Gill remembers Gone with the Wind premier

Jane Gill traveled to California in 1939 and saw the premiere of 'Gone With the Wind.' Submitted photo.

Jane Gill's mementos of a long-ago trip to California include this ticket to see 'Gone With the Wind,' during the week it premiered, and a ticket for the Tournament of Roses Parade. Submitted photo.

Jane Gill shows a program she saved from one of the first theatre showings of 'Gone With The Wind.' Submitted photo.

By Brenda Zimmerman

For The Salisbury Post

”I remember that David Selznick fellow,“ said Jane Gill.

The recent Piedmont Players Theatre production of ”Moonlight and Magnolias“ struck a very specific chord with Jane, a resident of Lutheran Home at Trinity Oaks. As conversation began about going to see the play, Jane commented that she had seen the West Coast premier of ”Gone With the Wind“ when she was a teenager. Having seen the movie 70 years ago, she was very interested in the story line presented by the upcoming play.

When she was only 17 years old, Gill graduated from Boyden High School as a member of the class of 1939. Her mother’s sister had married a man whose family lived in California. Aunt Hettie and Uncle Gerald Ehringer of Albemarle invited Jane to join them and their daughter Maria, as a belated graduation gift, to make the annual December trip to the West Coast to visit his parents, who lived in Puente, Calif.

In addition to seeing family, the possibility of taking part in special holiday events in nearby Pasadena and Los Angeles made saying yes very easy for Jane.

The best she can remember, the cross country drive with her family took several weeks of driving all day and sleeping at night. The Ehringers had several exciting days planned for the two teenage girls. Jane remembers that she and her cousin Maria ”giggled a lot!“

One memorable event during the trip was a trip to Tijuana and Juarez, Mexico. It was the first time Jane had ever eaten Mexican food. As the foursome left the restroom, they noticed that Uncle Gerald’s two dress suits had been taken from the car. She said the rest of the day and most of the next day were spent with the Mexican police and authorities. They had quite a time getting everything taken care of because of the language barrier. The crew got back on the road minus the suits.

Skinny Ennis was a local Salisbury celebrity whose band played for the Jack Benny Radio Show. When his father, who was good friends with Jane’s own father, heard the plans for the family trip, he made sure they had tickets to sit in the audience at a live broadcast of the Jack Benny Show.

Jane and Maria went to the studio, anxious to meet Mr. Benny. The live broadcast had not yet begun and as teenage girls are likely to do, the girls began poking around. They went behind the curtains to the back stage area, autograph books in hand, hoping to get signatures.

At some point, workers in the studio realized they were not supposed to be there and asked them to sit in two chairs ON the edge of the stage.

They were the first to see Mr. Benny come on stage. As he approached the rest of the performers, he greeted the girls and signed their autograph books while the show’s emcee explained that the visitors detaining Mr. Benny on his way to the microphone were probably ”lovely daughters“ of a sponsor. They sat as special guests for the remainder of the show.

Jane remembers walking up and down the street in front of the Brown Derby and the Carthay Circle Theater in hopes of seeing movie stars. They did get the autograph of a good- looking comedian — Bob Hope — but the favorite story was about the cowboy.

A handsome cowboy fitted properly in leather and fringe and a hat passed them. Maria commented to Jane that he looked like Gene Autry. They turned and chased after him … and they did get Autry’s autograph.

The Spanish Baroque style Carthay Theater was the setting for another major event for the girls. The West Coast premier of ”Gone With the Wind“ started on December 28, 1939, and ran through the first week of January in 1940.

With orchestra seat tickets in hand, Maria and Jane stood outside and watched the stars going in for the matinee show on January 2. The first to go by was Clark Gable, then Vivian Leigh. Jane was especially excited to see Hattie McDaniel entering the theater. She had met McDaniel earlier in the day in the theater’s ladies lounge. When they struck up a conversation, Jane just assumed she was someone else coming to see the movie. She only realized that she was one of the stars when she saw her walking in with the other actors and actresses.

Usherettes dressed in bright hoopskirts helped movie-goers match their 83-cent tickets up with the correct seats. Tickets had been purchased several days in advance for the matinee showing.

Uncle Gerald and Aunt Hettie had also made arrangements to go see the Rose Bowl game on New Year’s Day. This was of particular interest since the Duke Blue Devils were playing the Southern California Trojans in the 25th Annual Rose Bowl game. In addition to the game, a faded ticket stub is a reminder that the girls were also treated to grandstand seats at the Rose Bowl Parade.

The floats for the parade were made in large cool warehouses where the floral designers had about 72 hours to complete the fresh flower floats. Before the floats ever made it to the formation area on Orange Grove Boulevard just off Ventura highway, Jane and Maria got to see how the floats were constructed in huge warehouse. Flowers were individually placed in small glass vials then added to the chicken wire frames. Edgar Bergman and Charlie McCarthy were the grand marshals on January 1, 1940.

When Jane returned to Catawba College after the trip, she had missed quite a few class days in addition to the regular Christmas break time. Her professors allowed her journals from the trip to be her grade for the lost time. Sadly, once they were turned in, she did not get them back. She thinks they would be interesting to have because they could offer detail about their days and the events on that wonderful vacation.

Seeing Jack Benny, getting Gene Autry’s autograph, seeing the premier of Gone With the Wind, going to the Rose Bowl Parade and game were all cherished memories triggered by the discussion of ”Moonlight and Magnolias.“

Thanks to Piedmont Players Theatre and Director Reid Leonard for the grassroots effort to provide theater experiences for populations that might not otherwise have the opportunity. The entertainment over the years has been amazing and continues to be a community tie for many residents of local nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Every so often a show triggers a fabulous walk down memory lane that is more precious than all the titles and song and dance and talent. So to all who make these outings possible, thanks for the memories!

Jane Gill retired after 41 years as a fourth grade teacher, spending most of her classroom years in Rowan County.

Brenda Zimmerman is the activity director at Lutheran Home at Trinity Oaks where Jane now makes her home. Lutheran Home is a ministry of Lutheran Services for the Aging in Salisbury.