Storyteller

 

Louis Rubin

    This post is about my wife’s uncle Louis Rubin. Louis married Arlene’s aunt Fran Snyder. Louis is the first person of interest in my blog that is not a blood relative to either me or Arlene. 

    Louis Rubin was born in Dinwiddie, VA. on February 8th 1922. He was the oldest child of Jake and Rose Rubin and most likely was named after Jake’s father Louis. Jake and Rose owned and operated a small grocery store in Petersburg, Virginia. Lou was born shortly after Jake and Rose entered the USA and they had a daughter Syllvia who was about two and a half years younger than Lou. Jake and Rose eked out a living with their small market but Lou claimed he never knew they were poor. He had a roof over his head and never went hungry. He had clothes on his back and friends to play with. He was very content with his portion in life. 

     Lou went to high school in Petersburg and after he graduated attended the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, PA. While attending school he met Francine Snyder and married her in 1945 shortly after he graduated. Fran had begun nursing school in Philly but a sickness caused her to stop and she never resumed that course once she was married. Their wedding was in Philadelphia and after Lou spent some time in the military as an optometrist they settled in his hometown of Petersburg and he opened up a practice there. He also had a satellite office in nearby Waverly but closed it after the Petersburg office was busy enough to provide a living for the young couple. Fran managed the office. In 1947 their daughter Linda was born and 7 years later in 1954, their daughter Claudia came into their life. 

 

    Louis was a fine optometrist, a good husband, and a happy father but he was in his glory when he was telling stories. And he was very good at it. In an earlier post titled “Did you hear the story about…” I recounted the tale of Lou’s mother, Rose and the single chicken she bought to feed about 14 people. Lou convinced everybody not to eat too much chicken and when there was still some meat left at the end of the meal Rose said “See, I told you it was enough.” He was always a bit of a ham and loved musical theater. In 1965, Lou and Fran along with two other partners purchased the Swift Creek Grist Mill. It is one of the oldest grist mills in the United States having been built in 1850. It stands on a site that previous mills have occupied since 1663. They renovated the building and turned it into a dinner theater. The Mill (this is how family members referred to it) was successful from the start and has won accolades as one of the best theaters in the Richmond, VA area. They presented dramas, comedies, and musicals to the delight of their local theater aficionados. 

 

     I personally saw two productions there. Bye Bye Birdie, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Lou played the lead in the latter. Throughout the years Lou acted in many of the productions including The Odd Couple and Fiddler on the Roof (of course he played Tevye.) His acting was not relegated to the Mill. He did some TV commercials for a commercial lender along with appearing on billboards and in magazine print ads. We came across his face in TV Guide. It was a lot of work but Lou’s passion for theater and dedication helped drive the dinner theater to many successful years. Three nights a week he and Fran went right from work to the theater to welcome their patrons. Financially it was a modest success. Lou claimed that it made enough money to pay the dry cleaning bills for Fran’s gowns. Several people that performed on the stage at Swift Creek Mill went on to stardom in other media. Blair Underwood and Steven Furst both had notable careers in television and movies. A number of Swift Mill graduates have performed on Broadway and have become accomplished actors and actresses on the stages in New York City.

 Tevye from Fiddler

Pseudolus from Funny Thing

 

Print ad from TV Guide

     Fran passed away in 1986 but Lou remained active in the mill for several more years. In 1990, Lou married Earlene Staub. Once he retired Lou did not participate in any activities at the mill. His love for theater never waned and of course he was always quick with a story anytime he bumped into former patients, friends or theater goers. Lou died in 2009. We attended his funeral and appropriately everybody told their favorite stories about Lou Rubin.