Empire Theatre — workers’ day off

It is not clear whether Deputy Sheriff Leonard Macy was on hand to keep out gatecrashers, keep the picnickers in line, or simply to scarf down a plate of the mouth-watering “splendid feast” that Nick “The Clambake King” Tarrant prepared.

“The first annual clambake of the Empire Theatre working force and friends, thirty strong, was enjoyed yesterday morning on the shores of Lake Sunnyside, under the watchful eye of Deputy Sheriff Leonard Nacy, who guaranteed the merrymakers absolute peace and quiet,” The Post-Star reported on Aug.7, 1916.

The married men defeated the single men 7–6 in a baseball game.

“Joseph Stopello pitched for the visitors and his opponent on the mound was Doc Francis Henry Trip. The latter throws with great speed but was wild and unable to locate the plate with any degree of accuracy. Joe Miller (the theater manager) acted as umpire of the contest and gave general satisfaction.”

Other activities included Pinochle card games and foot races.

“Eddie Guy proved his right in his nickname ‘Speed’ when he defeated all opponents in each of the four races and gives great credit to Coach Osborne, who has been training him for several weeks.

Guy and Tripp were musicians as well as athletes.

Earlier in the year, the two theater employees sang the duet “We Work in Perfect Harmony” on Feb. 6, 1916 at the second annual gathering of the “Bing-Bang-Baff Club” — “an organization of the congenial spirits who gather once a year in the basement of the theatre to forget for a few hours the worries of keeping things running smoothly in a playhouse,” The Post-Star reported Feb. 7.

Click here to read my most recent previous Empire Theatre history post.