Comments from djent

ARTICLE POSTED IN FRANKLIN COUNTY NEWS.com My teenage memories of Toler Cinema June 23, 2017 By Site Admin Leave a Comment by Steve Dunford The announcement of investors buying the Toler Cinema building in Benton, set social media on fire Monday night. This number is views on Facebook was over 18,000, the third highest ever on the nine year history of the website, and the most of any story that I have written over the last six months. I have thought of several memories that I had in the building. I remember seeing ET, Rocky III and IV, Top Gun, Rambo, and sneaking into see St. Elmo’s fire. They didn’t card me to see a Rated R movie when I was 14. I looked 25. I have probably watched other movies there. I also saw Hoosiers the first and third time there. I watched it the second time in Marion. I still watch it at least ten times a year. I have always been a storyteller. I think that is why I fell in love with Duck Dynasty, because of Uncle Si alone. My stories are like his, 95% of what I think is the truth. The farmers got some much needed rain overnight and today. Other than a line of storms that will come through late this afternoon, the rain is over. We have a beautiful five days ahead of us. I am going to share a couple things that happened at Toler Cinema. The first one was I was on a date there. I was double dating with a friend of mine and his girlfriend. We went out for pizza before we went to the 9:00 show. We didn’t hit it off very well. I thought the girl was cute, and she asked me three things that I like the most. I said sports, fishing, and rummage sales. She said she hated all three. She could not believe that a teenage boy loved yard sales. She thought buying clothes especially, was disgusting. I took a lot of ribbing from my friends for hitting up rummage sales on Saturday morning. I loved the negotiating part. I could very easily been a junk dealer and made good money. I just never had the storage space. However my buddies would take me with them when they went to buy a car. I already made up my mind this date was a one time deal. She used the pickup line that high school girls have used for decades, let me see your class ring. I let her see it. She had it in her hand and dropped it. The ring tumbled all the way to the fourth row, under a seat. I got down on my hands and knees to pick it up. There was an elderly couple that was a couple rows back. The lady got into her purse and tried handing me a five-dollar bill and said, honey you don’t have to get popcorn off the floor, I will buy you some. I quietly said I am getting my class ring that rolled down here. The stone was Ok, the ring just had a nick on it. I was a prankster back in the day. Most of you know that have known me for several years witnessed my handy work on April Fools Day. I did not participate this year because of fear someone would take my outright lies in good nature, as news stories and facts. My first car was a ’77 Mercury Monarch. My buddy Jeremy McFarland had a ’76 Ford Granada. I could start his car with my keys. He couldn’t start my car with his though. We were cruising Benton, and I forget why, but we drove through the parking lot of the theater. I said do you want to see something funny, meet me by the pool, in what used to be the Holiday Inn. I pull up in his car. We sat in the parking lot of the motel to watch him come out of the show. He walked out happy as can be, holding hands with this date. When he could not find his car he was in a panic. We all got our laughs. He started to go back in, I might have the law to deal with, or worse his parents and when they got done with me, my mom and dad would take over. I pull in front of the theater and honk and wave at Jeremy and his date. I cant remember who he was with. It was probably with his wife Kellie. He told me I don’t get even, I get ahead. I go to leave for school the next Monday. I start my car, put it in gear, and I think I dropped the transmission. My drive shaft was put on concrete blocks, with the back wheels barely off the ground. The whole time through High School, we never told any of our circle of friends we had a date, or there would have been some kind of “chivalry.” It was part out of meanness, and mainly out of jealousy. I hope rambling on about my teenage days brought a smile, and a couple laughs to you today. Feel free to share your memories about going to the show in Benton. After nearly a decade gap, the next generation will have stories to tell. Please support the new owners when they open it back up.

Unfortunately as you know this theater was DONATED to the Johnston City School District on November 9, 1971, which many saw as a positive opportunity. However unfortunate, for those that may not be aware that the following timeline of events took place for the next decade in Johnston City, that not only affected the school district but all tax-payers within it and the city itself. Just over 45 days after the theater was donated to the school district, on December 30,1971, the school district was amassed a detrimental and tragic blow to the community when the Washington School began to sink do to mine subsidence which left nearly 500 students to be educated in churches, broom closets, and outhouse buildings in a frenzy. This building just 30 years old, was deemed condemned by the state of Illinois which led to an urgency to build a new building which was not started with construction until January 18, 1974, three years later………After considerable site testings and approved for a safe construction site this new 750 student school was started and when it was over 85 PERCENT built and nearly completed, this building YET AGAIN was deemed condemned due to the mine subsidence in 1976! So here we now have 5 years of additional costs for the school district through legal counsel against the mines, the new contractor and site inspector and nearly 8 years later and still no school to house the 500 plus students who were displaced from not having a school to attend but bused from numerous churches in town and then bused to the remaining schools at lunch time and back then to the respected classrooms throughout the city. What a financial nightmare, and I am sure you all recall the your tax bills in the 1970 and 1980s as a result of one school deemed unsafe, then 85 percent of monies spent that had been approved by the voters for a replacement school to then now have one school deemed condemned, one school nearly completed being condemned and still no school! So here we go again. more taxes straining our parents and all families…….voters once again approve to spend more money, raising their taxes even higher in order to build a third and final building on yet another entire site that led to more costs…..Not to mention the interest rates in the late 1970’s with no restitution from insurance companies, the coal mines, nor the first contractor and site inspector……so then finally in late 1977, construction began on the present Junior High and Grade School. This school was not completed until the Fall of 1980-1981 school year. So sad for sure, however it should be a lesson for any city or school district or for anyone, that if someone is donating you something, you best be in it for one hell of a ride! So, yes the building is gone, and recollect it vividly from a few school performances that I observed as a child, but understand now completely, what my grandparents always meant by the saying…“you cannot get blood out of turnip!” meaning the people of Johnston City had given of their blood to save their school district and I can proudly say from afar, that they proved perseverance to its finest! To think, today if we had this opportunity the 1 percent county wide sales tax dedicated for the soul purpose of our county school districts facility maintenance is the best thing that has ever happened. As each and EVERY school district and many outside of the county have been able to remove facility maintenance from their general funds and have been able to build and update each and every school and replace many that should have been condemned due to age itself…So yes sad, but sure makes me glad for the education I garnered through the JC School District that was the foundation of my career and future.