The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1919-09-17

be she lives thirty miles north Of
town. She meets, likely farmer lad
who maybe lives thirty miles south
of town. They become interested in
each other The next Sunday you see
him streaking north through town In
his car, going to see that girl. They
meet again in the hall at the picture
show given here each Friday night, a
film our commercial club selects, a
high class picture that you'd pay fifty
cents or dollar I'd seq in Omaha OF
Kansas iCty.,t We ihow it for fifteen
and twenty five cent?. We can afford
to, for we bring in two or three thous
and people to see it and make bargain
prices possible. iii ne.
"These young folks meet again in
the picture show; and then, first thing
YOU know this young man and woman
are married, they buy a piece OF land,
settle down to raise "a family, and an,
other couple is saved from abandon
ing the farm and drifting to the. city.
1t is Loneliness, lack of entertainment
and variety in life that sets the drift
of young men and women from the
farms to the cities. This auditorium
is the greatest influence in all this
, territory to stem that tide. I see
proofs of it every day. see so much
good from this auditorium that it is
becoming a sort of religion with me.
1t is saving the country.
at pays me, too, in dollars and
cents. I'll give you an example Of 1t.
We've had three annual automobile
shows in this auditorium; three big
shows such as they have in Omaha.
The last was in April. It continued
only, three days. but our streets were
choked with motor cars and my store
did a whale of a business: The last
day of the show our store sold
$4072.S5 worth more of goods than
we sold the corresponding day last
Iyear. In the three days Of the south
west Nebraska school teachers con-
vention last spring We tripled our us
ual business in the store. ~.
"Some day I guess I'll write mag
azine article and call it Community
Events as Business Getters.' We can
hardly wait on the trade when we
have big doings at the auditorium.
Anything that brings crowd to town
helps our business. Next to the Store
News which I send out each month,
and the other advertising sheets I
mail out, this auditorium brings me
the most business"
The commercial club pays Johnson's
advertising man for getting out the
Auditorium Herald and for keeping
the books of the auditorium. The pa
per is carefully edited, well printed
and filled with pictures. 1t tells Of
the moving pictures that are coming
each Friday night through the follow
ing month, with a synopsis Of each;
tells Of the dances and heralds the
concerts, poultry shows, conventions
and meetings to be held there. 1t
prints columns about good roads and
like improvements. -
If family in Holdrege has guest
from out Of town he is always taken
up to see Johnson's store window.
That window is the show place of the
town, and it is exhibited with pride,
especially if the stranger happens to
be from big city. ...r
Say, you've got nothing in Omaha
TO beat that, have you nOW!' the Hold
rege man asks. ...N
They have a right to be proud of it..
1t is row of plate glass windows two
hundred feet long, extending the two
sides of the store on the main corner
Johnson pays man $4,000 a year to
look after the bargain basement and
to keep the windows dressed; and he
gives him an artist to help on the
paintings and the backgrounds and
the "cut OUTS for the show in those
windows Is one continuous perform
ance of colorful panoramas and pag-
eants. When the soldiers came home
last spring the corner window bios
somed out in life sized set of fig
ures of a returning hero and . group
,ot father, mother and & eetheart rush