10 minute read
REMEMBERING THE GILLIOZ
Remembering the Gillioz Theatre
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This tribute to M.E. Gillioz, available space to reflect with historic by Albert R. Waters, indisympathy the theatre had that everyone cated Gillioz was larger than remembers. That was the social gatherlife and determined to acing place in Monett for many years.” complish many great things The miniature venue will hold apthroughout his life. proximately 26 seats, and include the
Locally, many area residents fondly decorative capstone from the original M.E. Gillioz recall the Gillioz Theatre, located in the 600 block of Broadway, having spent The Gillioz Theatre opened in 1931 and was the social many hours there watching the latest gathering place for area residents. movies until it closed in the late 1970s and was finally torn down in 1987.
However, all is not lost.
Above the Monett Historical Museum, located at 422 E. Broadway, a small theatre is being built that will reflect the essence of the former elegant structure, even incorporating some original materials into the construction.
“This is really an homage to Gillioz, and his contributions to the community,” said Mark Henderson, one of those responsible for spearheading the project and a Gillioz Theatre employee while in high school. “We want to adapt the
theatre, a replica of the compass floor medallion in the lobby, and the cherub from the door header in the original auditorium.
The floor medallion will feature a nine-inch centerpiece made from original marble that surrounded the theatre’s façade.
The one-ton capstone from the former theatre will now be featured in the concession area of the replica, since it is too heavy and too large to be displayed as it was in the original structure. The concession area will also boast a display of Gillioz memorabilia, including some movie posters recovered from the basement of the original theatre before it underwent demolition.
“I have the John Wayne poster for The Shootist, which is rare,” Henderson said.
Even the seats are going to be from the same era as the original theatre in Monett.
“We found seats on Craigslist that matched the originals,” Henderson said. “We will strip the wood and refinish them, and recover the upholstery to complement the interior decor,” Henderson said. “These were recovered from the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield. They even have the ‘G’ stamped in the sides.”
“We are kind of doing this as we go along,” said Thad Hood, of HHR Construction in Monett, whose crew is doing the construction. “We had an architect for code enforcement only. The rest, we have designed and built ourselves.”
The auditorium will feature a 120- inch screen, nearly filling the entire stage backdrop.
“There will even be a marquee above the entrance and, in the concession area, a vintage popcorn machine that works,” Henderson said.
Additional display items from Gillioz exhibits downstairs will also be relocated to the concession stand area upon completion of the project.
Memorabilia from the Gillioz Theatre and other business ventures of local entrepreneur M.E. Gillioz will be on display in the small replica theatre currently under construction on the top floor of the Monett Historical Museum in Monett.
While a majority of the construction is nearing completion, funds are still needed to acquire some additional elements, such as tracer lights for the marquee, the audio/visual equipment and other general construction costs.
“Our funding is at the mercy of donations and pledges,” Hood said. “We uncovered about 140 movie posters from the basement, some of which will be on display in the replica theatre. Others, we may auction at a fundraiser or something.”
Hood said people may also purchase Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) credits to help fund the project through Dec. 31.
“We are also looking for vintage business signs to hang in the upstairs hallway,” Henderson said. “We have some, from the Black Kettle, Judge Pinnell’s lawyer sign, Brownsberger’s and a vintage Sherwin-Williams. We’d like to have as many as possible for display. We’d also love to have more artifacts and memorabilia from the original theatre.
“We’d really love to be able to recover the urns that sat on top of the original theatre. There were two of them, and they were still there about two months before the demolition. We think they were removed and survived. They’d be about two feet tall and made of Carthage limestone.”
Henderson and Hood are also saving a few other elements that will be a surprise to museum visitors seeing the replica upon its completion.
“I think people will be pleased,” Henderson said. “This is truly a tribute to Mr. Gillioz. He was the largest employer in the area. He had his construction business where he built highways, bridges, schools and theaters, as well as a car dealership, bank, auto repair and a clothing company.” n
Major Renovation of Replica Theatre
The area where the replica theatre, in homage to M.E. Gillioz, will be situated started out as anything but a blank slate. Thad Hood, owner of HHR Construction in Monett, and his crew are busy revamping the small area above the Monett Historical Museum to create a miniature theatre reminiscent of the original Gillioz Theatre in Monett
By Pam Wormington
Deep Doo-Doo
When you’re in over your head
As you know we haven’t had a shortage of rain this spring in the Ozarks. On a cattle farm, mix that with the remnants of a herd of cows and you get an abundance of muck. I have probably mentioned that we intensive graze our cattle. What that means is we have small areas of our farm fenced off and we allow cows to graze on a paddock of fresh greens daily, sometimes twice daily. Joel Salatin refers to it as Salad Bar beef. It also allows our cows to maintain a girlish figure. They are just like humans, they like routine and when they hear us in the field, they expect us to open a gate and allow them to start grazing on fresh green pasture. The rancher asked me to move cows a couple of days ago while he was gone hauling milk. Thinking about the environment, I chose to take the mini truck to do the job. My logical thinking was that it has four-wheel drive, and I would be enclosed should the muck start flying and whatever supplies I would need would be in the bed of the little pickup. I also remember him saying while giving the instructions, that I would need to tie the gate to the fence as the cows would probably not be eager to move to my chosen paddock. So, this girl and her dog get in the truck and head out to the field. Arriving at the destination to hear the loud greetings of a herd of hungry cows. I got out of the truck, waded through the muck with my ratchet straps and opened the gate. It was a stampede!!! I flung the straps around the gate,
pulled tight and stood in the gap so that the cows would head on in to the appropriate paddock. I was feeling quite confident that I managed to move the cows just like I was asked. Well, with the exception of the baby calves that run and play hide n seek with the mommas and catch me if you can under the electric fence. I get in the truck to head back to the house only to discover that I’m stuck in the muck.
No problem, I’ll just put it in four-wheel drive. That’s when I discovered the lever didn’t work. So I start searching for something to put in front of the tires to make traction. After that didn’t work, I thought to myself, it is a mini truck, I’ll get out and push and that didn’t work either. When all else fails, call the boss. I believe his loud response was “Of all the choices, why did you pick that vehicle?” I could tell, he really didn’t want to know my response, so I just hung up the phone. It was at that point that I abandoned ship, and my dog and I walked back to the house, with little curious calves following us. This is when I realized I was in deep doo-doo, literally! Just like a kid that waits for the other parent to get home to dish out their punishment, I waited for the Rancher to get home so WE could get the truck unstuck. Just as time or luck would have it, we ate supper and then I had to run to Bible study. Thank the Lord! The boss walked to the truck in the field while I was gone thinking he would rescue it, but unfortunately had to walk back to the house empty handed. The next morning rolls around, and we head out to the field with the ‘Old faithful Jeep’ and a chain. Oh wait, did I mention that when I left the truck, I also left the switch key turned on? Yep, now we have a dead battery too. Chain to the front, pull pull pull, and no success. Chain to the back, pull pull pull, and no success. You drive the Jeep, and I will drive the truck; you drive the truck and I’ll drive the Jeep. After several attempts at what appeared to be a Chinese
Fire Drill, the Jeep pulls the mini truck out of the muck into a field with a little less muck. Remember the battery is dead, so now we have to get the tractor to pull the truck up hill and back to the barn. Let’s just say, I didn’t need a workout this morning because my adrenal glands were working overtime. As I steered the truck, I looked directly at the spears on the back of the tractor, thinking if something goes less than ideal, I could be another farm casualty, and we know I already asked to be the fired hired hand and that didn’t work. The tractor driver kept glancing back at me with a slight grin. I wasn’t sure whether to smile or cry. Thinking back on my choice, to prevent making the same mistake twice, I asked, “So how can you tell if the truck is in fourwheel drive, if the lever doesn’t work?” His response was, “The nail is on the dash.” Needless to say, that would have never crossed my mind. Ranchers are resourceful and apparently you can engage and disengage your four-wheel drive with a simple nail. Back at the barn, the little truck safely tucked away, we considered the task finished. I apologize again and my Rancher husband gives me a kiss and a laugh. He had better laugh because anything he says can and will be held against him in a story. As I walk to the house, I notice the beautiful peonies and irises along the fence that were planted years ago by his great aunts and how they bloom and offer a sweet fragrance each year. Springtime on the farm is busy with calves being born, milk being hauled and making hay while the sun shines, which gives us a lot of time together to work alongside each other or in spite of each other. What a blessing! n
