Mr. Connell Goes to Aberdeen:
An Exhibitor Takes Down the (Local) Government

Ray Connell was born in Umatilla, Oregon, on October 21, 1885, the son of John G. Connell, formerly of Michigan, and Martha Miller. Not much is known about his childhood, but according to the 1900 census the Connell family was living in Sumpter, a mining town in eastern Oregon. But, by 1907, at the age of 22, Ray Connell had relocated from Oregon to southwest Washington, where he was working as a junior bookkeeper for an Aberdeen sheet metal company. It was about this time that he met Anna Ellingson, a longtime Hoquiam girl, whom he married on March 24, 1909.

Perhaps spurred by this pending marriage, Connell gave up his bookkeeping job and instead became an apprentice plumber, skills he eventually parlayed running into his own plumbing business. And yet, despite becoming a moderately successful business owner, Connell remained on the lookout for new opportunities. By 1915 he was operating his plumbing business by day but also running a side hustle out of the family home, located at 225 Grant Street in Hoquiam. The R.E. Connell Company, as he called it, distributed a variety of household gadgets, presumably through door-to-door sales. Connell had big dreams for this business – so much so that he looked to recruit his own sales force, taking out a classified ad in the Seattle Daily Times. “Every home buys one or more,” Connell assured prospective agents.^[1]

This distributing business never took off, but Connell never gave up on the idea that there was something better out there than plumbing. By 1919 his interest shifted to moving pictures, and he became so enamored with the prospect that he was willing to dive in headfirst. That fall Connell decided to sell his plumbing business and plow the proceeds into an existing theatre in Hoquiam. He made the purchase from the Sun Motion Picture Company, run by Henry Newman, a local firm that had been in business since 1912 and operated at least two other theatres in Hoquiam at the time.

The whole thing was a risky proposition. Ray Connell had never before run a moving picture theatre and was jettisoning an established business for the opportunity; moreover, he was entering a field already dominated by an experienced competitor. Nonetheless Ray Connell not only persevered, but prospered. He started by going head-to-head against the two houses owned by the Sun Motion Picture Company, but found success almost immediately and, before long, managed to turn the tables. Connell’s initial success and ambition was such that he eventually secured financing to purchase a second venue, the Arcade Theatre, from Sun, which was the better of their two houses. And just like that, it wasn’t Sun that dominated the Hoquiam film market, but Ray Connell; the student had become the master. He briefly operated these two theatres on his own but eventually merged his interests with those of Sun Motion Pictures, a partnership that was finalized in 1921. The move put Ray Connell and Henry Newman in complete control of the Hoquiam exhibition market, but also put them squarely in the sights of Edward Dolan and William H. Ripley, whose larger (and better-financed) company was the dominant force in neighboring Aberdeen.

Their competition didn’t last for long. In late 1923 Connell and Newman sold their business interests, including the Hicks Building, which housed the Arcade Theatre, to the newly formed Hoquiam Amusement Company, run by William H. Storey. This was a separate entity in name only; Storey had ties to Dolan and Ripley, so the agreement put the partners in control of exhibition in both cities. In addition to picking up the Hicks Building and the Arcade, the Hoquiam Amusement Company also assumed the leases on Sun’s other holdings, the Dream and Liberty Theatres.^[2] This left Storey in charge of improvements on the Hoquiam properties while Dolan and Ripley worked on a new venue in Aberdeen, the D&R Theatre, which was still in the planning stages. Storey’s work included changes that put the Liberty, quite literally, on firmer ground. Originally built on wooden posts over muddy land, a combination of lime and dirt was brought in to fill the space underneath. This was a welcome improvement; the fill dirt put an end to the cold, drafty air that often blew up through the floorboards of the Liberty and helped contain the foul tidal smell that sometimes permeated the venue. In this sense the old Liberty was a bit on the rustic side; Storey’s “remodeling and refinishing” was intended to bring the venue up to par with comparable theatres in Hoquiam and Aberdeen.^[3]

So in the span of a few years, Ray Connell had gone from a bookkeeper to plumber to small-town theatre magnate, with part interest in all three of Hoquiam’s movie houses. Now he was flush with cash after selling out to the Hoquiam Amusement Company, but still quite ambitious, so he was in the market for new business opportunities. Movies were still his focus, and to that end it was rumored that Connell might be planning a new 500-seat theatre in downtown Seattle, near Third and Pike.^[4]

That, however, was just a whisper. Ray Connell was in no rush to jump back into the game and instead took his wife Anna and their young daughters on a three-month trip to California – a celebration of his good fortune and an opportunity to consider his next move. He didn’t return to Hoquiam until the spring of 1924, but by then his plan was set: Ray Connell wanted to purchase a lot in downtown Aberdeen, the largest city in Grays Harbor County, and build a venue more elaborate than anything he had previously owned. He envisioned a handsome theatre that would seat around 700 patrons, which would firmly establish him as a key figure in the Aberdeen business community.

But while three months wasn’t a long time to be away from the Grays Harbor exhibition scene, Ray Connell missed a sea change of activity while he was gone. Not only were Ed Dolan and William Ripley hard at work on their new D&R Theatre, which would open in May 1924, but they had also been active behind the scenes as well, working with the Aberdeen City Council to help craft a new theatre ordinance. This measure – proposed, drafted and passed before anyone knew of Ray Connell’s plans – covered a variety of theatre-related issues, and included an unusual provision that didn’t get a lot of attention while it was under consideration. That part of the proposal was Aberdeen’s attempt to curtail the overbuilding of moving picture houses, a concern for many communities around the country. There was a building boom going on in the mid-1920s, and because small picture houses were sometimes constructed quickly and cheaply, they cluttered many a downtown area and constrained the resources of the building and fire officials charged with monitoring them. That hadn’t yet occurred in Aberdeen, but city officials nonetheless wanted to address the issue proactively by implementing a managed growth plan that tied the number of active moving picture theatres to the city’s population growth – one venue for every 7,500 people.^[5]

The fact that Aberdeen was putting parameters around the spread of moving picture theatres wasn’t controversial – many other cities were enacting or considering similar measures. What was unusual about Aberdeen, however, was the fact that the city’s population was only about 20,000 at the time, and it already had four active picture houses plus the new D&R Theatre that was scheduled to open soon. All of those houses were grandfathered under the ordinance, which meant (assuming all five remained operational) that no additional movie theatres could be constructed in Aberdeen until the city’s population swelled to 45,000 – something it would never do. (Aberdeen’s population topped out at just under 22,000 in the 1930 census.)

And who owned every one of the grandfathered movie theatres in Aberdeen? Ed Dolan and William Ripley, of course – the new ordinance codified their dominance over the Aberdeen film market.

Ray Connell was livid when he returned to Grays Harbor with his plans, only to learn of Aberdeen’s new theatre ordinance. How could the city grant a monopoly that, because it was tied to future growth, might last for decades? “‘I feel that this is a free country,’” a chest-thumping Connell later told a reporter from Moving Picture World. “‘…I have just as good a right to make a living here in Aberdeen as any city in the U.S.A.’”^[6]

Connell was certain the population trigger in Aberdeen’s ordinance wouldn’t hold up in court. He was so sure, in fact, that he decided that theory to the test. He paid $9,000 for a plot of land at 210 East Wishkah Street, less than a block away from the nearly completed D&R Theatre, had plans drawn up for his own venue and then, when the time came, went down to city hall and applied for a building permit.^[7] And that’s when the trouble started.

Ray Connell submitted his application to the city of Aberdeen and, as expected, it was rejected. He knew the next step in the process was to appeal the matter directly to the Aberdeen City Council, which was done almost immediately, except they refused to hear the case. Once that decision had been made, Connell’s next option was to retain counsel and pursue the matter in court.

Several weeks into Connell’s building project the matter went before Judge George D. Abel at the Grays County Courthouse in Montesano. Through counsel, Ray Connell argued that he had been improperly denied a building permit by the city of Aberdeen, and that the new theatre ordinance was discriminatory and, therefore, unconstitutional.^[8] The two sides made their cases, and Judge Abel agreed with the Connell argument, at least as it pertained to the growth trigger in the Aberdeen ordinance. Nonetheless, he had no choice but to rule in favor of the city. While the growth threshold was deemed “‘unconstitutional, discriminative and unreasonable,’” Ray Connell’s building permit wasn’t denied because of the population clause in the city’s theatre ordinance, but because his application was incomplete. So, despite finding an ally in Judge Abel, Connell lost the matter on a technicality, since the question at hand was whether his permit application had been denied improperly. It had not.

This was a setback, but Ray Connell was determined to prove his point. He went back to the drawing board, pulled together additional information, and resubmitted his application for a building permit at 210 East Wishkah. He was again denied, with the Aberdeen City Engineer specifically informing him that the application, while sufficient, was denied due to the growth clause in the Aberdeen theatre ordinance. Now he had a case.

As before, Connell’s next stop was to appeal the matter directly to the Aberdeen City Council. This time they agreed to hear the issue during a closed executive session held on July 16, 1924. He was presenting his case to the same Council that passed the original theatre ordinance a few months earlier, but Connell already knew that there were at least two members in favor of changing the measure so that his building permit could be issued. He also had a sympathetic ear in City Attorney A.E. Cross, who preferred amending or repealing the population trigger rather than get into a protracted legal fight. Since Ray Connell was threatening to take the matter all the way to the Washington State Supreme Court, Cross was reluctant to get the city involved in a costly fight that (based on Judge Abel’s prior comments) might not go in Aberdeen’s favor. During their executive session, however, the Aberdeen City Council simply heard the matter and didn’t, for whatever reason, ask Cross for a legal recommendation.^[9]

The Council’s meeting agenda was a full one. There were two executive sessions held before the formal public meeting – one on Ray Connell’s theatre permit and a second to discuss a local bridge project. Those two issues were also taken up during the public portion of the evening, which was very well attended; the Aberdeen Daily World credited Connell’s permit situation for the increased turnout. Unfortunately, what occurred that evening was anything but clear. On July 17^th, the day after the meeting, the Aberdeen Daily World reported that the Council delayed its permit decision until the following week. But then they reported, one day later, that the Council had, in fact, discussed the matter in an “adjourned session” late that evening and decided to grant Ray Connell his theatre permit.^[10] By unanimous consent, the paper claimed, the Council agreed to toss out the population trigger in the theatre ordinance and review an amended piece of legislation.

However this transpired, Ray Connell considered the matter settled. The offending part of Aberdeen’s city code would be struck from the books, and after weeks of delays, he wasted no time getting busy. He ordered the lot on East Wishkah to be cleared and ready for a series of piles that would be driven into the ground as part of the building’s foundation.

There was, however, a hitch. Yes, the Aberdeen City Council agreed to amend the theatre ordinance; no, they hadn’t formally approved Connell’s building permit. At their meeting the following week, on July 23^rd, after Ray Connell thought he’d been given the green light, the Council took up the matter again and voted 7 to 4 in favor of tabling discussions on an amended theatre ordinance, leaving the original measure in place until such time as they decided to act.^[11]

The Aberdeen Daily World, in reporting on the July 23 hearing, failed to explain why the Council would vote unanimously to review the matter, then table it just a week later. Was it possible that Ed Dolan and William Ripley worked as members of the City Council before the July 23^rd meeting? The exhibitors were conspicuously silent throughout these proceedings – they made no public statements, nor were they mentioned in press coverage. But they also weren’t specifically mentioned by Ray Connell or his attorney. Perhaps Dolan and Ripley were simply focused on their new D&R Theatre, which stood half a block from Connell’s proposed building site. Or perhaps they were quietly working to protect their business interests behind the scenes.

However the Aberdeen City Council arrived at their decision, it was the last straw for Ray Connell. He had already wasted a lot of time and money with only a vacant lot to show for the effort, and a protracted court fight would only cost him more of both. That fact led him to make a fateful decision: instead of pursuing the matter in court, perhaps he should just draw a line in the sand. The city of Aberdeen could deny him a permit, but they couldn’t stop him from building the Connell Theatre without their permission. And with that, work continued on Ray Connell’s East Wishkah lot, without the required permit, leaving the exhibitor’s attorney to remark that the next move would be Aberdeen’s.^[12] Connell’s decision to keep building was provocative and defiant, but so was the city’s response. It was true, they couldn’t stop Ray Connell from constructing his new theatre, but it was also true that, without a permit, they could easily prevent him from opening up so he could recoup his costs.

Things had come to a stalemate, and neither side was about to back down.

By Eric L. Flom – June 2025

Notes:
[1] See “Agents” classified advertisement in the Seattle Daily Times, 3 October 1915, Page 37.
[2] See “Three Hoquiam Theatres Sold,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11 November 1923, Page 12; “Hoquiam Theatres Will Show Best Pictures While They’re New, Declares Manager Storey,” The Hoquiam American, 22 November 1923, Page 1; “Big Theatre Deal Made in Washington State,” Motion Picture News, 1 December 1923, Page 2550; and Sumner Smith, “He Elected Mayor to Get Theatre Permit,” Moving Picture World, 16 May 1925, Page 275. Connell’s old partner Henry Newman doesn’t appear to have been involved with the building of the Connell Theatre, but the move prompted him to sell the menswear store he was running at the time and get back into the exhibition trade. Newman was said to be looking for a suitable location in Astoria, where he had operated theatres previously. (“Seattle,” Moving Picture World, 7 February 1925, Page 566.) Eventually Henry Newman would open the Capital Theatre in Hoquiam, only to be bought out by Ed Dolan after a short time.
[3] See “Hoquiam Amusement Buys the Liberty,” The Hoquiam American, 13 March 1924, Page 8; and “Hoquiam Amusement Company Will Transform Liberty Theatre Here Into Handsome Photoplay House,” The Hoquiam American, 24 April 1924, Page 10.
[4] “Seattle,” Moving Picture World, 15 December 1923, Page 609.
[5] It should be noted that both the Seattle Daily Times and Moving Picture World cited the Aberdeen ordinance as limiting the number of picture theatres to one for every 7,500 residents. In contrast the Aberdeen Daily World referenced this limit twice, but both times gave it as one theatre for every 2,500 residents. The thought here is that the Daily World got the number wrong, since by that measure Ray Connell would have been allowed to erect his theatre in 1924. “Aberdeen has a population of around 20,000 people,” Moving Picture World reported, “and as there were already five theatres, this gave [Dolan and Ripley] a monopoly on the theatre business for a period of practically twenty years.” Without the higher figure the “monopoly” argument made by Ray Connell during his permit fight wouldn’t make much sense. (See “Daily News of the State,” Seattle Daily Times, 28 April 1924, Page 14; “Shack District Factions Clash, Theater Banned,” Aberdeen Daily World, 24 July 1924, Page 4; Sumner Smith, “He Elected Mayor to Get Theatre Permit,” Moving Picture World, 16 May 1925, Page 275.)
[6] Ray Connell to Sumner Smith, “He Elected Mayor to Get Theatre Permit,” Moving Picture World, 16 May 1925, Page 275.
[7] Interestingly, the lot that Ray Connell purchased for his Connell Theatre was originally the site of the Acme Theatre in Aberdeen, a two-story wood frame building that was one of the city’s first theatrical venues. The Acme burned down in a 1903 fire that wiped out a good portion of Aberdeen’s business and residential districts. See “Theater to Rise on Pioneer Site,” Aberdeen Daily World, 26 July 1924, Page 3.
[8] “Daily News of the State,” Seattle Daily Times, 28 April 1924, Page 14.
[9] See “Connell Renews Theatre Appeal,” Aberdeen Daily World, 15 July 1924, Pages 1 and 2; and “Theatre Permit Before Council,” Aberdeen Daily World, 16 July 1924, Page 3.
[10] See “Council Defers Final Action on Theater Permit,” Aberdeen Daily World, 17 July 1924, Pages 1 and 2; and “Council Grants Connell Permit to Run Theater,” Aberdeen Daily World, 18 July 1924, Page 1.
[11] See “Work to Start on New Theater,” Aberdeen Daily World, 21 July 1924, Page 3; “Theater Permit Still Awaited,” Aberdeen Daily World, 23 July 1924, Page 3; and “Shack District Factions Clash, Theater Banned,” Aberdeen Daily World, Pages 1 and 4. In addition to putting an end to the (legal) construction of Ray Connell’s proposed theatre, keeping the original ordinance on the books impacted a second proposed theatre at the time, an application submitted by Martin F. Maher. It’s unclear how Maher chose to proceed following his denial – he was proposing a very modest storefront venue and would have had to go up against the same City Council that had just refused to greenlight Connell’s permit request. (“Movie Theater Permit Refused,” Aberdeen Daily World, 29 July 1924, Page 1.)
[12] “Connell Starts Without Permit,” Aberdeen Daily World, 24 July 1924, Page 1.

How Ray Connell financed his new theatre without a building permit was never explained, since he clearly wasn’t bankrolling the entire project. But Connell nonetheless found a way to push forward with construction on the new house. This may be because he thought he could sway public opinion to his side; the showman appears to have been involved with a petition circulating throughout Aberdeen, urging the City Council to reconsider the permit matter. “While it is the impression of the signers that the [C]ouncil will not interfere with the present intention of Connell [to build], the claim is made that the council may refuse to grant a license for the operation when the building is completed and this possibility is a handicap in going forward with the work.”^[1] This petition was submitted to the Aberdeen City Council in early August, two weeks after discussions on the theatre ordinance were tabled, but did nothing to reopen the debate. Nonetheless, the effort demonstrated the community’s support for the new Connell Theatre – support the exhibitor would draw upon over the coming months. That’s because 1924 was an election year, and barely a week after the petition was submitted, the Aberdeen City Clerk announced that candidate filings could begin on September 9^th, with contested races expected not only for Mayor but for a number of City Council seats as well.

This was the point, Ray Connell later told Moving Picture World, that he decided his best course of action would be to stop fighting the Aberdeen City Council and, instead, get a new one. “Mr. Connell got busy and lined up a bunch of candidates on his side,” the trade paper wrote approvingly, “making statements to the citizens of Aberdeen that if they believed it was still a free country and if they wished a new theatre in the city, they vote for the men whom he was supporting.”^[2]

Over the next several weeks, candidates began filing with the City Clerk to appear on the November primary ballot. As expected, Aberdeen Mayor H.E. Bailey filed for a third term, but got a challenger in political novice A.G. Hopkins, an officer on the city’s dry squad. The various City Council races also started to fill – Councilman Cloud, a known Connell supporter, filed for reelection, and races for seats held by Connell opponents also began to fill up. Aberdeen was solidly Republican at the time, so the real election was the November 8^th primary, after which the winners were usually rubber-stamped in the December general election. Most races, in fact, didn’t even garner a Democratic candidate, which is why city officials were peeved when a single Democrat, M.M. Kerr, filed for City Council in the Sixth Ward. Kerr’s filing, which came at the 11^th hour, forced Aberdeen to print an entirely separate Democratic ballot for the November primary on which only his name appeared, and for a race he almost certainly wouldn’t win.^[3]

Meanwhile, with the political races shaping up, Aberdeen was in the midst of an extensive voter registration drive. It was turning out to be a banner year, with heightened attention on several local issues, including Ray Connell’s theatre dispute, increasing voter rolls. That, coupled with Aberdeen’s growing population, resulted in a total of 5,967 registered voters for the fall elections, a new record. This included enrolling 630 new voters since August; it’s not clear whether Ray Connell played any role in getting folks registered. The Aberdeen Daily World, at least, chalked up the increase to the city’s continued growth and a more effective drive than in years past.^[4]

Meanwhile, work continued on the Connell Theatre, as it became known, the modest house gradually taking shape throughout the fall. Work progressed so nicely, in fact, that Ray Connell eventually announced an opening date – November 15, 1924, less than four months after ground was broken, and one week after the November 8^th primary. So an end was in sight, even though Ray Connell knew, ultimately, that his hands were tied – the city of Aberdeen had the power to keep his venue shuttered until the permit issue was resolved.

A lot, therefore, rested on the outcome of the November primary, which could very well determine the fate of Connell’s business venture. That’s why on November 1^st, a week before election day, he took out a large ad in the Aberdeen Daily World to make his case. The opening of the new Connell Theatre was less than two weeks away, he reported, but it wouldn’t happen if the City Council didn’t allow him to fling open the doors. “As yet I have not been granted a permit to build this theater. I am building it without a permit,” Connell explained. “To make sure that I will be granted a permit to open my theater, vote for the following candidates for city office next Tuesday. They are in favor of granting me a permit.”^[5] Connell’s list covered the mayoral race in addition to the contested City Council seats – he was backing newcomer A.G. Hopkins for Mayor over incumbent H.A. Bailey and went on to endorse four men in local Council races, including incumbent C.M. Cloud.

The advertisement also gave readers a preview of what to expect at the new Connell Theatre: two complete bill changes per week, plus short comedy offerings – “Only the Best for the Connell Guest,” was his tagline. Several feature attractions had already been lined up, including Barbara Frietchie, starring Florence Vidor, Captain Blood with J. Warren Kerrigan, Marion Davies in Yolanda and the adaptation of Elinor Glynn’s scandalous novel Three Weeks.

The exhibitor was at it again two days later, with a second ad in the Aberdeen Daily World that laid out his views and made the case for change. He was direct and to the point, with no effort to promote certain candidates or his theatre.

The present Mayor and City Council have refused to grant me a permit to build my new theater.
Let them know what you think of them by your vote on Saturday.
The granting of monopolies and special privileges to private parties is the big issue before the people of the United States today.
Let your mayor and councilmen know by your vote that you elected them to office to represent you and not private interests.
This ordinance to stunt the city and prevent the building of any more theaters was not asked for by the people of Aberdeen in general.^[6]

Ed Dolan and William Ripley were the “private parties” Ray Connell was referring to, but they were not named directly in this ad nor in any other campaign materials running in the Aberdeen Daily World. And while many citizens lent their names in support of this or that candidate (a particular feature of Mayor Bailey’s campaign), the names of Dolan or Ripley weren’t among them. Their silence was deafening. The partners’ codified monopoly over the Aberdeen film market was under attack during this election – surely, they were working in private to protect their business interests. Publicly, however, they were nowhere to be seen.

The candidates running against Ray Connell’s chosen slate did not, of course, take his ads lying down. The fight for City Council seats generally wasn’t waged in the local paper – in each of Aberdeen’s Council wards, campaigning was done person-to-person or at small gatherings. The Mayoral race, however, was different. There, print ads and editorial commentary ran in almost every issue of the Aberdeen Daily World in the weeks leading up to the election.

Just two days before the November 8^th primary, for example, the Bailey campaign published an open letter to the city’s voters laying out his case. H.A. Bailey was a three-term City Councilman and two-term Mayor who guided the city through an impressive period of growth. Seasoned, skilled and fiscally responsible, he knew how to manage city departments and, based on experience, felt he had earned the right to another term in City Hall. Besides, he argued, A.G. Hopkins, his opponent, was a 20-year Aberdeen resident who had never once shown an interest in local politics. “Mayor Bailey’s opponent has lived in the city over twenty years but has never held a public office, excepting that which he now holds as city constable,” the campaign argued. “He is not familiar with the details of city government. He has never attended a meeting of the city council nor become familiar in any way with the conduct of any of the departments or the city affairs. Do the citizens of Aberdeen want to turn over the management of city affairs to a mayor entirely unfamiliar with the duties of the office and absolutely unacquainted with business management?” To bolster that point, the Bailey campaign cited the experience of Port Townsend, where voters bounced a longtime mayor and replaced him with an inexperienced newcomer who ended up doing a poor job. “Economy and efficiency in city affairs are only possible when the men in charge are familiar with their duties and can intelligently perform them,” the Bailey forces argued.^[7]

A.C. Hopkins responded with his own letter the following day. “My stand on law enforcement is well known,” the candidate stated. “If I am elected Mayor of Aberdeen I WILL SEE THAT LAWS ARE ENFORCED…[and] I will work for the repeal of any and all ordinances tending to give anyone a monopoly on any business in Aberdeen. Though I may be alone I will voice my disapproval of such ordinances.”^[8] This was the longtime city policeman promising, essentially, law and order. Unfair city ordinances would be repealed and replaced, while other laws, already on the books, would be strictly enforced. His “inexperience” was not a factor; Hopkins promised to surround himself with capable advisors and managers, ensuring that the city of Aberdeen would continue to function as it always had. What he offered was a return to fair, simple and reasoned governing.

The Hopkins argument, however, wasn’t enough to sway the editors of the Aberdeen Daily World, who extended their endorsement to incumbent Mayor Bailey in the same issue. His long service to the city of Aberdeen, coupled with his years of administrative experience, were deciding factors that tipped the balance in Bailey’s favor. Aberdeen was in the middle of several public works projects, representing more than $400,000 in expenditures, and it was not time to turn those over to a newcomer with no experience in infrastructure management. And while some of Hopkins’ arguments had merit – Mayor Bailey was lax on combating vice, including liquor, in Aberdeen – now was not the time to jump ship. “We do not question [Hopkins’] good intentions, but there is nothing to show that he has that capacity as an administrator which the city needs at this stage of its development…”^[9]

Voters disagreed. Ballots were cast by only about two-thirds of those registered, but the electorate sent A.G. Hopkins to City Hall with a 117-vote victory over incumbent Mayor Bailey. That was a huge surprise, the Daily World admitted, and they chalked up the Hopkins win to a pair of issues. “Two causes are given for the defeat of Mayor Bailey,” they observed, “[which included his] alleged indifference to enforcement of the prohibition law and…the position which the administration took on the theater ordinance under which R.E. Connell was refused a license to build a theater block on Wishkah street. To similar reasons is attributed the defeats of three councilmen who were candidates for reelection.” The idea was floated that perhaps Bailey could run as a Democrat in the December general election, allowing him to go head-to-head with A.C. Hopkins a second time, but Bailey shot down the idea. He had run and lost, and it was now up the Hopkins and the new City Council to provide direction for the city. ^[10]

A.G. Hopkins may have been the new Mayor, and the Aberdeen City Council may have had new faces, but the biggest winner of the November 8^th primary election was Ray Connell. The balance of power had completely shifted – whereas the theatre ordinance had been tabled back in July by a 7 to 4 Council vote, three of those majority votes had been flipped, replaced by new members who wanted to put the matter under immediate review. The tables had been turned, and Ray Connell’s fight with the city of Aberdeen was near an end. The theatre ordinance would be amended, he would get this long-awaited building permit, and the doors would fly open at the new Connell Theatre.

That scenario was the stuff of legend for Moving Picture World, who profiled Ray Connell in their May 16, 1925, issue. For writer Sumner Smith, Connell was David to Aberdeen’s Goliath – an exhibitor who stood up to the powers-that-be and refused to accept defeat, spearheading a political movement during the fall campaign that completely reversed his fortunes. Ray Connell’s appeal to the moviegoers of Aberdeen was a strong one, as was his belief that small businessmen such as himself should be accorded the same rights as others. “The story of [Ray] Connell’s victory will give heart to the small operator who finds a big combination trying to monopolize the theatre business in his town,” Smith wrote. “Public opinion is a mighty power and Connell knew how to use it.” The Aberdeen theatre ordinance, conceived and passed with ulterior motives, granted a monopoly to the few, something decidedly un-American. Ray Connell fought back by recruiting candidates and promoting the cause of fairness and justice, with the citizens of Aberdeen ultimately choosing to support the exhibitor and his business venture at the ballot box. He upended city government to right a public wrong. In the eyes of the trade paper, Ray Connell was an American hero. “‘The old bunch died hard,’” the exhibitor bragged to Sumner Smith, “‘and they are still weeping.’”^[11]

Moving Picture World, of course, had a particular motive in how they framed the Ray Connell story, since the trade papers were always looking for ways to promote the movie business and its key figures. But was their account accurate? Sort of yes, and sort of no.

Unquestionably, the Ray Connell permit was a high-visibility issue in 1924, with frequent reporting on the various applications, rejections and appeals running in the area’s largest newspaper, the Aberdeen Daily World. It was also a key focal point in the fall campaign. Mayoral candidate A.G. Hopkins called for an end to monopolistic practices within city government during the primary campaign, and the Daily World identified the Connell Theatre as one of the two key issues contributing to the upheaval amongst Aberdeen’s elected officials. While the City Council races were not covered as extensively as the mayoral contest, they nonetheless addressed the same set of issues, making the fate of the Connell Theatre a factor in the outcome of those as well.

That said, the permit issue was actually a minor one compared to concerns about city management and, specifically, how vice was addressed in the city of Aberdeen. Mayor Bailey may have made an effective case that he was better suited to direct the city’s various departments, but he also had lax approach when it came to enforcing Aberdeen’s liquor, gambling and prostitution laws. It’s why Hopkins, the policeman and dry squad member who ran a law-and-order campaign, was able to gain traction with area voters despite having no political experience. “The defeat of Mayor Bailey in the city primary Saturday is largely, if not almost wholly, traceable to dislike of the ‘open town’ conditions that have prevailed during his administration,” the Daily World editorialized two days after the election. For them, the Hopkins victory was a protest vote. “…[H]is defeat is clearly ascribable to his failure to place the proper emphasis on vice suppression.”^[12]

So while Ray Connell’s theatre was a factor in the 1924 election, it wasn’t the primary issue – at least not in the way Moving Picture World chose to depict it. But it does raise a pair of questions: how involved was Ray Connell in the fall campaign, and where were Edward Dolan and William Ripley throughout this fight, seeing as they stood to lose their business monopoly?

Unfortunately, we can only speculate. Both parties had a vested interest in the election outcome – Connell had an entire theatre investment on the line, while Dolan and Ripley stood to lose their ironclad grip on the Aberdeen film market. Given those factors, one would assume that they both were active campaigners, and on some level they probably were. But we simply don’t know how deeply involved either party was in 1924.

If Ray Connell actively participated in the August petition effort, the voter registration drive, in candidate recruitment or the promotion of certain election topics, that wasn’t reported in the Aberdeen Daily World. While Connell bought a pair of campaign ads just before the primary election, one of which named the candidates he was supporting, that’s not enough to prove that he’s the Machiavellian figure Moving Picture World painted him to be. He was probably more involved than those two ads suggest, given his financial commitment to the Connell Theatre project, but we can’t know to what extent. He isn’t mentioned as taking an overly active role in the 1924 election, and while his theatre permit was an issue of contention, it took a backseat to larger issues that ultimately determined the outcome of most races.

And whereas Connell left a trail suggesting his possible involvement, there isn’t anything at all to prove that Edward Dolan or William Ripley took part in the campaign. They almost certainly didn’t sit it out, and it would have made sense for them to back Mayor Bailey and the incumbent Councilmembers. But if they did anything to support those candidates, that effort went unrecorded. Several ads from the Bailey campaign listed his prominent local supporters, but you won’t find Dolan or Ripley among those names. They didn’t take out ads in the Aberdeen Daily World, as Connell did, nor were they mentioned in the paper’s election coverage – though for that matter, neither was Connell, for the most part. When Ray Connell and A.C. Newman made references to the granting of certain “monopolies” in city politics, we can assume they were talking about Dolan and Ripley, though they were not named specifically. In fact, the only indication of Dolan and Ripley’s involvement came months later, in Moving Picture World’s fawning article, when Ray Connell claimed that “his opposition” chose to battle by changing the booking policies for their local houses, actively buying up the rights to the major film services in the Gray’s Harbor area. That limited Connell’s options when it came to securing pictures for his own venue, forcing him to book independent features through Film Booking Offices of America, Vitagraph and others. But that was just part of the business. While Dolan and Ripley were putting the squeeze Ray Connell in Aberdeen, Connell’s booking decisions were ensuring that no one else could play the leftovers.

By Eric L. Flom – June 2025

Notes:
[1] “Petitions Urge Connell Permit,” Aberdeen Daily World, 6 August 1924, Page 4.
[2] Sumner Smith, “He Elected Mayor to Get Theatre Permit,” Moving Picture World, 16 May 1925, Page 275.
[3] “Lone Democrat Asks City Office,” Aberdeen Daily World, 7 October 1924, Page 1.
[4] “5,967 Register, Setting Record,” Aberdeen Daily World, 15 October 1924, Page 1.
[5] See Connell Theatre advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 1 November 1924, Page 9.
[6] See “The Present Mayor…” advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 3 November 1924, Page 5.
[7] See “Aberdeen’s Best Interests…” advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 6 November 1924, Page 6.
[8] See “To the Citizens of Aberdeen…” advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 7 November 1924, Page 2.
[9] “The Mayoralty Contest,” Aberdeen Daily World, 7 November 1924, Page 8.
[10] See “Hopkins Choice at Polls, Locke is Asked to Run,” Aberdeen Daily World, 10 November 1924, Pages 1 and 4; and “Hopkins to Keep Competent City Heads He Avers,” Aberdeen Daily World, 10 November 1924, Pages 1 and 2. H.A. Bailey would later serve two additional terms as Mayor of Aberdeen.
[11] Ray Connell to Sumner Smith, “He Elected Mayor to Get Theater Permit,” Moving Picture World, 16 May 1925, Page 275.
[12] “The Lesson of the Primary,” Aberdeen Daily World, 10 November 1924, Page 6.

So Ray Connell appears to have been less of a kingmaker than Moving Picture World painted him to be, but the results of Aberdeen’s 1924 primary election nonetheless allowed the Connell Theatre to open for business. Eventually.

Whereas Connell wanted debut his namesake theatre a week after the primary, that was a bit optimistic. He still had to wait until after the December general election, then until the new City Council had been seated, after which they had to amend the theatre ordinance and issue his long-awaited permit. All of that would take at least two months. But then, out of the blue, came a pre-Christmas miracle: the old City Council, the one that voted 7 to 4 to table discussions on the theatre ordinance in July, voted unanimously to take up the matter right away, mere days after the primary.^[1]

At the first Council meeting after the election, two incumbent members, Councilmen Phillips and Weiland, neither of whom had been up for reelection, made a motion to reconsider parts of the ordinance. With minimal debate, the other members agreed to move forward. The impetus for the change seems to have been the election results – it was clear that the winds had changed, and popular sentiment was in Ray Connell’s favor.

So the Aberdeen City Council took up the theatre ordinance once again and voted to repeal parts of the measure, including the population trigger that blocked the opening of the Connell Theatre. Next, they moved on to Connell’s permit request. “Grant of a license to R.E. Connell at his request for the operation of the new Connell theater by the members of the City Council at their session last night,” the Aberdeen Daily World announced in mid-December, “was the closing incident of a long-drawn contention between Mr. Connell and the city. That Connell indicated he holds no grudge, he provided the mayor and councilmen with tickets to witness the first show to be given in his amusement house tomorrow night.” Ray Connell wasn’t in attendance at this Council meeting, but got a hearty laugh out of everyone when the Aberdeen City Clerk read his invitation into the record.^[2] It was the end of a long struggle, and all parties were relieved to put the matter behind them.

Thus, on Friday, December 19, 1924, the 700-seat Connell Theatre made its formal debut in Aberdeen, representing an investment of nearly $100,000. Reportedly of Egyptian design, the description was anything but. The lobby of the theatre featured a plush rug that tied into a color scheme of “old gold” and gray, offset by touches of green and ruby red. The upper walls and ceiling were of stucco, but the lower walls were tiled. A bronze chandelier hung in the lobby area, with complementary floor lamps placed at the head of each aisle inside the auditorium. The roof of the Connell was rose in color, with a series of painted landscapes lining the auditorium walls, leading to the stage area decorated with a black velvet curtain and gold accents.^[3] Ben Shearer of the Seattle-based B.F. Shearer Company turned up for the opening, declaring the Connell one of the most beautiful movie theatres in all of America. He would know – his design firm had been responsible for everything.

The packed house on that Friday evening gathered to watch the Vitagraph feature Captain Blood inaugurate the Connell screen. They were joined by a sizable contingent from Seattle’s Film Row, including Shearer, who made the trip out for the opening, a common courtesy extended whenever venues opened around Washington state.

In addition to Captain Blood as the feature presentation, Ray Connell arranged a special musical program for opening night that included a four-piece, all-female orchestra that had been previously featured at Seattle’s Blue Mouse Theatre. Curiously, Ray Connell eschewed the pipe organ in his namesake venue, a common feature in houses of that size, opting instead for accompaniment from a handful of musicians at each show. To staff his house, the exhibitor filled many positions (ticket takers, doormen, usherettes, etc.) with students from the local high school.

With two complete shows on opening night, the Aberdeen Daily World estimated that nearly 1,500 people attended the Connell Theatre’s inaugural program. “The crowd started to arrive about 6:30 and more than 200 persons were lined in front of the box office at 7 o’clock, when the doors were opened. The doors were [then] closed at 8 o’clock, and more than 100 persons braved the chill in waiting more than one hour for the second performance to start.”^[4] And calling the opening night picture “splendid,” the Grays Harbor Daily Washingtonian remarked that “Mr. Connell’s theater, if it shows such productions as last night as the standard of the pictures it intends to give the public will become a very popular playhouse indeed on the Harbor.”^[5]

With opening day celebrations out of the way, the Connell Theatre settled into its normal routine – three program changes every week, plus live vaudeville every Sunday at no additional cost. But there had already been a significant shift in the Grays Harbor motion picture business by the time the Connell Theatre opened. While Ray Connell was engaged in his permit struggle with the city of Aberdeen, rumors were circulating that his dogged pursuit was being made, in part, because he was secretly aligned with the Greater Theatres Company of Seattle. Moving Picture World even speculated that Connell’s fight was the shot across the bow in a battle royale between the Greater Theatres and the Dolan/Ripley forces over exhibition control in Grays Harbor County.^[6]

These reports weren’t entirely correct. Connell wasn’t the front man for Claude Jensen and John von Herberg, but Tacoma-based exhibitor H.T. Moore was. Moore had come into the Greater Theatres fold some time earlier, and it was he who made play for the Aberdeen market. On the same day that the Aberdeen Daily World announced the results of the 1924 primary election, their front page also carried news that William G. Ripley, half of the partnership who had dominated the Grays Harbor film market for years, had sold his interest to H.T. Moore.^[7]

This was a bombshell announcement, tipping the local film business on its ear. Ripley gave up his interest in Aberdeen’s D&R Theatre, half a block from the Connell, as well as his ownership in smaller houses such as the Weir, Bijou and Dream. In addition, Moore stepped in to take over Ripley’s interest in Ray Connell’s old Hoquiam venues, including the Arcade and the Liberty.

Moore, at the time of the deal, was a 20-year moving picture veteran, having operated venues in the Midwest before settling in Tacoma, where he oversaw several theatres, in addition to holdings in Olympia and Yakima. In early statements Moore was coy about his plans, stating, on the one hand, that he might also want to buy Edward Dolan’s share of the former Dolan and Ripley empire, while on the other claiming that he might want to partner Dolan and build a brand-new theatre in Hoquiam.^[8]

Certainly this tectonic shift impacted Ray Connell, but he was too busy introducing his new venue to Aberdeen moviegoers, where his focus remained for the time being. But that didn’t last for long. In the summer of 1925, less than six months after the Connell Theatre opened, a new rumor began circulating that the exhibitor was preparing to sell his venue to Warner Brothers, which was busy amassing circuit houses along the West Coast. Connell initially denied these reports, but they had merit, and he eventually sold out to Elbe Theatres Company (operating on behalf of the Warner organization). Arthur Bishell became the venue’s new manager, which retained its name despite the fact that Connell was no longer associated with the enterprise.^[9] But even this change was short-lived; within months Elbe gave up on the Connell Theatre and sold it to Edward Dolan, who promptly shut it down.^[10] Located just around the corner from the D&R, Dolan almost certainly never wanted the Connell Theatre to exist, so he probably relished the opportunity to have it shuttered.

Ray Connell profited handsomely from selling his namesake venue to the Elbe Theatre Company, but his decision may have been personal as much as it was professional. For nearly a year, throughout his long battle with the city of Aberdeen, Connell’s wife Anna had been suffering from an extended illness, so letting go of his prized holding allowed him to more devote time to family matters. It was for naught; on October 12, 1925, Anna Connell, age 40, passed away, leaving behind her husband and their three girls – Dorothy (14), Margaret (12) and Anna Ray (8).

By Eric L. Flom – June 2025

Notes:
[1] “Theater Ban is Source of Woe, Repeal in Sight,” Aberdeen Daily World, 13 November 1924, Page 1.
[2] See “Theater Permit Grant Ends Long Council Battle,” Aberdeen Daily World, 18 December 1924, Page 1; and “Connell Invites City Councilmen to Theater Opening,” Grays Harbor Daily Washingtonian, 18 December 1924, Page 8.
[3] See “New Film House, To Open Friday, Credit to City,” Aberdeen Daily World, 18 December 1924, Page 7; and “Connell Theater and Play Attract Two Great Crowds,” Grays Harbor Daily Washingtonian, 20 December 1924, Page 10.
[4] “Crowds Attend Formal Opening of New Theater,” Aberdeen Daily World, 20 December 1924, Page 3.
[5] “Connell Theater and Play Attract Two Great Crowds,” Grays Harbor Daily Washingtonian, 20 December 1924, Page 10. See also “New Film House, To Open Friday, Credit to City,” Aberdeen Daily World, 18 December 1924, Page 7; Connell Theatre advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 18 December 1924, Page 9; and Connell Theatre advertisement, Aberdeen Daily World, 19 December 1924, Section II, Page 6.
[6] See “Northwest,” Moving Picture World, 25 October 1924, Page 693; and “Seattle,” Moving Picture World, 29 November 1924, Page 418.
[7] See “Ripley Theater Holdings Sold to Tacoma Man,” Aberdeen Daily World, 10 November 1924, Pages 1 and 2; and “Ripley Theatre Interests Sold to H.T. Moore,” Hoquiam American, 13 November 1924, Page 7.
[8] “Harbor Welcomes H.T. Moore,” Hoquiam American, 4 December 1924, Page 9.
[9] See “Seattle,” Motion Picture News, 11 July 1925, Page 221; and “Seattle,” Motion Picture News, 3 October 1925, Page 1614. Before purchasing the Connell Theatre in Aberdeen, Elbe Theatres Company made similar purchases in Ellensburg and Astoria on behalf of the Warner Bros. forces. (See Eric L. Flom, “Liberty Theatre in Everett Opens on October 26, 1927, HistoryLink (http://www.historylink.org/File/8812), accessed 1 January 2018.)
[10] “Seattle,” Motion Picture News, 17 October 1925, Page 1833. The building that Ray Connell erected at 210 East Wishkah still stands on downtown Aberdeen today. It’s a little worse for wear, however, which would describe a lot of older buildings in the greater Aberdeen and Hoquiam area. A visit in early 2022 found it empty and locked up, the remnants of the previous business(es) gathering dust behind the plate glass windows that were formerly entry doors to the venue.