Gazette 2020

Bobby Yevak - President Steve Hlavka - Vice President Doug Jugan - Treasurer /Exec. Assistant Sarah Zurawa - Secretary Helen Van Pelt Cleo Fogal Christy McGorry-DeGiosio Larry Daiell Vince DeGiosio Dan Hugos Dave Meeker Trish Spillman Ciro LoPinto Terry Opelia

Old Mauch Chunk was a prosperous place in the late 1800s. The town was firmly entrenched as the worldwide center for anthracite coal, the fuel of the industrial revolution. Anthracite coal needed a way out of coal country so the railroads built tracks. The same tracks that moved the coal were also available to bring people into the area.

Mauch Chunk had its own gate at Penn Station in New York.

Fortunes were made in coal mining and transportation.

Broadway, the street that Early Mauch Chunk Opera House…..photo circa 1900, shows entrance tower that suffered recurring flood damage and was destroyed when the building became a movie theater in mid 1920s. Photo courtesy of MC Museum and Cultural Center

Photos and editor: Cleo Fogal Printer/publisher: Milan Printing, 1012 North Street, Jim Thorpe, PA

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runs through the middle of Old Mauch Chunk, had so many millionaires living on it that the street was nicknamed “Millionaire’s Row.” It was only fitting that a town as dynamic and prosperous as Mauch HE Packer…Harry Packer, millionaire son of Asa Packer, Chunk should and the push behind the original Opera House construction in 1881. have a proper Photo courtesy of M.C. Museum performance and Cultural Center venue.

There was an existing town hall and market center, but the town wanted more, so voters passed a referendum to replace it.

The biggest fortune in Mauch Chunk belonged to the Asa Packer family. Asa’s son Harry thought the job would be done faster if it was privately funded, and persuaded his millionaire friends to help him make that happen.

They brought in an architect named Addison Hutton to do the design. Hutton had previously designed Carnegie Hall in New York City, and the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Building in downtown Mauch Chunk.

The building opened in 1882, with a farmer’s market on the first floor and a Vaudeville Theater on the second. Old Mauch Chunk was a happening spot, and so was its theater. Big names like Mae West, Al Jolson, and John Phillip Sousa all played there.

Live theater declined when movies came along. In 1927 the borough sold the building to the Comerford Movie Theater chain which

did major renovations. The stair tower that decorated the front of the building had been severely flood damaged. It was torn down. The downstairs market stalls were blocked in, and the stage and seating area were lowered to their present level. They brought in a state of the art Kimball Pipe Organ to provide sound tracks, and renamed the building the Capitol Theater.

Silent movies had come to Mauch Chunk.

The Opera House as Capitol Theater circa 1930

The Capitol Theater did well with silent films into talkies through the golden age of movies, but in the 1950s the combination of competition from television and the general economic downtown in Mauch Chunk were too much. The theater closed in 1959, and in 1962 it was sold to the now defunct Berkeley Handbag Factory, which used it as a warehouse and was not concerned with warehouse maintenance.

The world had moved on from coal and the money had left Mauch Chunk.

But then Mauch Chunk changed its name to Jim Thorpe, and the economic wheels slowly started to turn, away from an energy transportation center, to an outdoor recreation center for water sports, bicycling, hiking, skiing, and jaw dropping scenery.

People wanted to visit the area, and they were going to need services. So gradually the

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old buildings were revitalized as homes for bars, restaurants, and galleries.

In 1975 the Mauch Chunk Historical Society was formed. It purchased the Opera House from the handbag factory for a dollar, and started work to try to get it going as a performance venue again.

It has been a long and complex effort.

For a couple of decades the Opera House meandered along, hostin periodic concerts and theater presentations.

The roof continued to deteriorate, there was interior volunteers work to repair the damage outside of the building, circa 1975. water everywhere, both the seats and the exterior were shabby and falling apart. The Historical Society did what it could, but the combined jobs of getting the building physically back together and programming shows to keep it moving forward was too big a job for volunteers.

Enter Dan Hugos, a newcomer from New York, who had opened a photo gallery across the street from the Opera House, and was looking to improve the neighborhood. He partnered with 2 Jim Thorpe musicians, Vince DeGiosio and

Christy McGorry DeGiosio, to form a production company called Jim Thorpe Area Music Series, aka JTAMS, in 2003.

JTAMS leases the opera house from the Historical Society.

It produces the Dan Hugos, JTAMS Partner, shows, runs the bar, usually seen in the box office and handles daily operations.

The Mauch Chunk Historical Society owns the Opera House and is responsible for ongoing property maintenance and improvements, and JTAMS is responsible for operations. Things are getting done.

Vince DeGiosio, JTAMS partner There have been and sound engineer works the new sound board myriad grants and donations to keep the place afloat over the years. In 2004 US Senator Rick Santorum secured a first major grant from the US Department of the Interior that allowed the leaky roof to be replaced.

Christy McGorry DeGiosio.

This year State

JTAMS partner and bar manager

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Senator John Y u d i c h a k and State Representative Doyle Heffley teamed up to secure a 169 thousand dollar grant from the Pennsylvania Casino and JTAMS Vince DeGiosio and State G a m i n g Senator John Yudichak, who Commission. pushed for our latest grant from the Historical Society Pennsylvania Gaming Commission.

President Bob Yevak has worked with the First Federal Foundation in Hazleton to get us 2 grants of 10 thousand dollars each. Historical Society member Jim Berger paid the bill personally for 10 thousand dollars worth of new carpeting throughout the building last winter.

The most visible improvement after the carpeting is the red velvet stage curtains, with a price tag of 30 thousand dollars. They make a beautiful frame for the performers onstage. We have redesigned the sound system specifically for the contours of our building, so that every seat in the house gets the same perfect sound.

The board is being used, Carpet donor Jim Berger looks after his investment the new speakers are ready for installation, but haven’t been put in place yet because of hangups with the installers insurance. They should be there by the time you’re reading this.

Insurance has been a major issue this year.

Our providing company was sold. In order to satisfy the new company’s requirements our insurance package went from 5 thousand dollars to nearly 12 thousand. We are still shopping.

We watched the news of the fire in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and and put in a long overdue fire monitoring and alarm system, also updated the fire extinguishers.

We paid 5 thousand dollars for an engineering study for an air conditioning system. The cheapest option the engineers came up with was 350 thousand dollars, so we’re waiting a while on the air conditioning. The heating system is nearing the questionable stage of its life. The boilers are still working, but are old and could be more efficient. The price tag to replace them would be 25 thousand dollars, but if we end up adding air conditioning we might want to go with a combination heating/air conditioning unit. Like thousands of homeowners across the northeast, we’re hoping the boilers keep working for another winter or two while we get a handle on the heating/cooling situation.

We have rebuilt the concession corner, opened a single stall restroom in the balcony lobby, and have plans to renovate the downstairs restrooms this winter. The Opera House has gone from an empty shell to a vibrant performance venue that attracts quality talent on a weekly basis.You as a member are part of the team that makes the Opera House a special corner of Old Mauch Chunk. It wouldn’t exist without you!

Louise McClafferty and Helen Van Pelt, mainstays of the concession stand, are pleased with the remodel.

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Millionaires Row in the 1930s

Looking down the former Millionaires Row after a fresh coat of asphalt in spring of 2018

We started a shuttle service from the Jim Thorpe municipal parking lot the 6 blocks up the hill to the Opera House with a used vehicle last year. The service was so popular that this year we upgraded to a brand new Ford Transit Van. Driver Larry starts his runs from the parking lot an hour before showtime, and makes as many trips back to the lot as he has passengers after the show.

Historical Society Officers, Helen Van Pelt, past president, Bob Yevak, president, and Steve Hlavka, vice president

The Carole King Experience relaxes backstage before their show

Volunteers working on exterior of the Opera House.

Red velvet stage curtainsmake a beautiful frame for the performers onstage.

One of the first boards of the Mauch Chunk Historical Society, 1970s.

Mauch Chunk Historical Society Membership News Your board is working to make membership more than just a $5 discount on your Opera House tickets.

We think a good first step is a members email, which you can use to check your membership status or to make suggestions on projects you’d like the group to tackle. The email address is membersMCHS@gmail.com.

Drop us a line!

Upcoming Shows at the Opera House

Couples

1/24/20 Tom Petty Tribute - Damn The Torpedoes 1/25/20 Artie Lange Comedian 1/31/20 Gary Hoey 2/1/20 Dead On Live THE GRATEFUL DEAD SHOW 2/6/20 Keller Williams 2/7/20-2/8/20 Tusk - Tribute to Fleetwood Mac 2/14/20 Vanessa Collier 2/15/20 Billy Joel Tribute - The Stranger 2/16/20 John Nemeth 2/21/20 Back in Black AC/DC Tribute 2/22/20 British Invasion 2/28/20 Ana Popovic 2/29/20 Broken Arrow The Neil Young Show 3/6/20 Danielle Nicole Band 3/7/20 Into the Mystic The music of Van Morrison 3/13/20 Kilmaines Saints St Patrick’s Day Celebration 3/14/20 Tartan Terrors St Paddy’s Celebration 3/20/20 Kasim Sulton’s Utopia 3/21/20 Kashmir - Zeppelin Tribute 3/27/20 Coco Montoya and Ronnie Baker Brooks 3/28/20 The Janis Joplin Experience 4/4/20 Sweet Baby James - The music of James Taylor 4/5/20 Tom Green Comedy 4/10/20 Laurel Canyon the CSNY tribute 4/11/20 Start Making Sense - The Talking Heads 4/17/20 The Joni Project 5/2/20 Ten - Pearl Jam Tribute 5/16/20 Lotus Land Tribute to RUSH 6/6/20 AM Radio Tribute Band 6/20/20 Vic DiBitetto Comedy 7/3/20 Peace Frog - Salute to the Doors 9/11/20 Wishbone Ash Check the website for additonal shows!