This week in 1929...

Conducting research in the archives of the Museum, I've been really interested lately in life in Catawba County from the 1920s through the 1940s. Fortunately, the CCHA has years upon years of newspaper records from various publications that we are able to access to help satisfy my curiosity.

Looking at the last week in January of 1929, in addition to the articles about bootleggers being caught and punished, I was most intrigued by the advertisements I came across. Many were for department stores, clothing, Lucky Strike cigarettes, and automobiles.

Scattered throughout the issues were multiple local theaters advertising movies. One particularly dramatic and eye-catching ad featured the Imperial Theatre's showing of "Wings," a love story set in WWI.

This silent film, produced in 1927, won an Oscar for Best Picture and was the only silent movie in history to do so. And with movie prices hovering around $8.75 in Hickory today, you'll be interested to know that you could view "Wings" for between 10 and 30 cents, depending on if you preferred balcony to floor seats.