome theatre back in the 70s. It was located on Main Street on the site next to the current Acadian Restaurant.
He worked at the Dome for five years where he took tickets at the door and cleaned up when the movie was over.
"A lot of people went there. It used to be full every night."
According to Mr. Sheppard, the Page theatre and the Dome theatre were open at the same time.
Ruth Lee went to see movies at the Dome Theatre many times when she was a teenager.
"When I was small I used to go once a week but when I started dating I went a couple of times a week."
She says the Dome Theatre was close to the size of the Harmon Theatre in length but the screen wasn't as big as at the Harmon Theatre.
"I remember that if you had 25 cents, you had enough money to get into the movie and still get a bag of chips and a pop."
One of the things she remembers most is the serials shown each week.
"Before the movie would start, they would show 10 or 15 minutes of a different movie which would cut off suddenly. Then of course, we couldn't wait to go to the movies again the next week so we could see what happened next in the serial."
Ms. Lee says she can also remember attending the Page Theatre as well.
"I can vaguely remember going to the Page Theatre. I remember that it was a lot nicer than the Dome and it seemed like it was more modern and cleaner."
The Harmon Theatre is the only one of the three theatres that still remains but the memories people have of the Page and the Dome will live on in the residents of Stephenville.
The staff of the Harmon Theatre in 1980 included from left: Joe Young, Philip King, manager Lloyd Simms, Mary Anne Marche, Joan Humber, Vera White and Judy Skinner. Missing from photo was Mickey Tobin.
Big crowds were a common occurrence at the Harmon Theatre during the days of the air force base, as well as afterwards.
The Dome Theatre was located on Main Street near the corner of Queen Street. Today that site is occupied by the new PetroCanada gas bar.
The Page Theatre was also on Main Street. It was located on the site of the current Riffs department store.