<p>It’s not everyday that the past intertwines with the present but this is something that happened to the Nolan and Cleary family during a recent tour of The Stanley Theatre. During their visit to Central New York, the family had come together to recognize the work of their cousin John Cleary, currently of Whitesboro. He had written a book about his family history. To help celebrate, the family decided to take a field trip through Central New York to stop at the landmarks that were of importance to their descendants.</p><div class="captionImage leftAlone" style="width: 600px;"><img class="leftAlone" src="http://www.thestanley.org/assets/_resampled/resizedimage600400-IMG9251.JPG" width="600" height="400" alt="" title=""/><p class="caption">A group photo of the Nolan & Cleary family. From the left are Amy Nolan Hurd, Michael Nolan, Dan Cleary, John Cleary, and Susan Nolan.</p></div><p>On their adventure traveling between eras, the family made their way to The Stanley to recognize the life of Francis Luke Nolan. He was born in 1910 and was a native to the area and grew up in Washington Mills and Clinton. Nolan worked as volunteer for The Stanley when the theatre doors opened for the first time.</p><p>In his search of the past, Cleary was able to find an excerpt written by Francis with his memories of The Stanley Theatre.</p><p>The following was written by Francis (Frank) Luke Nolan dated September 25, 1988. </p><p>“I graduated from New Hartford High School in 1928 and returned there in 1978 for the 50th reunion of the class. There were only three boys in a class of 31 graduates. Since I was short, I had missed one semester and I had to study for my Regents Exams to get my diploma. In those days, boys did not often graduate from high school, so my parents were proud of me. Regents Exams are required in New York for college entrance and we began to look for what college I could enter. I wanted to go to the University of Virginia and my mother planned and worked for this. However to make my own money toward tuition and living at the school, I had to work part time that summer and year. And this started my interest in theater.</p><div class="captionImage leftAlone" style="width: 369px;"><img class="leftAlone" src="http://www.thestanley.org/assets/Unknown_2.jpeg" width="369" height="515" alt="" title=""/><p class="caption">Francis (Frank) Luke Nolan Circa 1910 - 1989.</p></div><p>My first job was an usher in the Stanley Theater in Utica. The Stanley was an elaborate movie and vaudeville theater.</p><p>As an usher I wore white gloves and regular uniform. We showed patrons to their seats with flashlights. There were often as many as 15 ushers, stationed at the entrances and in the lobby. As the show started, the ushers marched in formation as part of the opening ceremonies, especially when we had live vaudeville acts. There were different grades of ushers. I worked my way up to being an Outside Usher at the main entrance. When I later went to summer school at Syracuse University and needed a part time job again, I could say I had experience.</p><p>The ushers had to take their white gloves each night and wash and dry them. They also carried smelling salts for a patron who might feel faint!</p><p>Working at the Stanley gave me a chance to see Paul Whitman and his Rhythm Boys, a group which included Bing Crosby. My first job paid $10 a week!”</p><p>After working as a volunteer for The Stanley, Nolan left the Utica area to manage several theatres in Nelsonville, Ohio. This is where he would eventually settle down and raise a family. Nolan passed away in Nelsonville, Ohio in 1989.</p><p>Nolan had two children, a daughter Nancy Josephine Nolan Kincaid who passed away in 2003 and a son, Michael Nolan who grew up in Nelsonville, Ohio. Michael still lives there today with his wife Susan Nolan. The couple had a daughter, Amy Nolan Hurd who currently lives in Texas. The trio as well as John and Dan Cleary were among the family members who took part in The Stanley tour.</p><div class="captionImage leftAlone" style="width: 600px;"><div class="captionImage leftAlone" style="width: 600px;"><img class="leftAlone" src="http://www.thestanley.org/assets/_resampled/resizedimage600480-AHP2588.JPG" width="600" height="480" alt="" title=""/><p class="caption">From the left are Amy Nolan Hurd, Michael Nolan and Susan Nolan on The Stanley Stage during a tour of the theatre.</p></div></div>
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