The theater actually opened in 1937. In the very early 1950’s the theater was purchased from Mr. Enloe, later the mayor, by Mr. Fontenof. A fire partially burned the theater. When the local banks refused to loan money to him to repair the damage, he turned to Margaret Sheehan, my mother. The Fonteno family were friends of the family. My mother made the loan and took a mortgage on the property. With opening of Interstate 20 in the early 60’s and increasing popularity of TV, attendance declined to the point the theater closed and my mother took possession of the theater. My mother allowed my brother and I and our rock band to use the theater to practice.
I am now, with my two sons, working on securing funds for the renovation of the building. We formed a nonprofit, The Wahoo Theater, Inc.. Anyone wanting to help fund the renovation should make checks payable to The Wahoo Theater, Inc. and mail them to 1608 Ridge Drive, Ruston, La. 71270. We are searching for pictures of the theater along with newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Contact me via email
The theater actually opened in 1937. In the very early 1950’s the theater was purchased from Mr. Enloe, later the mayor, by Mr. Fontenof. A fire partially burned the theater. When the local banks refused to loan money to him to repair the damage, he turned to Margaret Sheehan, my mother. The Fonteno family were friends of the family. My mother made the loan and took a mortgage on the property. With opening of Interstate 20 in the early 60’s and increasing popularity of TV, attendance declined to the point the theater closed and my mother took possession of the theater. My mother allowed my brother and I and our rock band to use the theater to practice. I am now, with my two sons, working on securing funds for the renovation of the building. We formed a nonprofit, The Wahoo Theater, Inc.. Anyone wanting to help fund the renovation should make checks payable to The Wahoo Theater, Inc. and mail them to 1608 Ridge Drive, Ruston, La. 71270. We are searching for pictures of the theater along with newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Contact me via email
Roland Sheehan