Feb. 2, 2022
Liz Writes Life
Energize the Avery Theater
Etna’s Avery Theater has hit upon hard times and needs an
infusion of energy and new ideas.
The Scott Valley Theatre Company is holding a “stakeholders”
meeting on Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022 at the theater on Etna’s Main Street. Time is
10:30 a.m.
The Avery Theater is under the auspices of the Scott Valley
Theatre Company, which is registered as a non-profit, 501 c (3). The Theatre Company
has produced a variety of performances each year for several decades – before
the Covid pandemic shut things down. Etna High School students were also
holding modern musical and improv shows.
It is time to re-energize the Theatre Company and its possibilities
of utilizing the local theater. Those who enjoy performing or aiding
performances are invited to attend this organizational meeting on Saturday.
According to a press release, the theater needs potential board members,
producers, grant writers, technicians, benefactors, ideas for children’s
activities and the ever-needed funding ideas.
Contact Madeleine Ayres for more information at 530-598-9157.
So, I will add my two-cents by sharing a few memories. The
Avery Theater holds a dear place in my heart. Don Avery opened a theater in
Etna in the 1940s – likely after World War II. His family staffed the theater
with a local teenager sometimes hired to take tickets and sell the popcorn and
candy – which were much cheaper than by today’s standards. Yep, I remember
nickel candy.
Walt Disney movies were popular with the queue line all the
way down past Ray’s service station to Corrigan’s Bar. When I was growing up
that is what we did on weekends – went to see the movie that was playing. When
teens started dating, we went to the movies. I remember watching “Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid” with my boyfriend. You guess the year? Oh, Paul Newman
and Robert Redford were heart-throbs!
Technical advances were changing by the late 1970s and at
some point the theater closed. I remember someone who managed or owned the
movie theaters in Mt. Shasta and Weed tried to make a go of opening the Etna
theater. I recall watching “Man from Snowy River” there in the early 1980s and
a good-sized crowd cheered around 1983, when the third Star Wars movie “Return
of the Jedi” ran opening credits. (Guess you can figure out my taste in
movies!)
Soon, the theater was closed again. I bet there are folks
that have this info specifically written down. I am just going on a somewhat
faulty memory, here! I am not sure of the timeline, but a local theater group
(may have been the Scott Valley Theatre Company) decided to build a stage and
got the community involved. About 80 or so front-row seats were removed for the
building of the stage. Individuals donated cost for re-upholstering of the
remaining 300 chairs.
Etna barber, Buzz Helm, and his beautician wife, Jeanne, were
leaders at the time and I think Delta Christ was as well. Through the 1990s, a
variety of productions were held, including melodramas. Yep, I played the heroine
in one and Buzz, as the villain, blew me up – but I survived! (I was a terrible
actress.)
Lots of fun times were enjoyed because of the Avery Theater.
I hope that new energy will be brought to Saturday’s meeting to save the
building and provide entertainment for Scott Valley and the younger generations.
ISO
rating for home insurance
Several
weeks ago, I included the Scott Valley Fire Protection District’s letter to the
public that explained why some home owners are finding their fire insurance
skyrocketing or even canceled. The District
does have a good group of volunteers, but not enough volunteers who live near
all seven of its engine stations that are located strategically throughout the
valley. As a result, three stations are no longer in operation and residents in
these areas have found their ISO rating -- that insurance companies use to set
premiums -- are affected.
Dawn Schott,
who is a volunteer for the Fort Jones Fire Dept., called me to say that
residents living in Fort Jones have a pretty good ISO rating and I should talk
to the Fire Chief Joseph Hess.
Chief
Hess did say that the city now has a rating of 4A, which is good for rural
areas.
In
speaking with Hess and other fire people, I learned there are three main things
that affect the ISO rating. They are: Hydrants within 500 feet of each other; at
least some paid staff; and consistent documented trainings for volunteer and
paid firefighters. Fort Jones fits these three criteria.
“Being
within the city limits is a big deal,” said Chief Hess.
Oh,
insurance companies do not set the ISO ratings. It is a private organization
that does the ISO ratings and provides the information.
I also
spoke with Alan Kramer, Fire Chief for the Etna Volunteer Fire Dept. He said
that the City of Etna has an ISO rating of 6. He mentioned that gauging the
risk and “high hazards” near homes also affects the ISO ratings.
“It is
a multi-faceted evaluation,” said Chief Kramer. “We are served by volunteers
that are dedicated and trained. We need more of them.”
So,
there you have some additional information on the ISO rating situation. The
three fire departments in Scott Valley, SVFPD, Fort Jones and Etna Volunteer
Fire Depts., also coordinate and support each other in responses to fires and
emergencies.
A big
“thank you” goes out to all the firefighters and emergency personnel!
May peace and calm be with
you this week. Smile – just cuz it makes you feel better!
Liz Bowen began writing ranch and
farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou
County. Columns from the past can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call
her at 530-467-3515.
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