All are welcome to attend at the David A. Howe Library, 6pm
By Kathryn Ross,
WELLSVILLE – Did you know that high school graduation ceremonies were once held in the Babcock Theater?
The Babcock Movie Theater Preservation Society (BMTPS) is finding out a lot about the history of this iconic Main Street building, but more help is needed.
The next community meeting for the theater will take place at 6 p.m. April 15th (next Tuesday) in the Monday Club Room at the David A Howe Library where some treats are planned. So, don’t miss this opportunity to sign up to help with events which are planned for this summer in support of the renovation and reopening of the theater. The public will soon be seeing signs that the future is changing for the 100-year-old plus building, which has played a large part in Wellsville’s history.
On a late night in the fall of 1924, Wellsville High School, at the time located where the library is currently located, burned to the ground. Shortly after midnight the alarm blared out that the high school building was on fire. Earl O’Dell, the operator of the Babcock Theater, put in the first call to the fire department from his apartment above the theater. The apartment in the second story of the Babcock looked out over Main Street when O’Dell saw the flames. The apartment is still there and still keeping an eye on Main Street.
The story doesn’t stop there. Although the firefighters fought valiantly to save the building, the high school was a total loss. Students were left without desks to sit at, or blackboards to write on. As they had in the past, because the high school had burned down before, local businesses and building owners open their doors to the students with classes being held throughout the village. One of those buildings was the Babcock Theater where there were not only classes, but which also took center stage that following June for graduation.
As ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ rang across the auditorium, the Class of 1925 proceeded down the aisle to receive their diplomas.
The school ‘on the banks of the Genesee’ wasn’t completed until 1927. So, we don’t know how many ceremonies were held there before the Babcock offered “The Graduate” to moviegoers in 1967.
The Society thanks Jane Pinney, a longstanding member of the Thelma Rogers Genealogical and Historical Society and the Nathaniel Dike Museum for the information on the high school fire and the Babcock’s contribution.
The BMTPS is learning new things about the theater every day and invites the public to continue sharing their tales and any memorabilia they may have from the theater. The Society can be reached at babcocktheater@gmail.com and the public can keep up with the theater’s progress on facebook.com/babcocktheater or attend Tuesday’s meeting.
