Captain Cy comes to Wallace.

Here it is, the Grand Theater. It  once graced the corner across from Morrow's, which is now, of course, the Brooks Hotel. When I was very young, Wallace had two theaters, the Wilma close to City Hall, and The Grand. By the time I could remember anything, The Grand had pretty much been relegated to Saturday cartoons, and that is where I begin my blog today. 

Spokane was pretty much the center of life for the Inland Empire at that time. Coeur d' Alene was of course beautiful, and had the beach, Playland Pier, and other attractions, but it was still a very small town compared to what it has grown to today. Spokane had the culture, the stores, professional baseball, The Davenport Hotel, and Natatorium Park. There was much to see and do when we made those trips across the Pass. Going to Spokane was much different then, It took about three hours to go there. 

Not only did Spokane have all the sights and sounds of a city, it had three very important things that connected all of us to the mystique of Hollywood, New York, and Washington D.C. Those three things were KHQ, KXLY, and KREM, and each of those stations had fought for the market of us Baby Boomer kids. There was the singing cowboy, Cliff Carl of the Bar 6 Round up show, Jack Bainter of Wallaby and Jack, and of course, Miss Florence of Romper Room. Each of these people were like celebrities to those of us who grew up in the those days of black and white television. 

My favorite was the Captain Cy show, which was aired five days a week, and featured my favorite cartoon, Popeye. It was because of this very show that I became a lover of spinach, and I still am to this day. Thank you, Captain Cy, and Popeye. 

My brother and I never missed Captain Cy, at least we never missed it until we develop other interests. The Captain Cy show was for kids and centered around the kids. Here is a how 

Here is how The Spokesmen wrote about it several years when David Cyrus Page, Captain Cy, passed away

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2009/jun/30/david-cyrus-page-tvs-captain-cy-dies/

David Cyrus Page – aka Captain Cy – gained fame among baby boomer children in Spokane in the late 1950s and early 1960s. His after-school program on KREM’s “Captain Cy” show was must-see TV for children who grew up on black-and-white television sets.

Page died a week ago at age 79 and was buried in Taylorsville, Utah, near Salt Lake City, on Monday.

Kirke Rockwood, 84, who worked for KREM from 1957 to 1988 — including a stint as “Anchor Andy” on the “Captain Cy” show — reminisced about Page Tuesday and about the show KREM produced live every afternoon, Monday through Friday.

The show began with Popeye cartoons, followed by Captain Cy interviewing local kids.

“He was lots of fun,” Rockwood said. “He was on KREM radio as a disc jockey, too.”

Page starred on Spokane daytime TV in an era when there were only three Spokane stations, but each station competed feverishly for the attention of area children. The stars of the shows became celebrities. Captain Cy joined the ranks of Cliff Carl, star of “Bar 6 Roundup,” Jack Bainter of “Wallaby and Jack” and Miss Florence of “Romper Room.” Rockwood also gained a fair amount of fame in the “Boge Bunny” show.

In a 2000 Spokesman-Review column, Kathleen Corkery Spencer reminisced about being on the show: “From a makeshift set that vaguely resembled a small boat, the Captain hosted a crew of local kids. Each kid who came on the show had to say a few words to the Captain. Nothing major. Stuff like your name, your age, whether or not you liked dogs. All a kid had to do was step up to the Captain’s microphone, look into the camera and charm Spokane. Simple.”

A decade ago, Page shared with Slice columnist Paul Turner his favorite recollection from the show: “He recalled asking a 5-year-old boy where he got his red hair. ‘It came with the head,’ the kid answered.”

When Tom McArthur was researching the KSPS documentary “Remembering Spokane,” Page told McArthur that his years on Spokane TV were the “best years of his life.”

So, with all of the in mind, and with the picture of the Grand Theater in mind, imagine my pure, unadulterated joy when Captain Cy came to The Grand Theater one fine Saturday afternoon. Just to see this " celebrity" was really something in little old Wallace, Idaho. The theater was packed with adoring kids as we clapped and cheered for this man who brought so much joy into our lives Monday through Friday in the magic land of television. Of course, the appearance would not have been complete without the showing of Popeye cartoons. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon. 

When I go to Wallace for a visit, I can still envision The Grand in the old movie reels of my mind, and I still smile when I remember the afternoon many years ago when a little bit of the glamor of television came to Wallace.