FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2017
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 5
Local
Former local reminisces about Orpheum
SUBMITTED BY
GEORGE KIRKLIN
News@TheBakerCountyPress.com
Author of this piece and
lawyer George Kirklin
lived in Baker from 1937
until college in 1955. As a
little kid he watched many
movies in the old Orpheum
Theater. Later when after
the war the gutted Or-
pheum was replaced by
the Baker Theater he saw
many more in that theater.
When he was in Baker City
for Miners Jubilee earlier
this month, he was inspired
to pen this article.
We moved to Baker
in August, 1937, when
my dad, Harold Kirklin,
became music director in
the Senior and Junior High
Schools. There were three
movie theaters in town
then, all on Main Street.
On the east side of Main
were the Clarick and the
Empire. The Orpheum
was on the west side of the
street, flanked by Mueg-
ge’s Drugs to the south
and Clegg’s Market to the
north.
In November, 1937,
the Clarick burned to the
ground, a daytime spec-
tacle watched by much
of Baker’s population.
While the owners, the
Buckmillers, planned its
replacement, the Orpheum
and Empire continued to
operate on Main.
I saw my first movies at
the Orpheum in 1940, and
I was enthralled.
I loved sitting in the
balcony, and I’ll always
remember the red stage
curtain and the Polka Dot
Café, which occupied a
shallow space at the front
of the theater immedi-
ately south of the theater
entrance and marquee.
At that young age, I was
not allowed to be taken to
the Empire, or, as dubbed
by my mother, the “Im-
pure,” because kids reput-
edly urinated in the aisles.
I didn’t get to go there
until after I started school
in 1943.
The Orpheum’s en-
trance was recessed from
the street (as it always
had been) and the ticket
booth was a stand-alone
affair with loud speakers
mounted on its roof. The
underside of the marquee
was lit with rows of incan-
descent lightbulbs.
As old photographs
show, for most of its ex-
istence the Orpheum was
only one storefront wide,
with an arched entryway
and no marquee.
The theater opened on
Labor Day, September 6,
1909.
Before then the space
was occupied by retail
establishments.
A photograph from
around 1890 (at right)
shows that the theater
space was once occupied
by the “New York Store.”
Old photos also show that
the space was in a sepa-
rate building adjoining a
building to the south which
housed a retail store next
door to the theater.
At some point, probably
in the 1930s, the theater
was widened to include the
adjacent space.
I suspect the balcony
girder, which spans both
the original theater space
and the adjacent retail
space, was added then.
By the time I came along
in 1937, or very shortly
afterward, the theater oc-
cupied both spaces.
I recall fragments of
many movies I saw at the
Orpheum as a little kid,
and two that stand out in
detail: Charlie Chaplin’s
“The Gold Rush,” and, a
week or two before the the-
ater was destroyed by fire,
Irving Berlin’s “This Is the
Army.”
Another of my Orpheum
memories is the ritual fol-
lowed before each matinee
after the U.S. entered
World War Two.
A member of the theater
staff came out on stage
and led the audience in the
Pledge of Allegiance and
a stanza of “God Bless
America.”
For a short time, we fol-
lowed the original manner
of saluting the flag while
reciting the pledge, which
was to extend the right
arm out and upward, palm
down.
That practice ended in
December, 1942, because
the flag salute was identi-
cal to the Nazi salute. We
began reciting the pledge
with the right hand placed
over the heart.
In the early morning
hours of September 15,
1943, the Orpheum Theater
burned.
The fire was not discov-
ered until around 6 a.m.
after the theater roof had
collapsed.
All the fire department
could do was prevent the
fire from spreading to
the roofs of the adjacent
buildings. The interior of
the theater, except for the
lobby and the little cafe,
was totally destroyed.
The south wall of
Clegg’s Market next door
to the north was badly
discolored from the heat
which had penetrated the
common wall it shared
with the theater.
One could see the
complete destruction of
the theater from the alley
where the rear door was
ajar. Nothing remained
but charred rubble and
scorched brick walls.
The front wall of the
theater building facing
Main Street had been
weakened by the fire, with
long cracks extending from
the two supports for the
marquee.
Wooden posts were
placed under the marquee
to prevent it from collaps-
ing onto the sidewalk.
The gutted remains
and propped-up marquee
remained in that condition
throughout the remainder
of the war.
Baker was back to two
theaters, the Empire and
the Eltrym, which had
opened in 1940 as the
Clarick’s replacement,
and which was named for
Myrtle Buckmiller who
had died during its con-
struction.
Meanwhile, a group of
juveniles calling itself the
“Panther Gang” made its
headquarters in the gutted
basement of the theater un-
til they were apprehended
in 1946, as I recall, for the
thefts they had committed.
Work began on the
construction of a new
theater in the old space in
late 1947 or early 1948.
When the rubble had been
cleared, all that remained
were the four brick walls
and the balcony girder—
the same one now vis-
ible as work progresses
in restoring the “Baker
Orpheum Theater.”
During the summer of
1948 I frequently watched
the progress of construc-
tion from the alley behind
the theater.
The new theater opened
in December, 1948, as
the “Baker Theater” with
a new, modern marquee
Photo courtesy of the Baker County Public Library.
The location of the Orpheum circa 1890 from the library’s archives via Gary
Dielman.
Photo courtesy of the Oregon Historical Society
The Orpheum Theater on fire.
which spanned the full
width of the theater. The
same girder which had
supported the Orpheum’s
balcony now supported the
new theater’s balcony.
The first movie I saw at
the Baker that December
was “Mr. Peabody and
the Mermaid,” starring
William Powell and Ann
Blythe.
After the Baker Theater
ceased operations the space
was occupied for many
years by several retail
establishments.
The theater was hidden
behind a false ceiling, false
floor, and wall partitions,
but the presence of the
balcony girder was evident
in the store’s ceiling which
had a vertical projection
spanning the store’s width.
When I was in Baker
for Miner’s Jubilee last
year I was happy to learn
of the plans to recreate a
new theater 108 years after
the original opened for
business.
Free pheasant hunts happening around Oregon
Youth hunters (age 17
and under) can sign up
now for ODFW’s free
pheasant hunts happening
around the state in Sep-
tember.
The events are being
held in Baker City, Central
Point, Corvallis, Eugene,
Irrigon/Umatilla, John
Day, Klamath Falls, La
Grande, Madras, Port-
land, The Dalles (Tygh
Valley). See dates below
and register online (see
Register for a Class/Youth
Upland Hunts), at a license
sales agent or at an ODFW
office that sells licenses.
Note that the Ladd Marsh
and Fern Ridge hunts do
not require advance regis-
tration.
ODFW and partners
stock pheasants at these
special hunts that give
youth a head start on
regular pheasant sea-
sons, which don’t begin
until October. Quail and
dove can also be hunted.
Volunteers often bring
their trained hunting dogs
to hunt with participants.
Some events also begin
with a shotgun skills clinic,
so participants can practice
clay target shooting before
hunting.
These events are only
open to youth who have
passed hunter education.
(ODFW has many hunter
education classes and field
days available before the
events.)
An adult 21 years of age
or older must accompany
the youth to supervise but
may not hunt.
“If your child made it
through hunter education
but is still new to the sport,
this is a great way to get
them started,” says James
Reed, ODFW hunter edu-
cation coordinator. “These
events happen before regu-
lar pheasant seasons open
and are a great opportunity
for kids to get out hunt-
ing.”
ODFW stresses safety
during the hunts. Both
hunter and supervisor must
wear a hunter orange hat,
eye protection and a hunter
orange vest—equipment
provided by ODFW at
the clinics to anyone who
doesn’t have it. Hunters
also need to check in and
out of the hunt.
The hunts are free,
though participants need a
valid hunting license ($10
for youth 12 and older,
free for age 11 and under)
to hunt. Youth hunters age
12-17 also need an upland
game bird validation ($4).
Purchase online, at
a license sales agent or
ODFW office that sells
licenses.
Licenses and validations
will not be sold at the
events.
While most areas have
a hunt both Saturday and
Sunday, youth hunters may
only sign up for one hunt.
They are welcome to hunt
stand by on the other day.
See the links below (from
www.odfwcalendar.com)
for more details including
who to contact for more
information.
Baker City area, Sept.
23 and Sept. 24. Note
this event is not near the
Baldock Slough Wetlands
Project (regulations are in
error).
People who register for
the event will be notified of
its location via email.
Central Point, Denman
Wildlife Area, Sept. 16 and
Sept. 17.
Corvallis (near Camp
Adair), EE Wilson Wildlife
Area, Sept. 23 and Sept.
24.
Eugene, Fern Ridge
Wildlife Area, Sept. 9 and
Sept. 10. Registration not
necessary but appreciated.
Irrigon Wildlife Area
(between Irrigon and Uma-
tilla), Sept. 23 and Sept.
24, sign up for morning
or evening hunt (morning
Photo courtesy of ODFW.
Pheasant rooster.
only on Sunday), see event
listings at www.odfwcalen-
dar.com
Klamath Falls, Klamath
Wildlife Area, Sept. 16 and
Sept. 17. Additional hunt
on Oct. 21 when Miller
Island Unit open to youth
hunters only from 10 a.m.
on a first-come, first-serve
basis.
John Day Valley, Sept.
16 and Sept. 17
La Grande, Ladd Marsh
Wildlife Area, Sept. 16
and Sept. 17. No advance
registration required.
Madras, Gateway Can-
yon Preserve, Sept. 9 and
Sept. 10, sign up for one of
several three-hour hunting
shifts.
Portland, Sauvie Island
Wildlife Area, Sept. 16 and
Sept. 17.
Tygh Valley/The Dalles,
White River Wildlife Area,
Sept. 16 and Sept. 17.