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William Straub
In Memory of
William James
Straub Jr.
1916 - 2016
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Obituary for William James Straub Jr.

William James  Straub Jr.
SOUTH GLENS FALLS,
William J. Straub, of South Glens Falls, died peacefully Sunday night, June 12, 2016, at Glens Falls hospital.
He was 100 years old and had been
married for 70 years.
Always called Bill, he was
born on Jan. 17, 1916, in Hoosick
Falls, New York, the son
of William J. Straub, Sr., and
Zoeline Hebert Straub. He began
attending schools in Hoosick
Falls, where his best friend
was Bob Eberly, who went on
to become an internationally-acclaimed
vocalist in the
1940s, singing with various
big bands.
Bill moved to South Glens
Falls with his mother in 1924
and began attending Saint
Mary’s Academy. He recalled
that this was before the new
school had been constructed
on Warren Street. The old
school was located where the
present parking lot is located
behind Saint Mary’s Church.
The advent of the depression
forced him to leave Saint
Mary’s. After a short break, he
resumed high school at South
Glens Falls and graduated in
1936. He was one of 16 students
to graduate in his class,
which was the first class to
graduate from the new High
School -- the building that is
currently the Middle School.
It is believed that Bill was the
last surviving member of the
Class of 1936.
Seeking employment while
in school, he found a job as a
soda jerk at Dolan’s Drug Store
on South Street. A series of
humorous events convinced
him to look for a different kind
of job. In 1936, he applied for
a job as an usher at the fouryear-old
Paramount Theater
and was hired. That was the
beginning of a 50-year love affair
with the “show business”.
Glens Falls had a number of
movie theaters, and Bill was
connected to many of them
during his career. He recalled
that going to “the movies” in
the 1930s was a big event. Men
would wear suits and ties and
women would wear fancy
dresses. Ushers wore uniforms
with white gloves and carried
flashlights to seat patrons in
the dark. Before each show,
an organist would play music
on the large theater organ
that was constructed when
the Paramount was built. Bill
learned that the show business
wasn’t so much selling tickets
as selling a short escape from
reality. He said “We don’t sell
tickets. We sell drama, intrigue,
excitement, comedy
and romance.”
After working at the Paramount
for several years, he was
named Assistant Manager at
the Strand Theater in Hudson
Falls, where he worked until
he volunteered for the Coast
Guard near the beginning of
World War II. After the war, he
returned to Glens Falls as the
manager of the Empire Theater
on South Street. There
was an opening for a cashier
and he advertised for applicants.
One of the applicants
was Mary Chadwick. Not only
did she get the job but she soon
became his wife. At the time
of his death, Bill and Mary had
been married for more than 70
years.
Two years later, Bill was
transferred to Norwich, New
York, to manage a theater there
and then, two years later, to
Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
However, Glens Falls remained
in his heart. With his growing
family, he came back to Glens
Falls in 1952 as manager of the
Paramount Theater. In the
mid-1960s, he was promoted
to City Manager, with responsibility
for the Rialto Theater
on Warren Street as well as the
Paramount. Viewing the theaters
as a center of city life, he
was responsible for many of
the events that became standard
city fare, such as the wellknown
Battles of the Bands.
He also ran many Saturday
morning “kids shows” where
the only cost of admission
was a can of food. Each one
of those shows resulted in the
donation of a large amount of
food, which was then given to
the Catholic Church for distribution
to needy families in
Glens Falls.
By 1969, Bill had been promoted
to Zone Manager, with
responsibility for several dozen
theaters across upstate New
York, from Hudson to Saranac,
Pottsdam, Syracuse, Rochester,
Albany and, of course,
Glens Falls, which remained
his home.
In 1971, the Proctor’s Theater
in Schenectady was in
great trouble. Closed, shuttered
and padlocked, it was
in grave danger of being torn
down after its owner had declared
bankruptcy. As a longtime
showman, Bill viewed
the prospect of Proctor’s demolition
with dismay. He decided
to save it. In the Sept.
20, 1971, Schenectady Gazette,
his effort was described
as “giving the kiss of life to the
Proctor’s”.
Saving the Proctor’s was
no small effort. Many experienced
theater professionals
doubted it could be done. Even
something as simple as turning
on the lights once power had
been restored proved daunting:
most of the light bulbs
throughout the gargantuan
old movie house were blown
and there were light switches
throughout the theater. It
took several days just to identify
what each switch did and
finally light the inside of Proctor’s
so work could begin. The
theater was in terrible condition
and needed a great deal of
work but the work was done
and the theater reopened. Bill
decided it would show family
fare and be available to civic
organizations for fundraising
purposes.
Bill’s success in reopening
Proctor’s was what made
it possible for the Friends of
Proctor’s to acquire Proctor’s
five years later and build
the Proctor’s we know today.
Without his efforts, Proctor’s
almost certainly would
have been lost forever because,
in those days when all
new theaters were small theaters,
no one else thought
Proctor’s could be reopened
successfully.
In 1968, Bill and his wife
Mary opened the Campus
Bar and Grill on Main Street
in Queensbury near Exit 18.
Originally opened as a college
bar, Bill renamed it the Campus
Corral in 1972 and featured
country music because
“I’m tired of all that loud rock
music.”
Bill created The Lake George
Entertainment Guide in 1957.
The original Guide was small
and was only eight pages
long. Over the coming years,
he expanded it to 64 pages in
length. He sold the Guide in
1964, when he accepted a job
in Stockton, California. At the
last moment, however, Bill and
Mary decided that Glens Falls
was their home and they decided
to remain here. Bill later
started two more publications
aimed at the tourist trade,
the Pocket Guide and the TV
Spotlight.
Besides his service in the
Coast Guard in World War II,
Bill was a captain in the NY
Guard, Company C, 31st Battalion,
in Whitehall, NY. He
was an avid reader, walker and
swimmer. In the late 1920s, Bill
and a couple of friends cleared
brush on the edge of the Hudson
River in South Glens Falls
and established what they
called “the Sandbar”. This
became the South Glens Falls
beach. He swam regularly up
until his 80s, swimming at the
Y in his later years.
Bill loved vacationing with
his family. Cape Cod had a
special place in his heart and
he spent many vacations
there with his family. He also
enjoyed cruises with his wife,
Mary. After trying several
ships, they fell in love with the
SS Norway, and took many
cruises on it. He also looked
forward to each year’s August
running of the Saratoga flat
track with great delight.
He was a regular fixture in
Glens Falls and South Glens
Falls, always wearing a suit or
sport coat and a hat. He loved
to talk to friends and strangers
alike and could bring a smile to
anyone’s face. An inveterate
flirt, he would often tell waitresses
“heaven can wait, this
is paradise!”
In his later years, he wrote
a series of letters to the editor
of the Post Star. Often entitled
Musings or I Dream, he wrote
optimistically and hopefully
about the future. In a Jan. 12,
2010 letter he wrote “I dream
... that every little girl will have
a doll to hug, every little boy a
car to race.”
On Sunday night, heaven
decided that it couldn’t wait
any longer.
Bill is survived by Mary, his
wife of 70 years; his daughter,
Darlene Dumas, of Fort Ann
and her husband, David Dumas;
his sons William J. III,
Brian, Marc and Alan Straub;
many other relatives and
countless friends.
At Bill’s request there will be
no calling hours.
A committal service with full
military honors will be conducted
at 10 a.m. on Thursday,
June 16th, at Gerald B. H. Solomon
Saratoga National Cemetery,
200 Duell Road, Schuylerville,
NY 12871.
A celebration of Bill’s life for
friends and family will be held
at a later date.
Donations in Bill’s memory
may be made to a charity of
one’s choice.
To view Bill’s Book of Memories
and post online condolences
please visit www.kilmerfuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are in the
care of M.B. Kilmer Funeral
Home 136 Main Street, South
Glens Falls, NY 12803.

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