1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster Town Sedan II
Celebrating a year of success
By Russ Morgan
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Granada Theatre enjoyed a packed house Thursday night as
people gathered to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the theater’s grand
re-opening. They were also there in hopes of winning the 1948 Chevy Stylemaster
being raffled in celebration of the event.
The car is the same make and model as one given away by the
theater 61 years ago. The idea to find and restore the same model of car originated
with John Mallon of the Emporia Granada Theatre Alliance. Mallon bought the car
and started the restoration, and body work and storage was done by John North
Ford. For the past year as raffle tickets were being sold, the car appeared at
many Emporia events.
Before the drawing, Frank Sinatra played on the sound system
as a screen showed slides of the Granada’s history and pictures of the progress
of the restoration.
“We are celebrating a year of very successful operations
since the theater reopened last October,” said Jessica Buchholz, executive
director for the Granada. “The first year was quite a success, from classic
movies to many events with the Emporia Arts Council and a number of other
organizations and private events, with weddings and receptions.”
The drawing for the car was held just before a screening of
the movie “Grease.” The event drew a near-capacity crowd.
“I cannot express our gratitude to all the individuals and
businesses and groups in the community and outside of the community who have
supported the Granada in the past year,” Buchholz said. “It’s been amazing. ...
We are so looking forward to the next year, so here’s to another successful
year at the Granada.”
More than 600 tickets were sold for the drawing, and as
Justin Mallon and Tim North took the stage to draw the winning ticket, a hush
fell over the crowd.
Norman Fields and his wife, Rosaetta, were the winners of
the car. Both were speechless as they were presented with Granada memorabilia.
“I’ve got the title, so come and see me after the movie,”
Buchholz told the couple.
“We were just talking about getting another vehicle, but I
didn’t expect something like this,” Norman Fields said as he and his wife
stepped outside to look the car over. He said he has a place for it in his
garage.
The event raised more than $9,000 that will go to help with
improvements and operations for the Granada Theatre.
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