A MILLER GATHERING
BY DAN MILLER
(originally published June 6, 2006)
First, a happy 06/06/06 to you.... one of those rare, symetrically perfect dates.
I wrote a few weeks ago about the Miller Theatre, built 65 years ago in Augusta by my grandfather's brother Frank Miller (which would make him my great uncle).
The grand old theatre has been sitting unused and deteriorating since closing its doors in 1984.
As you can surmise from the accompanying photos, I finally got an opportunity last week to tour the restoration process.
It was arranged by Mike Deas, a likeable Augusta man who enjoys a healthy obsession with the old Miller Theatre.
(In fact, Mike has a website dedicated to the Miller... FRIENDSOFTHEMILLER )
The gang you see standing outside the theatre includes my two sisters, my brother, my wife, my daughter, an old buddy from school, my brother-in-law, the Deas brothers, and some other folks with a strong interest in the restoration project.
What a magical trip back in time, recalling movies we saw there.... even pointing out exactly where we sat for various performances.
The balcony still has the original chairs from when the place was new.
(Could some of my old gum still be sticking underneath??)
I noticed a phone directory from 1979 still on the table next to the phone in the projection room....
and strips of film on the floor where they ended up decades ago....
and authentic projectors still in place from the 1940s.
Like a setting from Phantom of the Opera, we saw long forgotten hallways and dressing rooms underneath the stage.
I've even included a rather fuzzy photo of a hand scribbled note, still "duck taped" to the wall under the stage, alerting orchestra members to duck their heads as they enter the orchestra pit.... a place where no musician has stepped for many decades.
By today's standards, it was amazing for me to see that -- in a theatre that seats more than 1,600 people -- there was only one ladies' room.... and it had just 4 stalls.
Now I understand why my dates would take so long to "powder their noses"....
What a relief! They weren't necessarily trying to avoid sitting next to me.
After it was all over, my sister Sara emailed me with memories she'd been calling up since the tour.
She said it brought back, "a different, simpler, easier world."
She wrote:
"Remember when you could stay and see the movie more than once?"
"As you were leaving and stood in the lobby area, you could continue to watch over the rail.... and sometimes be lured back by particular scenes?"
Sara reminded me how, "there were no cell phones to keep in touch. Many parents had to park, go in and find their child. And they weren't charged admission to do so!"
She's right.
I never knew my uncle Frank Miller....
And I never, ever -- not once -- got free passes to the Miller.
But I cherish the memories set in that place.... and its connection to my family....
And I look forward to someday seeing another movie or performance there.
Now.... here's the unexpected payoff from this theatre tour.
I notified my two sisters and my brother that we were invited to tour the old place on Saturday, June 3rd, and -- lo and behold -- they all showed up.
Three of us traveled hours from different cities to be there.
The four of us had not been together in the same place at the same time in 10 years.
That's us in the bottom photo.... from left to right, my brother Lynwood, my sister Sara, me, and my baby sister Debee.
Normally, we get together for funerals and such...
But this time, it was a "rebirth" that brought us together....
The rising from the dust of a landmark that bears our family name, in our home town.
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