Bloggin’ ain’t easy! (Apologies to Big Daddy Kane)
Trying to entertain and educate the South Florida Theater Organ Society reader is a tough task.
One of the difficulties of being a blogger for a theater organ society, is trying to tie different subjects together, like organs with soda fountains. Since our next meeting on March 30 at 7:00 pm of the SFTOS includes a lecture, “The History of the Soda Fountain” by historian Robert Fenney, I scratched my head and thought, “These two inventions have nothing in common.”
But before I jumped into researching these inventions, I recalled my small town drugstore. Rashkins—owned by Dave and Sylvia, which was my favorite soda fountain hangout. I remembered the number of hours my elbows rested on the marble counter as my butt sat squarely on the red faux leather, circular, spinning stools. I watched the soda fountain jerk toss a scoop of butter pecan ice cream into the aluminum shaker.
The cold metal shaker felt so good in my hands.
The jerk wore the obligatory white paper hat with its red stripe while whipping up a lime rickey, or a root beer float or an egg cream or an chocolate ice cream shake.
I also recalled going up to the Lodge at Wakulla Springs, near Tallahassee, with the family. We sat at their 1920’s soda fountain counter; watched the kids noisily, sucking up–through red and white stripe straws—thick strawberry malted shakes out of ice-cold silver mixing canisters.
We were riding high in April with love of family, ice cream and nostalgia filling our hearts as the Wurlitzer jukebox played in the background.
Well back to my search for commonalities between soda fountains and theater organs. To my great surprise the nexuses popped up like corn in the fields.
Here they are.
Both theater organs and soda fountains:
1. Had their heydays (Didn’t we all) Over seven thousand theater organs installed from 1913 to 1933;
2. Were highly popular in the 1920s (The Golden Years);
3. Had periods of disfavor. This happened to theater organs in the 1940’s. Imagine one day your housed in a magnificent movie palace playing Strauss and a year later your slumming it in a Shakey’s Pizza Parlor playing ragtime and Dixieland jazz. Well that’s life! Frank put the words to song, “You’re riding high in April, shot down in May.”
Many theater organs fell out of use and many were scrapped or abandoned to trash heaps—only later to be rediscovered and rescued by preservationists, the American Theater Organ Society members (formed in 1955), collectors and enthusiasts;
4. Were almost killed off by the march of progress (The talkies and Dairy Queens);
5. Served a valuable function as public spaces where neighbors socialized;
6. Had a professional performing before an audience—one a highly talented musician and the other one called a “jerk”;
7. Brought us back to a nostalgic era. Thereby allowing us to sing Mary Hopkin’s immortal lyrics:
“Those were the days my friend,
We thought they’d never end…”;
8. Brought joy into our lives and still do.
So what life lessons can we learn from such disparate objects as a theater organ and a soda fountain.
Well, they’re just like us older folks:
They had heydays;
They had periods of popularity;
Only to be followed by periods of disuse and abandonment;
They needed preservation.
But hopefully, just like the theater organ and the soda fountain, we brought joy into the lives of those we loved—that’s what makes us immortal—just like these two great American icons.
Want a trip down memory lane, then come to our next SFTOS meeting at Joel and Pam Jancko’s Our Backyard Museum.
Want to remember your favorite soda fountain—two straws in one soda glass, your favorite ice cream flavor and hear the sweetest organ music in South Florida played by resident organist Stephen Brittain on the Opus 1616.
So don’t be a puppet, a pauper, a pirate— but become a king by joining the SFTOS and reserving your seat for the lecture and concert on March 30.
So don’t find yourself flat on your face, pick yourself up and contact our President Susie Tuchklaper at events@sftos.org for all info.
Joinin’ is easy!
