The selection with a ? always a favorite
. Every Wednesday during the summer months was a matinée day at the Eastmont Theatre on MacArthur Blvd starting at 11 a m, and for the sum of 20 cents admission, one would be rewarded with the matinée special feature a serial, newsreel, cartoon and then the advertised double feature. A typical show time Wednesday morning found Mike, his sisters, Kay and Nancy, next door neighbors, Babe and Sis on their way, their destination the Eastmont, about 3/4 hour walking distance, up the path at Keller and Greenly Drive to Crest avenue, then down the vacant hill to Sunkist, and 75th Avenue. to MacArthur Blvd. Mike never asked if any of the others knew this zig zag shorter route to the theatre at 74th and MacArthur, but accepted the responsibility.
. Once inside, Candy was a nickel, popcorn and fountain drinks ten cents, Mike preferring the candy machine, the candy choices were different from the ones at the counter, plus the vending machine had a special selection named Chance. The Chance designated slot didn’t display a candy bar like the other slots, but displayed a Question Mark and an unknown selection would be dispensed. Mike having a suspicion, it was the slot used by the concessionaire for a variety of leftover selections. The youth for some reason liking the suspense of the unknown event, even if it was just purchasing a candy bar at the movies.
. Unlike the adults, Mike and his sister’s when attending a normal feature other than a matinée, never paid attention to starting times, entering in the middle of a movie, staying until they realized that this is where they came in. Mike’s Dad on weekends would drive them to the Granada on East 14th, the Capitol or Fairfax on Foothill, Mike checking at the ticket window on how long before the double feature started over again so his dad knew what time to return. There were other east Oakland theaters, the Laurel, Hopkins, Foothill, Fruitvale and was aware of the much larger downtown cinemas, the Grand Lake, Paramount, T&D and the Fox Oakland. The latter theaters wasn’t in his Dad’s driving radius when it came to transporting kids to the movie, but he was usually obliging for the others.
. Mike discovering Cub Scouts wasn’t as exciting or adventurous as his own cavalcades. Most generally, the after school den meetings were drab and dull, even when involving special projects, finding the snacks were normally the highlight of the meetings. This being his last year of participation, he did give some thought to going on into Scouting, but there were two obstacles. The Scout meetings were in the evenings on Outlook Avenue, which meant going down 73rd Avenue, a little far to be riding a bike at night. Mike’s interest began to change when the Den meetings moved to the basement of Gordon Grebe’s house at the corner of Greenly Drive and Circle Hill Drive holding something that was of interest. Stationed against the wall in the basement was an old player piano, and on top of the piano were stacks of boxes containing the perforated music rolls.
. The meetings suddenly took on a new light, as he called upon himself to provide the group with music, courtesy of a new-found duet, himself and the player piano. Still his interest in scouting was waning, others didn’t realize, Mikes Mother was a proficient Camp Fire Girl sponsored leader. Mike having been talked into helping with many of their outings, loading and unload supplies, attending far more adventurous outings than presented by the Cub Scouts. He did fulfill his cub scouting commitment, securing the rank of Den Leader as a Webelos.
. His world was in transition, noticing that an additional portable building was delivered to the school, but this one was different. It was a double wide portable, placed next to the main building, soon discovering It would serve as a cafeteria. No more eating lunch hidden between the portable classrooms, , but the largest divergence caused by the cafeteria, was to the little corner store across the street, a substantial amount of their business was providing snack addition for sack lunches. For some reason he was concerned, maybe because many of the before and after school events that were generated there.
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Mike watched as the neighborhood began to change, the new home construction on Shone Avenue, and Sterling Drive was finally completed, and to his astonishment, first one boy slightly older named Don Bryant, and then another, a full grade older, Hank Ball, having moved into new houses. Young Mike reasoned from the events of the summer, that accumulating knowledge is like collecting stepping-stones, the more you have the further you can go.
Tags: Oakland Theater
Inquisitive Quest 
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