Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Pangle, W. T. October 28, 1869 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila Wakley iwakley@msn.com October 24, 2010, 12:53 pm Source: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Vol. III, Published 1928, Pages 595 - 597 Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company W. T. PANGLE In the issue of January 1, 1925, Fred Lockley, the well known writer, introduced to the readers of the Oregon Journal a prominent theatrical man and Portland citizen, of whom he said: "His friends, of whom he has a legion, call him 'Billy' Pangle, but his mother had him christened William Thrift Pangle. He was born October 28, 1869, at Lima, Ohio. You can set a duck under a hen, but as soon as the duckling can waddle it will make for the first pool of water. Billy Pangle took to the show game as a duck takes to water. "'My father owned a truck and dray business and had the contract to haul the scenery of all the traveling shows to the opera house,' said Billy Pangle as we sat in his office at the Heilig. 'From the time I could toddle, the smelly, mysterious semi-darkness of the stage was a land of romance and charm to me. I organized an orchestra before I was four years old, my musical instruments being the Baltimore oyster cans, square and of one quart capacity. I gathered them from our neighbors' back yards and used kindling for drumsticks. When I was four years old I was given a real drum, which was the joy of my life and the despair of my relatives and neighbors. "'My father went to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876 and upon his return horrified my mother and our friends by telling them about seeing women who acted in public in tights. He had taken in Keralfy's "Black Crook," which in those days played to crowded houses. * * * At that time women in tights always aroused a storm of protest from the press and pulpit. When Lydia Thompson's "Busy Blonds" toured the country shortly afterwards in a musical show they were barred from many theatres because of their tights. "'In 1877 De Wolfe Hopper came to our town, starring in a drama entitled "A Hundred Wives," the scene being laid in Salt Lake City. I appeared in his show, my first time behind the footlights. I was a "regular actor" and it was the proudest day of my life. I was drummer boy for a squad of soldiers who appeared in one act. I shall never forget the glare of kerosene lamps in the footlights and how I swelled out my chest and walked proudly across the stage. That winter a crowd of schoolboys put on a series of shows in the city hall. I was picked as one of the actors. We gave "Tom Sawyer," "Huckleberry Finn" and other kid plays. The next summer we organized a real circus, which traveled under the modest title of the "Great Golden Circus." W. W. Cole's circus had come to our town and exhibited, as a great curiosity, an electric light. They carried the dynamo with them. It looked like a fire engine and sounded like a woodsaw. Ours was composed of a bullseye lantern with a boy outside to imitate the motor. "'I think I got my first desire to be a cornet soloist from being in the audience at a local show and hearing a cornet solo. I shall never forget the laugh that went up over that solo. The most skillful cornet player in town was a scrawny little runt who had no stage presence however. The man who came out to play the solo was a big six-footer and handsome as a Greek god. In the midst of his solo the scenery, happened to be shifted, and the audience discovered that the scrawny little chap was hidden back of the scenery and was playing the solo, while the handsome chap was only going through the motions. "'I never missed a show or a circus. I watered the elephant, distributed handbills, ran errands and hung around till I obtained a pass. Later I landed a job as program boy and still later as usher, so I saw all the shows that came to town. Frank Griffin, now in the orchestra at the Benson Hotel, was a fellow townsman of mine. In those days he was known as "The Boy Wonder." He played the violin. He hailed from Ada, Ohio. When I was fifteen he was leader of the orchestra, in which he gave me my first job. I played the drums. Frank taught me to play the xylophone, which at that time was a great novelty. When Lawrence Barrett, of Booth and Barrett, came to Lima I played my first solo on the xylophone. Being a local boy, I was applauded so vigorously that I had to respond with an encore. I hoped the audience would like Barrett's work as much as mine, for I was afraid he would be jealous if he did not receive as much applause as I did. "'When I was sixteen I was offered the — at that time — princely salary of eighteen dollars a week, with board and traveling expenses, to go out on the road with the Rogers Royal Court Comedy Company. I played the drums and gave a xylophone solo at each performance. We played a week in each town and each noon we gave a parade. At sixteen I was about as fat as a toothpick. I must have looked odd with my long Prince Albert coat and my tall and shiny plug hat. We put in the summer touring Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and western Indiana. On my way home at the end of the season I stopped at Chicago, where I was offered a place with McNish, Arno & Ramza's Minstrels, but I wanted to go home, so I turned it down. "'Just about then Findlay, Ohio, had discovered natural gas. To attract attention to the place as a good manufacturing site the town organized a municipal band of forty-four pieces. I landed a job with the band at twenty dollars a week and we toured the state. The famous Karg well had just come in. You could hear its roar for three miles. The flame could not come within fifteen feet of the exit of the pipe on account of the terrific pressure of gas. The charge for gas was a dollar and a quarter a month for eight illuminating gas jets and two stoves. You could burn them twenty-four hours a day if you cared to do so. "'My sister Myra had married Jerome Campbell and they went to Portland, Oregon, to live. I had two offers to go on the road, but when my sister and her husband asked me to come with them to Portland the lure of the west laid hold of me and I accepted their invitation. I arrived in Portland, November 15, 1888.'" On November 15 of that year Mr. Pangle became toll collector on the Morrison Street bridge and later was assistant treasurer for the street car company. He was also its superintendent and assisted in the task of electrifying the street car lines. In 1895 Mr. Heilig purchased the Marquam Theatre and Mr. Pangle obtained a position in its orchestra, of which he was a member until 1900, having charge of the press work during that time. For twenty-eight years he has successfully managed the Heilig, and no other theater of the same size in the United States has been under the direction of one man for so long a period. He is an acknowledge expert in his chosen field of activity and in the discharge of his important duties manifests tact, foresight, good judgment and the requisite executive force. The present house was opened in October, 1910, with a seating capacity of two thousand and its patrons have always been provided with first class entertainment. This has long been one of the most popular theaters in the city and also one of the best managed, maintaining at all times a high standard of service. Mr. Pangle is a member of the Theater Managers Association and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His life has been purposeful and resultant, and replete with interesting experiences. During the years of his connection with the theatrical business he has had the opportunity of meeting many celebrities and his personal qualities are such as inspire strong and enduring regard. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/pangle1293gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 8.2 Kb