Henderson daily dispatch., 1934-12-03
BY q BustNnder

L WISH.
Inc other afternoon / walked out
70 the train to mail some letters, and
happened to glance up William street
at long lanes OF automobiles parked
there. You know what that reminded
me or! Well, the balmy days of the
OLD 1tlggan theatre; the time when it
was III the heyday OF its prosperity
and popularity as theatre and play
mouse Tor not only Henderson but all
this section. l recalled the many DAYS
long gone when 1 had walked there
before and seen the cars crowded
along the curo while folks were at
the matinecs. Boy, were them the
days?
They had some shows there that
IN those days we thought were pretty
rough. Well. they were then, but
theyd be okey nowadays; in fact,
JCI see worse than they were and
lhink nothing much about it. 1 be-
l1eVe they sorter call it art nov.
"hlch Is just one way Of alibi-ing and
SreaSlhg over an otherwise soaring
conscience. But in the main they used
10 have some wonderful shows over
We got as good as came South, and
gave them as good houses as they
mad almost anywhere.
And l thought about old Marcus
Cutting, for many years manager of
the Riggan. He was great character.
1lmid and shy at times, yet imbued
with a lot of enthusiasm and COM
lnunity pride that was more common
in those days than it has been In
some recent times. Now and then /
think Of old Mark and wonder where
the heck he could be now. He wasn't
SO pad as Snowman and he was ali
accommodating fellow in a way Last
time ever heard Of him was when
he walked up to +. S. McCoin in
Houston, Texas. at the Democratic,
convention in 1928 and slapped him Oh
the back with a cordial hello and
howdy-do. But the whereabouts Of
McCoin is just as much Of mystery
now as that Of Cutting-probab1y
even more so.
Those were great days in Hender-
son. And the memory Of them almost
makes tears we'll up in my eyes by
comparison with what time and deS.
tiny have brought to the old Riggan.
1t Is today but a skeleton of what it
ued to be. Scarcely more cfan a hol-
low shell remains Of it, and I guess
it would take some thousands of dol
lars to recondition it for use again
fer any purpose whatever. It is Z
pity. what pity. to see structure
that once was the finest playhouse
it used to ,5e falling INTO decay as
that one is now. know full well. of
course, il is private property, and
private ownership has the right to do
whatever it pleases with its own
stuff. And this certainly is not cri-
ticism. But even that does not and
cannot erase the desire that some
thing might be done to salvage the
Old hulk for use once again by the
people of Henderson for the causes
and purposes for which it was erect
ed. 1t would make a mighty fine
community house. wonderful plac
for public gatherings. rallies and th~
like. especially since there is no y
place for these things anywhere in
town: used to think that maybe il
might be a good idea for the town,
to acquire it and overhaul it, and
then preserve it for the general good
and convenience Of our people. In
fact. if it were possible to find the
money conveniently. 1 aint so sure
but what it still would be a wise thine
20 do.
l dc wish something could be done
with the old building. That's my wish
about il.