Corliss Balfour

I have been connected with the West End ever since I was a child. I basically grew up here. At one point in time, my grandmother actually owned a candy store on old Court Street—back when it was the Black people’s market and had all the little shops. You might not know anything about that; you’re too young. But yes, at one time our market was on Court Street, and the stores we shopped at were all right there. My grandma owned the candy store on Court Street.

Everybody basically went to the Regal. Every Easter, all the children went to the Regal. You’d go to church, maybe have an Easter egg hunt at home, then you’d put on your clothes and go to the Regal. Parents didn’t come with us—they dropped all the children off at the show. They had the best hot dogs in the world. Oh my God, I’ve been trying to make my hot dog taste like that for years, and I still can’t get it.

We would be all over the theater—up in the balcony, down on the first floor. Sometimes I’d sit down and actually watch the movie, but I mostly used it for socializing.

I remember one time my father, my mother, and all of us went. We were sitting there watching the movie, and a rat this big came running up the aisle. I started screaming and jumping up on the chair. That’s when my mama saw it. My daddy had had a couple of shots, so he was over there sleeping. Everybody was screaming and running, but Daddy was still asleep. My mama hit him with her purse like, ‘Man, get up! The rats have taken over!’ By then, there were several rats running all over the theater.

Still, I’ve never had problems making or keeping friends in the West End or Over-the-Rhine.