I grew up in Swampscott and spent many rainy Saturday afternoons watching the movies here with my friends. There was often a treat there for us as my mother’s mother, with whom I was very close, worked there both as a cashier selling tickets and behind the candy counter. One of the movies that made a lasting impression on me was “Old Yella.” Also, that was where my High School graduation ceremony was held and for several years, when our Temple had outgrown the facility in Lynn, we were able to make arrangements with the O'Brien family (owners) to use the Surf for our High Holyday services while our Swampscott Temple was being built; which brings to mind those special moments when I would sit next to my father in the darkened theater, converted to our temporary house of worship and how proud I was when he was called to the bima (stage) to participate in the service. The Surf Theater, like so many other one-of-kind community facilities across the country was integral to that special place we called home.
I grew up in Swampscott and spent many rainy Saturday afternoons watching the movies here with my friends. There was often a treat there for us as my mother’s mother, with whom I was very close, worked there both as a cashier selling tickets and behind the candy counter. One of the movies that made a lasting impression on me was “Old Yella.” Also, that was where my High School graduation ceremony was held and for several years, when our Temple had outgrown the facility in Lynn, we were able to make arrangements with the O'Brien family (owners) to use the Surf for our High Holyday services while our Swampscott Temple was being built; which brings to mind those special moments when I would sit next to my father in the darkened theater, converted to our temporary house of worship and how proud I was when he was called to the bima (stage) to participate in the service. The Surf Theater, like so many other one-of-kind community facilities across the country was integral to that special place we called home.
Murray Davis, April 8, 2016