85-year-old woman donates collection of old autographs to historic Orem theater

85-year-old woman donates collection of old autographs to historic Orem theater

(SCERA)


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OREM — The SCERA Center for the Arts is seeing stars after receiving a major donation from an 85-year-old Utah woman.

Betty Nichols, of Orem, donated an album of signed photographs of famous classic movie stars to the Center for the Arts. The nearly 120 photos date back about 70 years.

Nichols made the donation with the hope that the photos would be cherished by those appreciative of their history.

“I have a son and daughter, and I could have passed them on, but they are toss- ‘em out kind of kids, and I did not have the heart to have them thrown away,” said Nichols in a written release.

For the staff at SCERA (which stands for Sharon’s Cultural, Educational, Recreational Association), it was a welcomed surprise. Nichols wrote a letter to SCERA asking if they’d be interested in a collection she began when she was a 12-year-old living in Carbon County and bedridden for three months suffering from rheumatic fever. An avid movie fan, this kept her from the movies at this time in the 1940s.

Her mother began writing letters to actors after learning that they’d respond with signed photos. Sure enough, the autographs kept coming in and it became a regular practice. She’d eventually go on to receive signed photos of all the big names: Clark Gable, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Gene Kelly and Ronald Reagan. Those were just a few of more than 100 photos she’d acquire, though she decided to give the Reagan photo to her daughter with a special instruction.

“I kept the Ronald Reagan picture and gave it to my daughter after letting her know she could not get rid of it because he was president of the United States,” she said.

Betty Nichols, 85, holds up photos of autographs from movie stars she began collecting when she was 12 years old. 

(Photo: SCERA)
Betty Nichols, 85, holds up photos of autographs from movie stars she began collecting when she was 12 years old. (Photo: SCERA)

That era in movies has since past, but it was the ideal gift for SCERA. While the association first organized in 1933, it began showing movies in 1941 with the opening of the Center for the Arts building. The opening of the historic building is around the same time Nichols’ collection began.

“It’s so perfect for SCERA because we opened in 1941. The first movie that was shown was a John Wayne movie called ‘Shepherd of the Hills,’ so we kind of started off showing all the movies of these people that she loved and saw those movies at the time when they actually came out,” said April Berlin, SCERA marketing and development manager.

The plan is, in the near future, to display the photos in the lobby of the theater. SCERA staff are still looking at ways to ensure the photos are preserved for even more years to come before they are placed on the walls.

“It’s fun and it’s unique,” Berlin said. “It’s just special to have something like (this) to come along.”

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