Los Banos Rotary Club History
Over 1300 Children At Theatre Parties

Over 1300 children in Los Banos and the rural areas trooped into the Del Rio Theatre here Tuesday for two Christmas parties where they were treated to an hour and a half show, under the sponsorship of the Los Banos Rotary Club in cooperation with the Crest Theatre.

There were plenty of cartoons to delight the kiddies and the feature film was Walt Disney's true-to-life adventure, "Waterbirds." The theatre party is an annual event for the children of the community.

Santa Claus was on hand to greet the children as they passed by to receive individual socks of premium quality Christmas candy which was provided by the Rotary Club. D. E. (Kelly) Bambauer was in charge of this share of the program.

The first show got underway at 10:15 a. m. and the second party was held in the afternoon at 1:15 o'clock. There were two shows to accommodate the great number of children at the yearly party. There were two colors of tickets which split the attendance into equal groups.

The children were exceptionally well behaved, according to committee workers. A group of Rotarians were on hand at each show to distribute the candy as each youngster came up to chat with Santa.

Much credit for the success of the affair goes to theatre manager Mrs. Frank J. Silva, Jr., popularly known as "Benny" to the local theatre-goers, and to her staff.

The Rotary Club has expressed its appreciation to her and her staff for their cooperation in making the Christmas shows a success.

Rotarians in charge of arrangements included President Kenneth Anderson, Al Fittje, Otto Zentner, Eddie Enos and Charles Alden.

December 25, 1953

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