Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008 - (Page 25)

Historic Downtown Julius L. “Dooley” Bookman, 1890-1935 By Mike Speelman hildren of a certain age will remember dooley Bookman and his Halloween Mardi Gras parties with fondness. wanting to do something special for tucson’s youngsters, he had proclaimed Halloween, october 31, 1924, to be dooley’s night, the first in an annual celebration he hosted until 1932. a large newspaper ad enthusiastically invited one and all to attend. stone avenue between congress and Pennington streets closed at 7:30, metamorphosing into dooley street, festooned with lights, balloons, Halloween decorations, and dooley’s vibrant sense of fun. the Leonard cline orchestra of the opera House’s winter Garden played from the back of a citizens transfer truck. Five hundred kids in costume flocked to dooley street that night, all receiving hats, noisemakers, confetti, small gifts, and candy (one year t. Ed Litt donated 2500 lollypops from his drug store). Besides typical Halloween fare, costumes included spark Plug (the horse in the Barney Google comic strip), Fiji Islanders, Felix the cat, flappers, cowboys, the Gold dust Flour twins, and more. Perhaps a thousand people, parents and passersby, watched the revelry. costume prizes, donated by downtown merchants, ranged from a 10-pound box of chocolates to a football, a doll, flashlights, a bouquet, savings accounts at a local bank, shoe shine kits, clothing, and the works at a local barbershop. the davis shop sponsored a pie-eating contest; fifteen contestants each had to eat a chocolate pie without using their hands. the winner received a hat. dooley, in costume himself, awarded prizes of $5, $3, and $2 to his favorite costumes. a slender 5’ 2”, dooley blended in so well with revelers he began to offer a special prize to the first child to recognize him each year. Julius L. Bookman was born June 16, 1890, in denver, colorado (or, perhaps, chicago). while living in denver and aspen, he worked as theater manager, actor, musician, and sound effects man. dooley, wife Katherine (Kitty), and daughter Kathleen arrived in tucson in 1912. Brother Robert, eight years younger, followed him here in 1914. dooley was a trap drummer in the opera House orchestra, which provided the musical soundtrack for silent movies. He also sold advertisements for the arizona daily star. He and his brother often played parties at the tucson country club, then out on East speedway, and other less formal occasions. Later, dooley played in the Rialto theater orchestra as well. In 1915, dooley took over the Jennings and watson cigar store and Pool Hall (formerly the Pierian) at 23 n. stone, renaming it dooley’s Varsity shop. In the front he sold the usual tobacco products, along with curios, Papago basketry and crafts, sandwiches, and non-alcoholic drinks. the pool tables in the back were constantly busy, so much so, that in 1921 dooley convinced his landlord to expand the basement to hold more tables, creating his aptly named “sunken salon.” dooley was determined to keep out the downtown pool hall hustlers and sharks found elsewhere. More than a business, the shop became his headquarters, an important downtown social center. a devoted sports fan, he cultivated university of arizona athletes, providing a clean, well-lighted place for recreation, free of temptations. a few high school students also patronized dooley’s, some with their parents’ blessings. other fans, drawn to the shop, helped dooley organize the towncats in 1921 to cheer on ua athletics. the 1923 state pocket billiards championship was held there, as were many local contests. dooley was involved with the creation of the tucson symphony orchestra in 1928, zealously supporting it thereafter. He acted in local theater and continued to play music. with albert stetson, manager of the Fox theater, he organized a children’s club that became the tucson chapter of the Mickey Mouse club in July 1930, helping with programs and contest prizes. dooley was said to be the inspiration behind the high jinks at many of the city’s costume parties, at least the successful ones. In 1932, dooley moved the shop across congress to 32 s. stone, into a new building with rooms for bridge and meetings as well as billiards. But in 1933, dooley street failed to materialize, as the party’s financial burden had become too great for him alone. the tradition restarted in 1934, sponsored by the city and the Junior chamber of commerce over the next several years. dooley Bookman died February 16, 1935, after an extended illness. a children’s fund collected money for a memorial to dooley to be installed on south stone. It is no longer in place. Perhaps the time has come for a new one. C october.08. downtown tucsonan 25

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008

Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008 Contents Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performing Arts Film Events Museums Historic Downtown Guest Editoral Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.