Memories and appreciation for having worked in a theater inspire woman to donate $125,000 to Auburn’s State Theater

posted by CSWalczak on January 12, 2010 at 7:45 am

AUBURN, CA — She did not do it for notoriety, but as a personal memorial to having worked in a movie theater during the Great Depression. Viola Wrigley recently gave $125,000 to the effort to restore Auburn’s State Theater as a performing arts center.

Wrigley, 93, worked at the Tulare County city of Exeter’s movie house as a girl during the Depression era.

Jobs were hard to come by and Wrigley started out as a flashlight-wielding usherette before graduating to trusted cashier at the family owned enterprise.

The money she earned helped put her through college in Visalia and sent her on her way into a successful design and business career that continues to this day.

There’s more in the Auburn Journal.

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Comments (2)

Simon Overton
Simon Overton on January 13, 2010 at 11:15 pm

God Bless her and long may she and the State Theatre live!

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on January 13, 2010 at 11:46 pm

The moral of this story may well be: “Be good to your theater employees.” I wonder how many young people working in theaters today will reflect so positively years later about their time and experiences working in a modern multiplex?

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