Love at the Talkies

by Al Langford, Windsor

If you were 19 years-old and looking for a job during the Depression Years, you were very lucky if you found one. If you found your sweetheart at the same time, you were twice-blessed.

In September of 1931 (two years into the Great Depression, which lasted until 1939) the Capitol Theater in downtown Windsor (on University and Pelissier) advertised for a staff of ushers, cashiers, cleaning staff, etc. It had recently been taken over and refurbished by the Famous Players Company. I was one of the many who gathered on Pelissier Street for interviews. When I say “many” I mean there was a mob scene estimated to be over 150 people (there is an excellent write-up of the gala re-opening in the Border Cities Star, Sept.18, 1931.)

The angels or the tooth fairy must have been looking after me, because I got a job as an usher. I can’t recall what it paid, this many years later, but I know it was under 50¢ an hour (when I worked at Chrysler’s in about 1934, we were paid 65¢ an hour.) As far as I can remember some of the other lucky ones were Jim Hayward, Stewart Love, Art Ducharme and Jack Marcon. Stewart was the ticket taker (he wore a special hat). Connie Spencer was the new manager. His wife (I forget her name) was a “looker.” She supervised us guys and designed our spiffy uniforms. We wore short jackets, which had sleeves large enough to conceal the ever-present flashlight. The well-starched dickies had a bad habit of popping out of the jacket at embarrassing times.

That year, all of us posed for a picture to urge people to mail their Christmas parcels early. I remember Archie McPherson as the backstage honcho.

The Capitol was a very busy place that fall and winter; we had a full house almost every weekend. There was seating for almost 2,000 people; the movies were quite good too. We ushers heard them so often that we could recite the heroes’ lines word for word.

Now for the love angle! The new cashier was May Pfahler, who was formerly the cashier at the Tivoli Theater in Walkerville (she looked like an animated doll in the ticket booth!) Her boss was J.J. “Dapper Joe” Lefaive. Joe always had a fresh flower in the lapel of his jacket.
I had my eyes on her the moment I saw her and man, did I have competition. John Heggie (asst. mgr.) was smitten by her and so was Al Dunwoodie (one of the cleaning staff). I can also remember an old geezer who used to come to the Capitol quite often and stand at the wicket, make small talk and moves on my sweetie. I had my work cut out for me because I wasn’t any better looking than they were.

One word best described May: “HUGGABLE.” She was petite, five feet nothing, maybe 105 pounds. Lots of fun, but could be deep and profound. One of her prized possessions was the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; she could recite many of its passages. She read “Gone With The Wind” at least four times.

Al and May while he was in the Air Force, 1943

Our romance blossomed and we dated for quite a while (it was tough trying to get married on an usher’s wages). Finally, on July 6th, 1935 she said yes and we got married.

We had a wonderful life together. Ups and downs? You bet! She and the kids (two girls and a boy) travelled with me all over the training stations in Ontario and Quebec while I was in the R.C.A.F.

It was rather odd that May and I hadn’t met while we went to school. May lived on Hall Avenue and I lived on Moy Avenue, the next street over. She had to walk a long way south to John Campbell while I had to walk east to King Edward. She was a top student at the Windsor Business College (so she knew how to keep my spending habits to a minimum). As I said, we have three wonderful children, 12 grand ones, and 13 great grand ones.

With regret, I have to add a very sad note to this story. My beloved passed away in December 2002, which left a monstrous void in my life.

I’d like to recite to her the last two lines of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, that then I scorn to change my place with Kings.”

Get a copy of the February 2004 issue of The TIMES for more love stories!

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