Courtesy photo — When members of Marshalltown Community Theatre discovered a well-preserved school stage curtain in an old storage unit, Tyler Lillibridge, Paul Crawford, Cheryl Duden, Kevin Jensen and Hobbs Hooley unfolded the cloth and announced it to the principal of Taylor Country School No. 4.
A forgotten piece of history was hidden in the attic of Marshalltown Community Theatre’s (MCT) old warehouse, and it wasn’t until they unfolded the rolls that they realized what it was.
MCT Board Chair Lisa Naig said they found the hand-painted stage curtain from a rural Marshall County school last weekend while cleaning up what they call “The Barn. Naig said board vice chairman Hobbs Hooley became intrigued by the 15-foot by 9-foot curtain, which was among other stage backdrops, and asked what it was.
“When he unfolded it, I said, ‘Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. I know what it is,'” she said.
Naig also serves on the board of directors of the Marshall County Historical Society, so he knew what it was.
“It’s in amazing condition. I don’t know how long it’s been there but it’s really amazing,” she said. “We were amazed to find it. We couldn’t believe it. We’re glad we found it.”
Marshalltown Community Theatre President Lisa Naig and Taylor Country School No. 4 Principal Julie Lang are excited about the discovery of an old country school stage curtain, which was discovered in the attic of “The Barn” last weekend.
Though Naig can’t recall using the curtains in a recent production, MCT has used the barn as storage since the 1980s, where it has accumulated a collection of props, sets, and costumes. The curtains are the only other historical artifacts stored in the building, including an old cast-iron stove, a potbelly stove, an antique Pepsi box, and an old Burger Chef cup with a straw.
“It’s really cool just finding these,” she said. “There’s a little bit of history there.”
A new home
Naig contacted Julie Lang, principal of Marshalltown’s Taylor Country School No. 4, which is owned by the Marshall County Historical Society. The curtains were rolled up, loaded into the bed of Hooley’s truck and driven to Lang’s home.
“It was a great find,” Lang said. “I thanked the community theater. It’s a rare find. I was so happy to get a call from Marshalltown Community Theater.”
Rural schools used large pieces of fabric as stage curtains for annual student recitals at Christmas and the end of the school year — some even hung bedsheets on wires, Lang said — but only a few schools were lucky enough to have advertising curtains, and that’s exactly what was found at Byrne.
“Local businesses and merchants pay to advertise on the curtains,” she says, “and the curtain painters go to businesses and ask if they’ll pay to have their store featured on the advertising curtains.”
The curtains found by MCT are believed to have been painted by local artist Bert McGriff, and Lang called McGriff’s daughter, who said the work resembled her father’s.
Lang is trying to figure out the exact age of the curtains, but estimates they’re no older than 85. She said the store’s phone number only has four digits.
“Marshalltown started using four-digit phone numbers after 1939,” she said.
Lang isn’t sure which school used the curtains, but judging by the advertiser, it was definitely somewhere in Marshall County.
“All of the advertisers are from Marshalltown and probably a few other towns as well,” she said.
The curtains depict 25 businesses, including some familiar to Marshalltown residents such as Lenox Furnace, Parcells, Estelle’s Ambulance, Corn Belt Food Store, Best Hardware and Appliances, Joyce Lumber Company and Security Savings Bank, and Lang said he will be able to use those businesses to date the curtains.
“I’ll try to find out how long they’ve been in business,” she said.
Lang contacted a preservationist at the Iowa State Historical Society and showed him the curtains.
“Our curtains are some of the nicest he’s ever seen,” she said. “We’re lucky to have two good stage curtains. The others are in really bad condition, so we’ve spent thousands of dollars saving them.”
The second curtain acquired by the Society is a school stage curtain donated by Liscombe’s family some years ago, also in good condition.
Unfortunately, the piece isn’t easily accessible to the public — the Marshall County Historical Society doesn’t yet have a space to display it because the curtain is so large — but Lang hopes that will change in a few years.
“I’m grateful that the community theater called instead of pitching,” she said. “I’m glad they spread it out because it would be a pain to spread it out. I’m really glad we have young people with strong backs.”
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Contact Lana Bloodstream
641-753-6611 ext. 210 or
Contact lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.
Courtesy photo — When members of Marshalltown Community Theatre discovered a well-preserved school stage curtain in an old storage unit, Tyler Lillibridge, Paul Crawford, Cheryl Duden, Kevin Jensen and Hobbs Hooley unfolded the cloth and announced it to the principal of Taylor Country School No. 4.
Marshalltown Community Theatre President Lisa Naig and Taylor Country School No. 4 Principal Julie Lang are excited about the discovery of an old country school stage curtain, which was discovered in the attic of “The Barn” last weekend.
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