WW II Memories

Dear Editor,

Veterans Day always re- minds me of World War II. World War II reminds me of the old Waitsburg Theatre. Now how could that be?

Back in the 1940's my Uncle, Earl Crossler, ran that theatre. He was running it the year my father, Layton Royse, came home from the war. He was a marine.

My Grandfather, Oliver Royse, and my Uncle Donald Royse were out here from Cincinnati Ohio to greet him when he got here. All of us were up in the prosecutor room with Uncle Earl just waiting. I was about five years old, so about 1947. We waited a long time because I remember that it got dark. Back in the day there was a service station across the street catty corner from the old theatre and it doubled as the bus stop. We all kept leaning into that window and watching that station. Some of the grownups were drink- ing something from a tall brown bottle! Don't know what that was.

Finally that Ol'Bus pulled in and stopped. Everybody was hollerin' and whoopin' it up. They waited 'til a uni- form got off the bus packing a duffel bag then ran down the steps to the street. Grandpa Royse picked me up and carried me down the steps to meet dad.

Do I remember meetin' and greetin' Dad? No I don't! As the story goes I was stan- din' there so long I got tired and tired and by the time we got to the street. I was sound asleep on Grandpa's shoul- der. I do remember that the wait with the grownups was a truckload of fun.

Another fun memory I have of that Ol' Waitsburg theatre is the trips I made with another of my Uncles, Dorsey Crossler. He would drive us (me and him) up there every now and then. We would get there, go in and find a seat, then I would sleep through the whole movie. "Unk" would wake me up and on the way out he would take me into that tiny café thing outside the theatre and get us both an ice cream cone. Movie or no, I had a really big time!

David (Skip) Royse

Walla Walla