Brownsville Station: John C. Fanning and the Annual Capitol Christmas Party

Story compiled by Javier R. Garcia from Brownsville Herald archives

(Brownsville Historical Association photo colorized by Javier R. Garcia)

On a cold rainy day on December 23, 1947, strings of colored Christmas lights stretched across E Levee St., candy canes decorated a light pole and an ebony Christmas tree stood on a platform in front of the marquee of the Capitol Theater. The long line of kids numbering close to 1500 who received free tickets earlier that week stretched around the corner to the alley and perhaps back across the street. Across the corner was a man and a rain slicked street wearing a raincoat with a large camera on a tripod. It might have been the photographer from nearby Rogers Studio who snapped a photo and managed to get the attention of almost every brown faced kid anxiously waiting to get inside for the fun to begin.

It was the annual Christmas Party at the Capitol which originally began in 1930 with 100 children as guests its first year. Thereafter kids were invited to receive gifts of fruit and candy by the Christmas tree in front of the theater and see a free matinee inside. It was John C. Fanning who lead the parade while donning the Santa costume.

This news photo would have been after 1933 or 1938; depending on when marquee was changed.

Businessman Morris Edelstein had nice furniture giveaways in 1940!

Mr. Fanning played Santa for nine straight years until becoming ill in the early 1940s. In 1941 he suffered a stroke and was in Mercy Hospital while a substitute Santa passed out gifts in front of the Capitol.

In 1943 Fanning was the honored guest of the Brownsville Fire Department which hosted the procession from the Central Fire Station on E Adams and 10^th to the Federal Building /Post Office. Ol’ Saint. Nick rode a hook-and-ladder truck (instead of his sleigh) which was led by a motorcycle cop, local junior high school band and jeep carrying Mr. Fannin. With his health declined he may not have been up to the task of donning the red suit this last night. He had once been an avid fisherman and had photos of himself with fish he caught in the gulf on the wall in his office but after the stroke of ’41 he had sold the boat and his civic work had to be less arduous. And then he suddenly he died the next night from heart failure at the age of 68.

The heart attack struck him while he was walking past El Jardin Hotel to his home apartment on the upper level of the Capitol. He had been under the close supervision of his doctor and traveled to San Antonio for treatment. He felt he recovered and made leisurely travels to Kansas and later, Mexico City. County Attorney Franklin Graham was at his side when tragedy struck and with the help of an unknown sailor and night watchman, the three helped Mr Fanning to his room. A doctor was called and fire department dispatched to bring their “pulmotor” to revive Fanning back to health. Mr. Fanning repeatedly assured his last companions on earth “I’ll be alright,” but twenty-five minutes after having his stroke he was gone.

With his wife Bertie they had raised two daughters who lived in Fort Worth and a son who lived in Lubbock and supposedly had a hat called the Fanning named after him by the Knox Hat Company.

John Cullen Fanning was born August 21, 1875 in Natchez, Mississippi but raised in Fort Worth, Texas and by the time he arrived in Brownsville in the early 1920s from Cisco and Mineral Wells (places near Dallas, Texas), he already had experience operating movie theaters beginning in San Angelo since 1911.

He partnered with Ed Brady, President of the Delta Amusement Company of San Benito and its vice-president, Brown White to operate the Texas Theater in downtown Brownsville. Paco Betancourt, who operated the Queen Theater, joined the three men and they became the “Brownsville Amusement Company” which incorporated the Capitol, Queen and Texas theaters in 1928. The Dent Theater chain bought out Fanning’s partners while he retained his interest in the theater. Dent sold to Publix and Publix sold to Interstate in 1932.

The Capitol opened on Valentine’s Day 1928 to much fanfare and had a capacity to seat 1,000 persons. By 1938 Interstate Theater gave the Capitol a complete renovation. Fanning stayed on as its manager.

Our story begins in the early 1930's after the Great Depression left many people out of employment. Civic organizations in Brownsville answered the call for charity around Christmastime. Volunteers of America, Red Cross, American Legion’s Southpoint Chapter of Disabled American Veterans, local city churches and local fire department urged the more fortunate in Brownsville to contribute to these causes for disadvantaged children.

December 22, 1933 Brownsville Herald announcement

The Capitol was also one of sixty theaters across the United States to host the Mickey Mouse Club Theater program for kids which began in 1930. Fanning also conceived the St. Patrick’s celebration of 1931, the Fourth of July celebration of 1929 and Better Brownsville celebration of 1932. He also organized the “Kid Parades” to celebrate the opening of the Port of Brownsville in 1936 and was a participating organizer of Charro Days in 1937 and yearly Easter egg hunts.

Each year Fanning erected a tall ebony tree in front of the theater which was decorated with the help of local store merchants, the Brownsville Fire Department and Junior Chamber of Commerce. This tradition probably followed the one which had begun on the former James Wells property in front of the Federal Courthouse/ Post Office on E Elizabeth and 10^th St. It was a giant 20-plus foot tree with a spreading 12 ft branch which lighted by the local electric company to honor the memory of W.B. Clint who was director of the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce for many years. Christmas carols were broadcast down E Elizabeth St businesses over loud speakers and various groups appeared on the streets of Brownsville. By the way, that property later became the Majestic Theater built by Interstate in 1949.

James Wells house on corner of E Elizabeth and 10th circa 1920. There's no need to point out a large ebony tree for you to get the picture.

But the photo this story is about was taken three years after John Fanning died. It was Interstate Theater who continued the tradition. They ran ads with “Your theatre man – Jimmy McNeil says – Seasons Greetings to you all and suggests you -- Give Entertainment” by buying their coupons redeemable at any of their Rio Grande Valley Interstate Theaters.

The free matinee was “Philo Vance Returns,” a mystery film which seems like a lame choice for children but we'll assume they enjoyed the fun of having seen cartoons with free popcorn and candy. What’s amazing is the absence of parents in the photo. Where were they?

Anyways, you get the picture. It’s doubtful the Capitol tradition carried on much longer after Mr. Fanning’s demise. Once the Star Drive-in was built in 1948, followed by the Majestic Theater and Charro Drive-in in 1949, the Capitol would last a few years into the late 1950s or early 1960s but its place as Brownsville’s main theater was long gone and as generations passed, the memory of John C. Fannin would fade away.