2019 News Articles

Click the links below to take you to the article you want to read and discover everything that happened in 2019!

• Wallace Theater One of the Earliest Businesses in Town!

• The Wallace Legacy

• Wallace Theater and the ACE Program Host “Movie on the Square”

• Wallace Theater hosts First Ever Ice Cream Making Crank-off

• Wallace Theater host Live performance to Honor Veterans

• Memorable Events in 2019

Sunday, July 10th, 2019

By Joe Gonzales

If the walls of the Wallace Theater could talk, imagine the stories it could tell. In 1925, the original Wallace Theater was built by Wallace Blankenship. In 1928, Blankenship built the new Wallace Theater across the street in the 800 block of Houston Street. In 1949, it was renovated and reopened as “West Texas’ Finest.” At that time, it was a state-of-the-art-theater which among some of the items, included E-7 Simplex projectors. The theater also had both a cry room and smoking room. By 1957 Blankenship had built the largest small town theater chain in America, which consisted of 27 theaters in the West Texas area. But by the mid-to-late 1980s, the Wallace Theater was closed. And remained closed until the late George Keeling, and his wife, Iris, purchased it in 2002. The revitalization project on the historic theater located in downtown Levelland actually began in March of 2002. And many years later, renovations are still ongoing. Even more impressive, the Wallace is getting closer to being what it once was. In 2015, the Keelings sold their building to the Levelland Wallace Theater, which is non-profit. It is now managed by a non-profit board made up of 10 board members. The board includes President Tania Moody; Vice President Denver Bruner; Treasurer Sarah Osburn; Secretary Lorie Marquez; and Ambassadors Joe Bill Vardeman, Kristin Bingham, Nicole Campbell, Dolf Guardiola, Lance Terrell, and Steve Wright. The board oversee the renovation projects and are in charge of helping with programs being held at the Wallace. Alycyn Keeling, the daughter of George and Iris Keeling, acts as Executive Director for the Wallace Theater. She said the board was put together after they realized there was no way the project could bedone by themselves. “More importantly, for this to be a long-term, sustainable project, it needed to be a community project,” she said. “Everything we do, we want the community to be involved.” Keeling said they want every person who walks through the door of the Wallace to feel like the theater is theirs and that they own it. “We want them to know they are a part of this restoration,” she said. “By making sure that happens, it will also ensure this is a long-term, sustainable project.” Keeling said she would like to see the project completed in three to five years.

“The past six months, we, the board, have been reevaluating our construction plans and our concept design and are deciding what we need to do to make this place functional,” said Keeling. She added, “Our plan is, we will be doing some renovations by the end of the summer, and we are planning to be closed down in August to be able to get some renovation work done then.” She said in mid-to-late fall, they plan to open the auditorium and, hopefully, are able to have some performances. “Our goal for the end of this year is to continue raising money for the construction documents, once that is done, we can start getting in and doing major renovations,” she said.
Another project currently being worked on is the blade sign for the front of the Wallace Theater. The original sign was installed in 1949, and featured neon lighting, six-foot wide letters on both sides and stood approximately 42 feet tall. It was removed in the 1980s. “We are reaching out to Levelland High School alumni and asking them, as a class, to donate to the sign. For every class that raises $1,000, we will put that money towards purchasing the letters on the sign. We will also be offering them an opportunity to have either a reunion or party here at the Wallace Theater.” She added, “I think the sign will be an added attraction for downtown Levelland. I think it will also help and support other businesses downtown.” How it all began Keeling’s eyes light up when she begins to talk about the history and future of the Wallace Theater. Keeling said she was either a junior or senior in high school when her parents purchased the Wallace Theater. “I have to admit, I thought my dad was crazy,” she said. “But he was really excited about it and at that time, it was his project and dream and his vision.” “I’m so thankful that my parents had both the vision and the foresight to take on this project,” she said. “It’s the greatest honor of my lifetime to work on this project and work with the people in the community. Levelland was so good to me growing up and has been so good to my family for multiple generations. But I just see this project as a way we can truly give back to this community in the future.” So, one can imagine now why this project is so important to her. She is getting the opportunity to work towards fulfilling the dream and vision her father had for the Wallace. At the same time, she knows there is a lot that still has to be finished. “This is a huge project and there is a lot of work that needs to be done,” said Keeling. “My dad oversaw so much of it; I will say though, I don’t think he realized quite the gravity of the project in the beginning.” Keeling said her father had a deep love for Levelland and being able to grow up here. “He thought Levelland needed a great movie theater because he remembered it as a kid,” she said. “He thought they would get it, clean it out, put some paint on it, and it would be good to go. But there was a lot more work to do.” Keeling said the very first thing her father had to do after purchasing the theater was evicting the three hundred residents living inside – pigeons. “He hired pigeon catchers to come and take out all the pigeons,” she said laughing. After all the pigeons had new homes, the next project was to dismantle the drop-down ceiling in the main auditorium which revealed a beautiful scrolling mural from the 1950s her father referred to as the “giant seaweed.” “That’s what he remembered as a kid! Getting to come in and watch a movie while sitting under the giant seaweed and watching a movie,” said Keeling. Keeling said in the 1970s the balcony was walled off in order to install a second screen. A drop-down ceiling was installed and covered the mural. “He couldn’t wait to get back into the theater and pull down the drop-down ceiling to see of the mural was still there,” she said. At the beginning of the renovations, Keeling said her father utilized the help of youth groups and students. He hired them to help with the clean-up which allowed them to raise money for trips or projects they were working on for school or church. Once they got into the building, it was found that the second story was not structurally sound.
Keeling said that issue was a huge investment and one her father went into the project not anticipating. “That’s where so much of the work and investment has gone,” she said. “It has been used to secure the second story, which now, is a beautifully renovated loft space.”
That space is used to host many of the programs put on by the Wallace today. “We’ve also started to partner with some really fun groups, like Texas Tech University and their vernacular school of music,” said Keeling. “They’ve done some things with us already, and we’ve even brought in some comedians from New York City.” She added, “The first couple of years we’ve worked really hard to get the word out and get people to come in. We are now seeing that we have arrived at the point that people know about the things going on here at the Wallace Theater.” Keeling feels people are starting to pay attention and they have spread a lot through word-of-mouth. Still, Keeling wants people who want to help complete this project to know anything they can help with will go a long way. “People who have looked at this project understand the size of it,” she said. “But, what I really want people to understand is this is a community project and want them to understand it’ll take every one of us.” She concluded, “We are a non-profit organization and we take donations. Every single dollar we get matters. Every dollar works together with every other dollar. It will help us complete all the renovations that are still needed.” Keeling said she would like to thank everyone who donated or who has dedicated their time and efforts to volunteering for the Wallce Theater. “Thank you to everyone who has donated and volunteered their time to help make this dream continue to progress,” Keeling said. Anyone interested in becoming involved with the Wallace Theater either through donations or volunteering can go online to wallacetheater.com.

Sunday, July 21st, 2019

Royce Blankenship is the son of Wallace Blankenship, the owner of the original Wallace Theater he built in 1925 and in 1928, where it is located today on Houston Street. Blankenship was thrilled to his dad’s legacy on the front page of the Levelland & Hockley County News-Press as part of the Early Settlers’ Day special edition. The Wallace Theater was featured as one of the earliest businesses in town. Pictured sharing her newspaper with Blankenship is Alycyn Keeling, executive director of the Wallace Theater, daughter of Iris Keeling and the late George Keeling, of Levelland.(Submitted Photo)

Wednesday, July 24th, 2018

Main Street program is partnering with the Wallace Theater for Movie on the Square in downtown, Friday, for the showing of Wonder Park. The movie will begin at dusk but activities for children and families will start at 6:30 p.m. on the courthouse lawn. The movie, Wonder Park, tells the story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative young girl, June, comes alive. Alycyn Keeling, executive director at the Wallace Theater, coordinated most of the activities and is excited that the Movie on the Square will coincide with Wonder Camp happening this week at the Wallace. build their own model roller coasters and will display them the night of Movie on the Square. Wonder Camp started Tuesday at the Wallace and enrolled 22 students between fourth and sixth grades. The camp is serving as the summer camp for the ACE after school program through Levelland ISD. “It’s so great that Levelland ISD has pursued the ACE program and received this grant,” Keeling said. “It’s such an incredible benefit to our students. I really want this whole event to showcase the great work our teachers do and the service that it provides to our community.” Keeling said she received an e-mail going over curriculum that went with the Wonder Park movie and she thought it was a great idea for a camp. “I went to see the movie and thought this is such a cool idea!We could host a camp for kids to come create their own roller coasters and it gives the film an educational focus,” Keeling said. Keeling pitched the idea to Terri White, the principal at the Levelland Intermediate School, who immediately hopped on board and suggested the camp serve as the camp through the ACE program. Keeling said throughout the camp, students use different skills and creativity to invent their own roller coasters or amusement park rides. “They imagine what their theme park would look like and use resources that teachers have been collecting, like recyclables, for them to be able to build their own roller coasters,” Keeling said. “At the same time, they learn the specifics about physics and the logistics that go into building their roller coasters.”

The camp uses physics, science and math to help students learn the dynamics that make roller coasters and rides at amusement parks work. “They are learning how to build it, how to put these things together to make what they’re envisioning come to life,” Keeling said. She said the students are grouped into six groups of four students, so there should be at least six display amusement “attractions” at the Movie on the Square, Friday. “The idea is to create a little amusement park for the actual event,” Keeling said. After putting together the camp for students, Keeling contacted Missy Passmore, manager of the Levelland Main Street program, and asked if the group had chosen its movie for Movie on the Square. “I had been talking about wanting to showcase this cool activity these kids are doing,” Keeling said. “We felt it would be a great partnership between the Wallace and Main Street to help promote downtown.” There will be between eight and 10 fun activities for kids and families at Friday’s Movie on the Square. Main Street will be setting up a lawn bowling game, the science team teachers from Levelland Middle School will have a “giant bubble” booth, there will be a giant Jenga game, a photo booth, and a contest for kids who decorate their own cardboard box car. There will also be two small bounce houses for children to play in. The cost will be $2 to play in the bounce houses. There will also be concessions available. Proceeds from the bounce houses and concession sales will go towards the Wallace Theater project to renovate the building and continue hosting events like Wonder Camp. Also, the Cochran and Hockley Association of Retired Teachers (CHART) will be hosting a sign-up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program and will be giving out books to children who are in the program. CHART will also host a story time for children attending the event, Friday. The Levelland High School cheerleaders will be hosting a face painting booth the night of the event, as well. Additionally, the Chick-fil-A trailer from West End in Lubbockwill be at the event serving up chicken favorites. Jordan’s Fruit Stand will also have yummy treats available. Keeling said she is excited about this event and hopes that it encourages kids and families to tap into their creativity and let their imaginations run wild. “My hope for the community-wide event is that it will inspire all the kids that come to go home and be creative,” Keeling said. “I also hope families will be inspired to go home and create with their kids, and play, and have a good time.” The Wonder Camp is taking place this week between Tuesday and Friday from 8 a.m. until noon at the Wallace Theater. The movie Friday is free of charge for admission to the movie and is open to the whole community.

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019

Get ready to scream for ice cream at the first-ever Ice Cream Crank Off being hosted by the Wallace Theater Sunday in downtown Levelland.

The event will begin at 1 p.m. and host teams from various businesses, clubs, organizations and individuals who will race to make the best tasting homemade ice cream. Teams will set up around the downtown square and get to cranking. There will be three judges who decide what teams win first, second and third place. Local business, I Don’t Know Diner is donating the prizes for the first through third place winners. They will also be giving out free ice cream tokens to patrons for their diner, as well. The public is invited to attend the event, where there will also be family fun activities happening as well. Steffani Cantwell, events and marketing coordinator for the Wallace, said there will be food trucks, bouncy houses and face painting, among other games and activities.

Tickets will be $1 to participate in the activities, as well as ice cream tasting. The overall winner of the Ice Cream Crank Off will win the trophy for Master of Frozen Treats. “It’s a creative way to bring businesses, organizations, their volunteers and employees, along with their families, together,” Cantwell said. “It encourages people to come out, to be involved and then think, ok, maybe there’s a lot more here than we thought.” The Ice Cream Crank Off will coincide with the Wallace’s fifth annual art show. Businesses will display a piece of art from a local artist in their business window. “We’re excited becaue they can showcase their art here and then be able to grow further here in Levelland,” Cantwell said. “Even though we’re in a small town, there’s so much creativity, just look around. We want to be maybe a little bit of a beacon for them.”

Cantwell said the event is also a way for the Wallace Theater to give back to the community that has gives so much to them. “We want to host events for the community as a whole and get everyone involved,” Cantwell said. “It’s not just about the Wallace, it’s about Levelland and everyone else who is around us. Everyone who supports us, we want to support them.” She said the Wallace doesn’t just want to be a venue, the staff at the Wallace wants to support the community and anything that adds to it. “The Wallace isn’t just a venue, it’s a proponent of inspiration,” Cantwell said. “The Wallace wants to put the community first.” The Wallace values art cranked and frozen, a volunteer runner will be by to take the contestant’s sample for judging. The ice cream must be frozen to be judged and must be ready by 1:45 p.m.;

–No samples will be given to the public until after samples have been carried to judges. Samples will be available to ticketed tasters between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., or until ice cream is gone; and –Ice is to be dumped in a designated area that will be assigned to the contestant the day of the event. Participants are asked to not dump any ice, salt and water onto grass or flowerbeds. Among the teams that will be participating are: United Supermarkets of Levelland, George R. Keeling Insurance, First United Methodist Church, Brown Realty, Vivianna Gomez of Scoggin Dickey in Levelland, Levelland Noon Lion’s Club, Cricket Wireless, Our Stuff, KLVT Radio, and the Wallace Theater Board.

Sunday, November 3rd, 2019

The Wallace Theater will pay tribute to veterans in Levelland, Hockley County and throughout the region with its live performance of the Cornerstones of Courage the weekend of November 8 through November 10.

Alycyn Keeling, executive director at the Wallace Theater, said the performance is a live, dramatic reading of the book Cornerstones of Courage, written by Douglas Pricer. The book is the real life story of Ssgt. William (Bill) Bordelon, who fought for the United States Marines in World War II, and is told from the perspective of friends, family and other marines who served alongside Bordelon in WWII. Keeling said the idea to host such a performance began a few years ago after Pricer wrote the book. Keeling said he is a family friend and when he wrote the book, Keeling fell in love with it. Cornerstones of Courage, we were talking about what an incredible story it is,” Keeling said. The book talks about Bordelon’s life as he’s growing up in San Antonio and starts with him when he’s in high school and his decision to join the Junior ROTC at his school.

From there, Borderlon goes on to join the U.S. Marines and fight in WWII. “It talks about his heart for leadership from a pretty young age,” Keeling said. The book is told from the perspective of Bordelon’s father, mother, sister, brother and eventually fellow U.S. Marines who he served with in the war.

It also tells the story of Borderlon’s niece, who never got the opportunity to meet him but whose life is heavily impacted by Borderlon’s story within her family. “Her part of the storyline talks about what an impact that made on her in her life,” Keeling said. Borderlon was one of five U.S. Military members to have been laid in state at the Alamo in San Antonio. In the book, Monique participate in the ceremony in which the entire community of San Antonio is invited to participate. “That ceremony is when she became a true patriot herself and realized the sacrifice her uncle and family had made for the country, for her and for the freedoms we all have today,” Keeling said. The cast that will perform the live reading and performance include seven actors, three of which are local to Levelland and include Gene Burton, who will play the lead, Bill Bordelon. The other actors from Levelland include Tania Moody, who will play Monique, Borderlon’s niece; and Denver Bruner. Keeling said this performance is very special to her and all those who have worked hard to bring the Wallace Theater back to its former glory.

“What’s so unique about this presentation is when you imagine walking into the Wallace Theater, there’s a sense of stepping back in time,” Keeling said. “The theater was built in the 1940s and was during this time period.” Keeling said to go along with the dramatic reading by cast members, there will also be dramatic music and pictures of the people who the actors playing, as well as pictures of the scenes where some of the battles featured in the book took place. “It gives people the opportunity to fully experience this story in a different way rather than reading it in a book,” Keeling said. The production was made possible through a grant from the Hockley County Endowment. The Wallace Theater will provide a free performance for veterans on Saturday, November 9 at 2 p.m. Keeling said free tickets to that performance will be given out to veterans at the Veterans Day Breakfast that morning of November 9. Keeling said she and the board at the Wallace Theater felt this was a good way to pay tribute to veterans in Levelland and Hockley County because it is the story of many U.S. veterans. “It’s the story of so many of our U.S. military members because they and their families have similar stories,” Keeling said. “It affected everyone differently but it’s important for us to never forget the sacrifices the people before us have made for our country, and the sacrifices U.S. military members and their families are making today. “I think by reading this story and by coming to see this presentation, it’s one of the best ways we can honor what these people have done for us,” Keeling concluded.

There were 107 people who inquired about auditions in response to the Wallace Theater’s open casting call in September. From that, staff followed up with 37 people and 16 people submitted their auditions. Then, the cast of seven were chosen and include: Gene Burton, Tania Moody, Denver Bruner, all of Levelland; Evan Kyle Price, of Lubbock; Stetson Smith, of Lubbock; Gerald Brodin, of Austin; and Nora Hahn, of Houston. Burton, who considered and is still considering, joining the U.S. Military himself, says his role in the performance is an opportunity for him to show his gratitude to past and present members of the U.S. Military. “Anything to remember the sacrifices of the greatest generation is something I want to be a part of,” Burton said. “And the military service, of course, I’m still considering it.” Moody said she had a desire to be a part of the performance at the Wallace not only because of her love for history and those who have served the country, but also because of her lengthy involvement with the Wallace Theater. “I love history and I love our veterans, and it was really exciting to be a part of a first time performance like this opening at the Wallace,” Moody said. “I love the Wallace and I think it is a great downtown treasure. It means a lot ot me to be a part of that and do whatever I can to help.” Bruner said his participation is close to his heart, as he has several family members who have served in the U.S. Military throughout generations. “My son’s retired with the Air Force, my dad served in the Navy, my father-in-law in the Army and my uncles served,” Bruner said. “We’ve researched it all the way back to George Washington in the revolution. It hits home, big time.”

The actors also agree that a performance such as this speaks volumes for the Levelland community and downtown Levelland. “It says a lot about Levelland, that we are a destination for people,” Moody said. “We have a lot to offer not just our own community, but communities around us by creating experiences that entertain and inspire.” Keeling said in order to make this performance possible, volunteers and local businesses have dedicated time and effort to ensure the Wallace Theater will be ready by Friday. “We have so many people working so hard to get the Wallace to where it needs to be so we can host this show,” Keeling said. Dolf Guardiola and Ed Marsh built an ADA accessible ramp going into the theater, L&L Construction rebuilt the stairs at the back of the building and on each side of the stage, Allied Oilfield welded the railings around those stairs, G&C Contracting repainted the balcony at the back of the theater for some sprucing, ABF Roofing installed a new roof, and Childer’s Brothers did the foundation and concrete work at the front of the theater. “People are going to enjoy seeing the next phase of the Wallace Theater project. The Wallace board and I are so thankful for every individual who has worked and or volunteered their time. Thank you to everyone in the community who has donated to make these renovations possible.” Tickets can be purchased online for $15 each at wallacetheater.com/events. The public performances will be Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Click the links below to take you to our most memorable events of 2019!

• LMS Video Documentary and Website tour at the Wallace

• Early Settlers Day Face Painting at the Wallace

• Wonder Park: “Movie on the Square”

• Thunder on the Plains: Wallace Award Winner