Dodge Theatre

Dodge Theatre. Village of New Richmond. , Elstun Dodge and his mother Rose Chambers Dodge were co-owners of two different theaters that bore their name. The first theatre was opened on the third floor of New Richmond's Opera House in the late 1930s during Hollywood's Golden Age. Residents bought tickets to watch Gone With The Wind, Psycho, and many of the animated Disney classics.. In the late 1940s, the Dodges built a replacement movie house made of concrete block with stone trim, and an attractive marquee that could be easily seen from the street. , , After his Mothers death, Elstun Dodge hired Stella Sutton to work evenings and weekends at the theater where she would become the theater manager, and rule enforcer. As a result, it was commonplace at the Dodge Theater to have Stella quietly roaming the aisles looking for troublemakers or miscreants. Her mere approach in the darkened theater was enough to restore order in a hurry. For the tougher discipline cases, Stella's weapon of choice was her trusty flashlight, and if the accusatory beam fell upon you, you were in trouble. The beam was usually accompanied by a loud whisper of "quiet!" or "shh." If the miscreant was a repeat offender, the shining light might also be accompanied by a tap upside the head with a folded newspaper that Stella carried for just that purpose. , , The New Richmond Dodge Theater had its heyday from the late '40s through the mid-'60s, in an era when Hollywood was making a conscious effort to appeal to kids. Most people would agree that nowhere else could you be entertained for four or five hours by watching two full-length features plus a newsreel and a cartoon, all for just 15 or 20 cents. For an additionally 10 or 15 cents, you could get some popcorn and Milk Duds and be set for the day. , , The Dodge theater went the way of many small town movie theaters and stopped showing films in the early 1970s. , , Ohio River National Freedom Corridor, Tree City USA Arbor Day Foundation, Clermont Freedom Trail