The Historical Poncan Theater

The Historical Poncan Theater
7/20/2024

General Information

Equipment used: DVR, 3 IR video cameras, 1 full-spectrum video camera, personal audio recorders, digital camera, geophone, Mel Meter, surface temperature thermometer, 2 KII EMF meters, Rem Pod, Spirit Box, Tracer Wire, EMF Wire, and other personal EMF and recording equipment.

Atmospheric Conditions:

Moon: Waxing Gibbous 100% Full

Temp: 77° F

Humidity: 69%

Barometric Pressure: 30.04

Wind: NW at 9 MPH

Investigators: Christy, Kathy and API Members: Brooke, Tammy, and Jill

A special thanks to our friends at API for inviting us along on this investigation!

Cameras

1. Upstairs Hallway
2. Auditorium Facing Entrance
3. Auditorium Facing Stage
4. Downstairs Dressing Room

Historical/Factual/Relevant Info:

Charles Calkins, George Brett, Eugene Wetzel, and Dr. J. A. Douglass formed the Poncan Theater Company and opened The Poncan Theater on September 20, 1927. The building was designed by the Boller Brothers of Kansas City as an “atmospheric theater with elaborate ceilings and ornamentation giving an exotic feeling.” The theater had a Wurlitzer pipe organ. The chief organist was Vera Byerhoff, who also served as the soloist on opening night. Fred Pickerell was the first managing director of the theater, which had 1,200 seats. Ticket costs were $1.10 for the lower floor and 50 cents for the balcony. The theater was

unique for its time as it was one of the few theaters that didn’t have pillars supporting the balcony but instead had a 5-foot-thick I-beam spanning the entire width of the building. Part of the vaudeville equipment was an on-stage elevator, which was also unheard of at the time. It could move furniture on and off the stage and was used in magic acts.

Fred Pickerell presented musicals and plays in 1928 and featured famous musicians at the theater, including the John Philip Sousa Band. The following year, sound was added for movies, and in April of 1929, the first “talkies” were shown. Will Rogers performed in 1931 to the largest audience in the theater’s history. The same year, Ethel Barrymore (great-aunt to the modern-day actress, Drew Barrymore), appeared on stage in “The Constant Wife.”

In April of 1933, the Poncan closed due to two lawsuits. One was from the lessor for back rent, and the other was a counterclaim by Pickerell to establish a prior lien on Poncan’s equipment. The suits were dismissed, and Pickerel continued under a new agreement with the lessors, reopening in early September of that year.

Donald R. Hall became theater manager in 1946 and had the longest tenure of any theater manager, retiring in 1977. His wife, Francis Hall, assisted with the business until her death in 1967. She collapsed in one of the theater offices on the second floor and died shortly after.

The theater went through remodeling in 1954 and 1962. Theater artist Earl Sturgis painted theater posters in the art room near the projector room for upcoming movies. These posters were displayed out in front of the theater and are still stored in various spaces in the theater. In 1985, Barney Alston, who started at the theater when it opened in 1927, worked to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This was the same year the theater had closed and remained closed for almost a decade. Barney’s wife, Geneva, who was also a longtime employee of the theater, started a scrapbook that currently holds over 20 years of Poncan Theater memorabilia.

In 1989, the building was donated to the Poncan Theater Co. through a gift from Enloe and Wanda Baumert. Larry Buck had worked tirelessly to save the Poncan over the next 20 years. Fundraisers and public events raised money to help in his efforts. In 1991, Jo Ann Muchmore was hired as director to help save the theater. Restoration began in 1992, led by Bill Goldsberry, and the theater reopened in September of 1994. The theater received the Best Interior Renovation in the State award in 1996.

A strip of plaster trim above the front doors, located in the interior lobby of the theater, was painted several times to cover up a greenish-black residue that kept reappearing. It was treated for what appeared to be a fungus, but it turned black again. Some say it is the blood of a ghost seeping down from the upstairs offices; however, it has been determined that it was oil from an old popcorn machine in the men’s lounge that had soaked through the floor over the decades.

In 2006, Dave May, executive director of the Poncan, leased the second-floor offices to Team Radio (which didn’t have their first broadcast until 2011 after the offices had been restored). He also led efforts to restore the 1930’s hand-painted lobby art, which included the poster of Will Rogers. These paintings are rare because they were often painted over when new movies were shown in theaters. This saved money as canvas was expensive at that time.

Additionally, theaters were asked during World War II to donate their canvas to the war effort, so many of these posters across the country have been lost to history.

In 2017, the theater celebrated its 90th anniversary and installed an electronic marquee. Expansion and remodeling continued, and private rentals of the theater were offered. The theater remained open during the pandemic in 2020, offering free movies on Tuesdays, with restricted seating and mask requirements in place. New seats were installed in 2022, and one special seat was saved and placed on display by the 2nd-floor offices in memory of a patron who was said to have died while watching a show on the balcony some years ago. It could not be confirmed through a search of newspaper archives about the death of a patron at the theater.

Poncan Theatre, 1939’s “Union Pacific” starring Barbara Stanwyck & Joel McCrea.

The obituary of Frances Hall, who died in the second-floor offices in 1967, states in part, “Services for Mrs. Francis I. Hall, 50, who died Saturday, will be at 2:30 p.m. in First Baptist Church. Ponca City theaters will be closed until 6 p.m. Monday in her memory. She was the wife of David Hall, manager of several Ponca City theaters.”

Also in the theater’s history is the death of Patricia “Patti” Evans, who passed away on October 29, 2018, at the age of 88. She was a long-time member of the theater and directed the children’s theater program for many years. Her obituary reads as follows.

(Left) 1946 Ponca City High School Yearbook Photo Age 16, (Right) The Daily Oklahoman, Wed., Oct. 31, 2018.

Patricia Jane Perdue Evans joined her heavenly Father on Monday, October 29, 2018, at the age of 88. Patti was born on July 24, 1930, in Ponca City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Lon M. and Mae Elizabeth (Purkey) Perdue.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lon and Mae; three sisters, Dorothy Perdue Stephenson, Velma Lee Perdue, and Thelma Jean Davies; brother, Mike Perdue; one grandson, Thomas Stewart Evans, and her beloved husband, Lloyd I. “Jerry” Evans.

The family will greet friends on Friday, November 2, at Patti's home, 500 S. Prentice, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Visitation will be held at Trout Funeral Home on Saturday, November 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on Sunday, November 4, from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, November 5th, 2018, at Grace Episcopal Church in Ponca City. Immediately following the service, she will be laid to rest next to her husband in the Mausoleum at Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Some individuals have speculated that Patti could be one of the ghosts that remain at the Poncan Theater since she worked there. It was rumored that she died there in her office. However, we found that claim to be false. We also were unable to verify any proof of Patti's spirit being in the theater.

Death Claim: There is an old claim that an African American woman often visited the theater. One night, she supposedly passed away in her usual seat. Later, the theater took her seat out and replaced it with another one. This old seat can still be seen today in the second-floor lobby of the theater. When our historian, Kathy, conducted research on the Poncan Theater, she was unable to find any documented records of this woman’s existence.

Investigation Report

Our two teams arrived around 4:00 p.m., and after talking to the caretaker, we took a quick look around on the first floor. Around 5:27 p.m., while bringing in some equipment for the investigation, Christy heard a woman’s voice that sounded like several syllables, but Christy couldn’t make out what she was saying. No audio recorder captured this voice either. During this same time, though, Christy’s audio recorder did pick up a voice that said, “hey.” (#1 in lobby)

Christy and Kathy were exploring the theater and were upstairs getting ready to enter the projector room. There was a small staircase that led up to the projector room. Before entering the room, Christy was looking for the light to turn it on. It was during this time that Christy’s audio recorder picked up a “woman's voice” by the projector room stairs. This voice appeared to be a 2-syllable word.” It was also a very strange EVP because it had a strange, high-pitched tone and could not be clearly heard to discern what was said.

picked up a “woman's voice” by the projector room stairs. This voice appeared to be a 2-syllable word.” It was also a very strange EVP because it had a strange, high-pitched tone and could not be clearly heard to discern what was said.

After the API team returned from their dinner break, Christy and Kathy left to eat dinner. While we were gone, the API team was setting up their equipment. Christy’s audio recorder was in the auditorium, not too far away from the left entrance, and recorded a “hey” #2 during this time. About 1 minute later, another “hey” #3 was captured on Christy’s audio recording. One can’t help but wonder if the spirit(s) there were trying hard to get our attention.

About 30 minutes later, Christy’s audio recorder picks up a “tap” sound. Christy and Kathy arrived back around 7:45 p.m. API was completing their final setup at 8:00 p.m.

At 8:18 pm, Christy and Kathy were in the orchestra pit setting up a motion detector when a whisper-like female voice said something that sounded like, “set.”

Christy, Kathy, and Jill went up to the second floor to set up additional equipment. Jill’s audio recorder was at the top of the short stairs that led to the balcony. We were in the 2nd-floor lobby laying down the Tracer Wire. Kathy and Jill were talking, and Jill’s audio recorder picked up Kathy saying, “I’ve got this theory…” Then right after this, Jill’s audio recorder picked up a faint voice saying, “Here.”

8:42 p.m. Our team was investigating on the first floor, conducting a sit-down up close by the stage, when one of the investigators noticed that one of the light-up balls had activated and then rolled down the aisle. This occurrence was captured on camera #3.

9:02 p.m., Christy and Jill tried to recreate the light ball activation. While doing this, the cameras captured what appeared to be a floating

light orb and the partial apparition of legs, walking from right to left on the stage, and then disappearing.

9:13 p.m. – After seeing the orb-like light ball was also seen right before the apparition, but our team was able to debunk the light as a reflection from either Christy’s or Jill’s flashlight or light from Christy’s cell phone.

light orb and the partial apparition of legs, walking from right to left on the stage, and then disappearing.

At 9:16 p.m., Christy walked downstairs to the dressing room area. It was during this time that her audio recorder picked up a “hey.” #4

We started conducting our sweeps in the main auditorium when we noticed that one of the light-up balls activated in the middle of the aisle. This was captured on video. Around 9:30 p.m., we all decided to do a sit-down in the main auditorium

10:12 p.m. - We are still in the auditorium doing a sit-

down. Christy was asking questions, trying to make a connection with any spirits that were present in the lower auditorium. It was at this time that Christy heard 2 loud footsteps, but unfortunately, these footsteps were not captured on audio.

At 10:45 p.m., the teams played the song "Meet Me in St. Louis" by Judy Garland to try to bring some comfort and energy to their communication. However, at the end of the song, Kathy’s recorder picked up a quick voice that was difficult to determine what was being said. "voice after song." We continued our sit-down in the auditorium. Brooke heard a “click sound” from the stage area and called it out. Although other team members didn’t hear it, Christy’s audio recorder captured this sound. During this sit-down time, our team also ended up having three huge activations on the trip wire. These three activations occurred between 11:00 p.m. and 11:12 p.m.

Around 11:45 p.m., our team took a quick break to use the restroom and regroup. Tammy remained in the auditorium and moved the music box to a different location on stage. She had already set the music box down and had recalibrated it. It was around 11:58 p.m. when 2 Loud thumps were recorded on video on stage. The music box also activated. Tammy was the only one on stage during this time. Prior to the thumps, Christy had gone into the bathroom, and one of the team members thought that the loud thud could have been the bathroom door closing behind Christy. However, instead of a single thud sound like the

bathroom door, there were two. Tammy also felt that the sound had originated from the stage area, rather than towards the front of the building. Coincidentally, the motion-activated music box also activated on the stage right after the two thud sounds were heard. This was all captured on video. During this same time, Christy’s audio recorder, which was on the stage of the auditorium, recorded a “click and thud” sound.

At 1:01 am, Kathy was retrieving the laser grid from the theater audio booth’s half-wall after discovering the battery had died. When she located the item, she found that it had been moved approximately 1-1.5 feet from its original position and had been turned to the right by about 45 degrees. At the same time, Tammy saw a shadow of about 6 feet tall move through the theater towards the door to the right. This was the same direction the laser grid was pointing. Tammy said she heard a clicking noise before the shadow moved. Kathy did not hear the click or see the shadow, as it may have been sensed by Tammy psychically.

At 1:20 am, Kathy and Tammy were outside the projector room on the balcony. Tammy stated she had sensed a male presence in the area. Kathy was using a tri-field EMF detector on the landing of the stairs to the projector room to see if she could get a reading on the high static charge that they both were feeling. She got a spike of a high static charge reading on the detector that immediately dissipated. There were no quick movements of the meter during this reading to cause a false spike.

At 1:46 am, the teams were sitting in the lower floor seats of the theater while a lightning storm was happening in the distance. The team was able to see the electrical charge spike in their equipment as each lightning strike occurred. During this time, a voice from a team member in the distance echoed throughout the theater. All team members heard this “Ooops.”

2:13 a.m. – While conducting a sit-down in the upper auditorium, the light-up ball lit up again on the right-side aisle area. Around 2:19 a.m., while still upstairs conducting a sit-down, both Tammy and Brooke stated they saw a bluish-white and green ball of light on the wall. Right after they saw this, the light-up ball activated twice on the right side of the auditorium aisle again.

Psychic Investigator’s Comments

I had to really appreciate the historical aspect of this location. As we entered the building, I was amazed at the great condition of the building. My first encounter was when Kathy and I were unloading equipment in the building, and I heard a woman’s voice coming from the left auditorium entrance. Although I couldn’t make out what was said, I knew there was a woman’s presence in the building. In fact, I had

felt the strong presence of a woman before driving to the location. Throughout my investigation at the Poncan, however, I wasn’t able to fully determine who the woman was. I also thought I had picked up on a second female spirit, one connected to the history of the Poncan. However, with both women, I felt that my connection with them was not as strong as I had hoped. One of the women enjoyed the audio baiting music that we played, and it took her back to a time when she met her husband. This felt like it was around the WWII era.

I did pick up on a man. He felt as if he had worked in the building at some point, or perhaps a building like the old theater, and was either a handyman or a maintenance man. He felt very protective of the Poncan building and still wanted to help there with whatever he could.