Jewel Theatre

There is a 1926 advertisement for Reproduco Organs which lists one of their “satisfied customers” as Anton Slepka of Okemah Oklahoma. It would seem Pop Slepka upgraded the musical accompaniment after buying the Jewell.

I’m unable to reconcile the address of 216 W. Broadway with the description of the Jewel Theatre as having been “atop a hill.” The top of the hill is about 5th Street, a block west of the location of the Crystal Theatre, which is at 401 W. Broadway. I’d expect the State to have had an address in the 400 or 500 block.

Okemah was birthplace and childhood home to activist songwriter Woodey Guthrie (1912-1967).
Bet he would have gotten a big kick out of this old JibJab version,
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Here is an item from the Okemah News Leader on 1/1/56:

Anton (Pop) Slepka, 78, prominent pioneer Okemah and State resident and owner of the city’s two movie houses, died at his home at 11:14 a.m. Saturday following a recent serious illness of about two weeks. Mr. Slepka suffered a heart attack about eight years ago and had been seriously ill on a number of occasions since that time.

Mr. Slepka was born on October 28, 1877 in Iowa and came to Oklahoma in the run of 1889. He first settled near Hobart where he was married on July 19, 1904. The Slepkas lived near Gotebo on a farm and later moved to the Keifer-Mounds area. It was in July last year that Mr. And Mrs. Slepka observed their golden wedding anniversary. In September of the same year, the Okemah theaters celebrated their 35th anniversaries in the Slepka family. Both theaters were closed on Saturday and will remain closed at least through Monday.

Mr. Slepka purchased the Jewel theater here in 1919 and in 1931 expanded with the purchase of the Crystal. He still farmed after the purchase of the Jewel but due to the resignation of the manager, he was forced to move to Okemah and operate the movie house.

Mr. Slepka saw the great progress in the movie field from the silent film the most modern innovations. His operation here has kept Okemah abreast of the latest inventions and gave the city two of the best movie houses for this size of town or larger in Oklahoma. In recent years, management of the theaters was turned over to his son, Bill Slepka.

Before his semi-retirement, Mr. Slepka was active in civic and business affairs in Okemah. He was well known by all local residents and from many parts of Oklahoma. On many occasions when the Christmas basket program for the needy was sponsored here, Mr. Slepka contributed generously to the project yet with his work to remain anonymous.