Frances Cuyler took a trip down memory lane in Penhold earlier this month.
The only surviving cast member from a local theatre production, Cuyler (nee Kenworthy) is one of several people who signed the back of the Penhold curtain when she was part of the Elnora Players production of Hells Bells in 1950.
Sixteen-year-old Frances Kenworthy was the youngest of all 17 cast members. They all signed their names. Francis did hers with red lipstick.
“It's so much like a teenager to go and plaster your name there in red lipstick,” said Cuyler with a chuckle. “It was quite amusing to see.”
Now 81, she was born and raised in Elnora and drove from Edmonton where she now lives, to view the historical curtain earlier Dec. 2 for the first time since 1950.
She was joined by several family members, friends and Stewart Ford, the retired Penhold businessman who was responsible for the curtain's restoration and its official unveiling on Nov. 5.
“I don't remember much about the play itself but I remember the dress I wore,” said Cuyler. “I was supposed to be the spoiled brat of a wealthy family and I borrowed a small fur jacket from a friend of my mother's.
“I thought it was quite exciting (to be a part of the play),” she added. I can remember all the people and cast members, and I do remember the many rehearsals we had.”
The production travelled and performed in various places, including Elnora and Penhold, where she signed the curtain dated March 29, 1950.
“It's amazing that the names are so easy to read and some of them are so bright,” said Cuyler, noting the curtain and its history have a personal meaning for her.
“My father was in the Second World War and my grandfather was in the First World War. Some day I will go to the war museum in Ottawa to see the curtain,” she said. “That's nice to know that part of Western Canada will have something there.”
Cuyler said it was a unique opportunity for the Town of Penhold as well.
“I think that's really great for a small community like this to have this piece of history,” she said. “It shows that they were an up-and-coming community to have all these different groups from out-of-town coming to use the hall.”
Ford said meeting Cuyler adds a personal touch and provides a unique piece of history to one of many names on the back of the curtain.
“It's absolutely fantastic,” said Ford. “We have now put a face to the name (Frances Kenworthy) and that's what this is all about.
“We helped her remember that she used lipstick to write her name,” he added with a chuckle. “You could put your name anywhere you wanted on the curtain.”
Ford has already met one other person whose name adorns the back of the curtain. He said the Dec. 2 meeting was a chance for him to meet another entertainer who was in Penhold when the curtain was in its prime use at Memorial Hall.
Cuyler will always share a special connection to the Penhold curtain and like the names of others on it, will remain an important part of Penhold history.
“It's a small part,” Cuyler said of her historical role. “I think it's an interesting story to share.”
Frances Cuyler
"I think that's really great for a small community like this to have this piece of history. It shows that they were an up-and-coming community to have all these different groups from out of town coming to use the hall."
