Theater is Paramount in Downtown CG Culture

Theater is Paramount

in Downtown CG Culture

by Blake Herzog

Back in 1928 Casa Grande’s population was about 1,300 people, and growth hadn’t expanded much past the railroad tracks just south of Main Street. Phoenix was approaching 50,000 residents and construction of its elaborate Orpheum Theater was underway.

Angela Hutchinson Hammer, founder of the Casa Grande Dispatch, had a piece of property four blocks north of the tracks, surrounded by fields. She heard about the Orpheum and made an offer through her son Louis to sell the land to the Orpheum developers for $10 for a theater of the town’s own.

The 500-seat Paramount Theatre opened on Christmas Eve 1929 with state-of-the-art “talkie” technology.

“And guess what, the city grew to the theater. She was a smart lady, wasn’t she?” says Debby Martin, who bought the theater at auction in 1993 after a series of owners had remodeled the theater beyond recognition. It fell into disrepair as the last owner declared bankruptcy.

Martin was another smart lady who saw the potential of the theater at 420 N. Florence St., but it took 10 years to bring it back to its original glory by repairing the roof, reconstructing the box office and marquee and uncovering its Egyptian-themed murals, among other upgrades.

Photo courtesy of Blake Herzog

The Paramount Theatre decorated for a special event held in July.

The restoration won it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Then she made changes to the interior that ensured the theater’s survival into the 21st century. It was converted from a single-screen film theater into a multifunctional space with a stage, becoming a template for reinvigorating historic movie palaces in California and elsewhere.

The Paramount has followed Martin’s vision since reopening in 2003 by offering movies, shows, dinner theater, children’s events, concerts, fundraisers, holiday pageants, private events and more, drawing new life to downtown. The tradition will continue into this fall and winter, with several shows already scheduled:

• Echoes of the Platters with

Tony C and Tracy Sanders, 1:30 and 7 p.m., Oct. 22

• Paramount Theatre Holiday

Festival Concert featuring Bob

Villa, 5:30 p.m., Nov. 4

• Kreative Culture Holiday

Extravaganza Concert, 5 p.m., Nov. 11

More information: 520.836.4200, www.paramountfoundation.org or info@paramountfoundation.org.

Stories by Blake Herzog The Pinal County Press

CG Farmers Market Keeping It Local

The Casa Grande Farmer’s Market has brought literally tons of produce each month to the community for nearly four years, allowing people to prepare nutritious, creative meals for their families for a fraction of the cost of purchasing the fruits and vegetables at a supermarket.

Its Facebook page is filled with recipe ideas and photos of delectable blueberry pies, strawberry scones, canned beans and more contributed by its loyal “friends” — Carrie Centero doesn’t like to call them “customers.”

The market is open the third Saturday of the month and “friends can pick up a hefty box of produce for a donation of $15 to cover transportation and other costs.

“You’ll see that we call them supporters once in a while, but the majority of the time we call them friends,” Centeno said. She said approximately 300 produce boxes are given out every month, with little variation between summer and winter crowds.

The farmers market also features numerous vendors every month, all of them local and selling jewelry, art and other crafts, candy, pastries and many other items. They begin at 7 a.m. and are held at First Presbyterian Church, 702 E. Cottonwood Lane in Casa Grande. Additional parking is available at the adjacent Pinal County Sheriff’s Office station.

Centero and a brigade of other volunteers are continuing to offer this opportunity to Casa Grande, now with a more localized approach that is saving some money in the process. Their affiliation with Nogales, Arizonabased Borderlands Produce Rescue’s P.O.W.W.O.W program ended in April, but they are continuing to work with many of the same growers to bring their fresh produce that cannot be sold.

This can happen for a number of reasons, Centero said.

“Maybe there’s an ordering problem, one of the grocery stores, hypothetically, may have needed 1,000 watermelons but accidentally ordered 2,000. They can’t keep all 2,000, so they call us,” she said. Other produce may have been sent back for cosmetic flaws unrelated to quality or food safety or may have been unmarketable for other reasons.

Her organization and others like it “rescue” this produce from landfills and get it into kitchens at a low cost, particularly important at a time when inflation is eating away at everyone’s budget.

Centero and Paul Kwan of Glendale sit as the directors for Desert Farms 2 Table, a 501(c)3 nonprofit launched to support the first P.O.W.W.O.W. and farmers market Centeno started in 2013 for San Tan Valley. That one is held on the second Saturday of the month, and in August the group expanded to a third event for Apache Junction, to be held on the first Saturday of the month.

Leaving the P.O.W.W.O.W program means Desert Farms 2 Table doesn’t have to pay program fees, but losing the Borderlands trucks has led to a scramble to find alternative sources. They are saving as much money as possible toward buying at least one truck of their own.

Volunteers are always needed to help distribute the produce, and they can get some of it free in return. Centero said all the Casa Grande volunteers are invaluable but mainstays Esmerelda Castillo and Pam Williams are especially crucial: “We couldn’t have this market if we didn’t have them.”

For more information about shopping and volunteering for the farmers market visit the Casa Grande Farmer’s Market page on Facebook, www.casagrandefarmersmarket.com or www.farms2tableaz.org.

QA &

PATRICIA GLOVER,

Advanced Certified Paralegal, Notary Signing Agent, Certified Legal Document Preparer, Glover Court Solutions

Christian & Patricia Glover

Q: What brought you to Pinal County?

A: My family and I relocated to Pinal County in 2010. At the time, we had extended family living with us so we needed a large home at a low cost. The City of Maricopa was everything we were looking for and more!

Q: How did you become interested in your career field?

A: I fell into the legal field by sheer luck. While I was living in Indiana, a friend of mine was offered a promotion at a law firm but needed someone to fill her role as the office receptionist. I quickly fell in love with it. When I moved to Arizona in 2007, I used the receptionist experience to land a job as a legal assistant at a prestigious bankruptcy firm. I began my college education in legal studies, and once the economy recovered from the recession and fewer people were filing bankruptcy, I transitioned to more advanced legal positions where I specialized in everything from estate planning, litigation, real estate and family law.

Q: What has been the biggest challenge of your job?

A: Dealing with people who are experiencing some of the greatest hardships they ever have experienced — bankruptcy, divorce, the death of a loved one, etc.

Q: What has been the greatest reward of your job?

A: Likewise, the greatest reward is helping people navigate a complex legal system. I especially enjoy meeting with people to discuss estate planning and seeing their eyes light up as they tell me stories about their lives, such as how they met the love of their life 50-plus years ago.

Q: Where would you like to vacation next; why?

A: My family and I are on a mission to see the 50 states. We have checked off fewer than half, so I can foresee our next vacation somewhere in either the northern or eastern U.S. I would also like to trace our family roots, but we are a mixed-race family so that journey could land us in Congo, Ireland, Germany, Nigeria, Scotland, Mexico or several other countries from around the world.

Q: What is your favorite Pinal County activity?

A: Our family has always enjoyed the Pinal County Fair and all the other events that take place at the fairgrounds. We recently attended the 2022 Chihuahua Festival & Little Doggy Races in Maricopa, which the kids loved.