Comments from RonShaffer

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RonShaffer
RonShaffer commented about Rialto Theatre on Jun 12, 2017 at 9:03 pm

My father, Kenneth C. Shaffer was manager of this theater from about 1940 until about 1951. ‎

During WWII, the managers’ of the Academy theater and the Genesee theater** were drafted ‎into military service. My dad was 4-F and ineligible because he had lost one kidney as a teen.‎ So the Publix management made him the manager of all three theaters until the other two ‎managers returned from the war. Dad went back to only managing the Rialto at that time, ‎‎[probably with a pay decrease].}‎

‎*These two theaters along with the Rialto, were the three theaters owned by national chain ‎Publix, in Waukegan, Ill. The only other theater was the independent Times Theater (second run ‎movies).‎ ‎**The Genesee Theater is now a National Historical Landmark. It was the grandest of grand ‎theaters in the Midwest, probably only rivaled by theaters in Chicago in the day.‎