World War II Days in Culver…Happy Memorial Day!
These images (click them to view full-size, of course) are from the town of Culver rather than the Academy proper, but I was digging through some images I haven’t yet added to the library’s website, and these jumped out at me. I found them in the 1942 editions of the Culver Citizen newspaper last year while hunting for some other story. With Memorial Day on the way, I thought it fitting to post a few wartime pics from the past.
Those who have spent much time at Culver Academy may be familiar with the little movie theater here — I think its official title is Lakeside Cinema now — but may not know that, in the 1950s, it was one of the few theaters in the US to utilize the audio technology that eventually evolved into today’s “surround sound.” In those days, it was the El Rancho theater, and it served not only as an entertainment venue, but also as the site for some churches to meet during interim periods. In 1954, for example, when the existing St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church burned to the ground, the church met for Mass at the movie theater while funds were being raised to construct the current church!
The newspapers from those early war years were full of stories of how the town of Culver and the Academy, respectively, pulled together to help the war effort (the Academy campus, I am told, had regular security patrols for the cadets and of course many, many Culver men went off to fight in the war, and many didn’t make it back). I thought that the examples here of small-town junk rallies illustrate how a small community like Culver pulled together during those times, young and old alike. The picture above is from November, 1942.
Incidentally, the movie theater, you’ll notice, was owned by the Hoesel family. The same family today owns the movie theater in downtown Plymouth, on Michigan Street. I also found it interesting to note the movie that kids could get into if they brought a tire that day: “Holiday Inn” starring Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby.
The other image, an advertisement/poster for a “Junk Rally” in Culver from September of 1942, notes that the junk is to be brought to “Pura’s yard” on Main Street. Pura owned the town scrap yard, which I’m told was a bit of an eyesore in its day, and part of which sat where the Culver Cove is today…a bit of a change in appearance!
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