Chapter Eighteen
Life was a bit easier when their father started working again. With Cecil out of the house, there was also one less mouth to feed. Veda continued doing odd jobs, but now she was allowed to keep and use some of the money. One weekend she suggested to Lila that they should take a walk. Lila protested, Really? I’m so tired…I don’t want to go anywhere,
but Veda insisted. It was a hot, muggy evening. As they walked along the river, Lila complained about the swarms of gnats and mosquitoes; she was going to be covered with bites. Veda said, Better keep walking then…it won’t be much farther.
Lila was just about to insist that it was time to turn back when they suddenly reached their destination: the Riviera Theater, which was showing The Wizard of Oz. Surprise!
said Veda. Lila could not believe it. Were they really going in? She had heard about the movies, but she had never seen one. She must have had a real look of surprise on her face because Veda squealed and gave her a big hug.
It was forty cents for two tickets plus popcorn. There were four ushers wearing uniforms; red suits trimmed with gold braid and shiny black shoes. One of them took their tickets and led them to seats in the middle of the theater. There was a stage in front with a large velvet curtain. Lila started to eat her popcorn while they were waiting; it was so salty and delicious. It was not Veda’s first movie—earlier in the year, she and her friend Rebecca had seen It’s a Wonderful World—but they were both very excited. As the lights dimmed and the curtain lifted, Lila felt like she was being transported to another world. It was an incredible sensation, soon enhanced by Dorothy’s own journey to the land of Oz. The colors were like jewels. Who wouldn’t want a pair of ruby slippers or a magic wand or to have such wonderful friends? By the time Judy Garland sang, Somewhere Over the Rainbow,
Lila was completely transfixed.
They talked about the film all the way home and for days afterward. Lila said that her favorite part was when the Tinman, the lion, and the scarecrow snuck into the castle and melted the witch with a bucket of water. To Veda’s horror and secret delight, Lila imitated the speech for days, especially when they were washing the dishes. I’m melting…melting! Ohhhhh what a world, what a world.
Veda said her favorite was when they arrived at Oz, and they all went to the beauty parlor for some washing and polishing. Wasn’t Dorothy just breathtaking? Lila had to admit that she was, but it made her feel a bit sad. She would never be as beautiful as Dorothy or have such a grand adventure. There was no yellow brick road in La Crosse.
Lyle often took his dates to the movies. Since Veda and Lila were not dating yet, they decided it was best to go with one another; it was not too difficult to earn forty cents, especially now that Lila was also taking odd jobs. Her specialty was childminding. Some mothers in their neighborhood (like Borgny, for example) stayed at home—especially if they had many children or their children were not yet old enough for school—but there were plenty who worked outside of the home, mostly in factories. Hiring a young woman to mind the children between the end of the school day and the end of the workday was an affordable way to make sure they were fed and kept out of trouble. Hazel gave them a stern warning that their adventures
better not interfere with the cooking and cleaning, but in the end, it made no real difference. Veda and Lila just did the chores more efficiently.
A few months later they saw Gone with the Wind. For different reasons, they were both captivated by Scarlett O’Hara. Veda wanted her clothing; she was obsessed with the bounce of her hoopskirts, the elegant fabrics, and her coquettish way of wearing hats. Veda said it was an inspiration.
Lila wanted to be Scarlett. She was beautiful, but she was also a firecracker. She wasn’t afraid to break the rules; she knew what she wanted, and nobody was going to stop her. For two young women quickly approaching the age of marriage, the movie made a serious and lasting impression. It was not just entertainment. Veda wanted to be like Scarlett’s friend and sister-in-law, Melanie Hamilton Wilkes; she proclaimed how romantic it would be to marry a soldier going off to war. Lila thought Scarlett’s relationship with Rhett Butler was much more passionate and exciting. It was the first movie they went to see twice.
Notes
1939 was a landmark year in Hollywood. Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz were two of the year’s blockbuster films. Based on popular books and produced in full color, they captivated audiences and are still popular in the United States today. Both featured young heroines close in age to Lila (who turned seventeen that year); if she had seen one or both films, I imagine they would have made quite an impression. Archival newspapers helped me determine which theaters in La Crosse were showing those films. My father (born in 1945 in a smaller town in Wisconsin) told me often as a child how it only cost him twenty-two cents to see a movie and buy popcorn.
This chapter reminds us of Lila’s sense of humor. It also explores the differences between Lila and her sister Veda. They are living in the same family and seeing the same films but getting wildly different insights from them. The movies were teaching them about friendships and romantic relationships in a way that was very different from previous generations. To their parents, the movies probably seemed like just an entertainment
or even a waste of time and money. My description of the theater attendants draws from my own research on historic work uniforms using photographs and trade catalogs from uniform manufacturers.
Childminding seems to have been a common occupation for older girls and young women in La Crosse in the 1930s and 1940s. The newspaper was full of short advertisements for girl wanted
as a childminder or part-time housekeeper. The 1940 Census and telephone records reinforce just how many adult women in La Crosse were working outside of the home.
For more information, see Heather Akou1, Ina Rae Hark, ed.2, and Robert B. Ray3.