I did some research on the Wojtek Brothers. Otto was 35 years old when the brothers opened the Alamo. Victor was 26 and Frank was 22. There parents had come to Texas from Czechoslovakia and where in the 1900 US census. A year later in
1936, they opened the first Texas Theater in
Brontë one year later. They built a second and larger Texas Theater in Brontë in 1948. They were their own designers and builders of all their
theaters. All the brothers were married and in
addition to the theater business, were involved in ranching in Coke County where Robert Lee (Population 1,027) is the county seat and Bronte is a smaller community (Population 999). The Texas
in Bronte still stands today. All three men were married. Otto to Charlotte (He died in 1988, Age 88 and Charlotte died in 1999, Age 88 - both are buried in the Robert Lee Cemetery along with Otto’s parents. Otto was 11 years older than
Charlotte. Marriage date unknown.) (Victor died in 1993 at the age of 83 and his wife, Ronda died in 2017 at the age of 95. They were married in 1940 when Victor was 31 and Ronda was 19. They are also buried in the Robert Lee Cemetery.) (Frank,
Jr. was the baby of seven children and died at the age of 84 in 1997. His wife Zelma Jean evidently is still living at the age of 96. They were married in
December of 1949 when Frank, Jr was 36 and Jean was 22.). Frank is buried in the cemetery at Brontë. They headstone also lists his wife. I wonder if they ran the theater in Bronte while Otto and Victor ran the business in Robert Lee. According to Ronda’s obituary, she had helped run the Alamo Theater along with helping the brothers run a skating rink that they owned in Robert Lee. The Alamo was evidently closed sometime in the 1970s. I don’t know exactly where it was located
or if it still is standing.
In 2016, the Ritz Theater in Midland was purchased by the local PBS station and completely renovated with 1950’s style movie signage, etc. They are using it for their station offices and community events. It is a great save of a movie theater building.
I did some research on the Wojtek Brothers. Otto was 35 years old when the brothers opened the Alamo. Victor was 26 and Frank was 22. There parents had come to Texas from Czechoslovakia and where in the 1900 US census. A year later in 1936, they opened the first Texas Theater in Brontë one year later. They built a second and larger Texas Theater in Brontë in 1948. They were their own designers and builders of all their theaters. All the brothers were married and in addition to the theater business, were involved in ranching in Coke County where Robert Lee (Population 1,027) is the county seat and Bronte is a smaller community (Population 999). The Texas in Bronte still stands today. All three men were married. Otto to Charlotte (He died in 1988, Age 88 and Charlotte died in 1999, Age 88 - both are buried in the Robert Lee Cemetery along with Otto’s parents. Otto was 11 years older than Charlotte. Marriage date unknown.) (Victor died in 1993 at the age of 83 and his wife, Ronda died in 2017 at the age of 95. They were married in 1940 when Victor was 31 and Ronda was 19. They are also buried in the Robert Lee Cemetery.) (Frank, Jr. was the baby of seven children and died at the age of 84 in 1997. His wife Zelma Jean evidently is still living at the age of 96. They were married in December of 1949 when Frank, Jr was 36 and Jean was 22.). Frank is buried in the cemetery at Brontë. They headstone also lists his wife. I wonder if they ran the theater in Bronte while Otto and Victor ran the business in Robert Lee. According to Ronda’s obituary, she had helped run the Alamo Theater along with helping the brothers run a skating rink that they owned in Robert Lee. The Alamo was evidently closed sometime in the 1970s. I don’t know exactly where it was located or if it still is standing.
In 2016, the Ritz Theater in Midland was purchased by the local PBS station and completely renovated with 1950’s style movie signage, etc. They are using it for their station offices and community events. It is a great save of a movie theater building.