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Leopold Doppler and the Orpheum Gravy Boat Riot
Date: 05-09-2019
By: Colonel
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Two facts about Shep's prize-winning story:
1. There was no Leopold Doppler in Hammond, Indiana, when Shep was growing up. Nor was there a theater manager by that name there. However, Shep had a boyhood friend in Hammond named George Doppler, whose father was Joseph, a prominent contractor in the region.
2. There was indeed an Orpheum theater in Hammond on State Street for much of the twentieth century, including when Shep was living there. And on Tuesday, December 4, 1934 -- when Shep was age 13 -- the Orpheum began a dish giveaway of a different piece of dinnerware for ladies every Tuesday, which continued for more than a year. History does not record whether a riot ever ensued . . . . |
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