John A. Nowrey
Gravestone of Private First Class John A. Nowrey, Company B, 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division, U.S. Army. Serial: 32758998. He lived at 1388 Whitman Avenue, Camden NJ.
Private First Class John A. Nowrey was born in 1923 to Elizabeth M. and George A. Nowrey. His grandfather, George A. Nowrey Sr., was a longtime Camden Police officer, and his great-uncle was one-time Camden Mayor and Camden County Sheriff Joseph E. Nowrey. By the early 1940s John Nowrey was living at 1388 Whitman Avenue, Camden NJ.
On August 12, 1942, John Nowrey was at the Lyric Theater on Broadway when falling plaster caused the movie to be evacuated. He was inducted into the United States Army shortly thereafter.
John Nowrey was wounded in November of 1944, as reported in the December 2, 1944 morning edition of the Camden Courier-Post. He was killed in action on May 3, 1945. Private Nowrey was brought home to the United States after the war and was buried at Calvary Cemetery in what was then Delaware Township (present-day Cherry Hill) NJ. He was awarded the Purple Heart. The Nowrey family later moved to Mount Ephraim NJ.
Families Leading County Pool Meets
Camden Courier-Post —
The weekly races of the Camden County Park Commission are developing into family affairs. With the season’s championship to be decided at the Audubon pool on Monday, August 4, the following families have shown to advantage during the past three weeks: the Nestbaumers in Haddonfield; the Kehoes in Camden; the Blythes and Kegels in Audubon; the Hagans in Gloucester and the Hollands and Redds in South Camden. Swimmers competing in weekly events are eligible for the title meet. Results of events this week follow:
Camden Pool
Boys
Under 60 pounds—Won by Dick Kehoe; second, Charles Pennod; third, Alfonse Borowski.
Under 70 pounds—Won by Fred Rossi; second, Bob Cahill; third, Fred Loze.
Under 80 pounds—Won by Jim Kehoe; second, Tom Kurek; third, Gerald Keys.
Under 90 pounds—First, Frank Koski; second, Jim Kehoe; third, Bob Cahill.
Under 100 pounds—First Enrico Cipriani; second, Lloyd Lyons; third, Charles Powers.
Under 130 pounds—Won by Alexander Melledy; second, John Nowrey; third, Bob Reamer.
Under 115 pounds—Won by Bill Campbell; second, Bill Reed; third, Eddie Villano.
Girls
Under 80 pounds—Won by Ethel Frick; second, Florence Gillespie.
Under 100 pounds—Won by Mary Dennison; second, Mary Reilly.
500 Leave Theatre As Plaster Falls
Camden Courier-Post —
City Authorities Order Lyric Closed Pending Ceiling Repairs
Five hundred persons filed quietly out of the Lyric Theatre shortly after 9:30 p.m. last night after a section of plastering and metal lath collapsed under a section of the balcony.
Foresight on the part of management prevented what might have been a more serious incident.
When a small section of plaster crashed during the first showing of the picture, “The Adventures of Marco Polo,” Joseph McDevitt, assistant manager, mounted the stage and told patrons seated in that section there was no danger. He instructed them to move to the right side of the theatre. All complied.
Section Roped Off
Theatre attendants then roped off the area and the show went on without interruption.
City Building Inspector John Dziekanski after surveying the situation and examining the fallen plaster and metal lath ordered the theatre closed pending further inspection.
A representative of Warner Brothers, owners of the theatre, said the company’s engineers had inspected the section. He also said the company will cooperate fully with city officials and that no expense would be spared to insure continued safety in the theatre.
Warner Brothers engineers said the section that collapsed measured 18x36 feet.
Conference Listed Today
The city building inspector and engineers of the theatre company were to confer today.
An unidentified person telephoned the city police department that the ceiling of the theatre had collapsed.
Battalion Fire Chief Barnes Erickson and Police Chief Frost with police radio cars and fire apparatus responded. Broadway traffic was jammed and hundreds of persons milled about on the sidewalk.
Erickson said he sized up the situation and ordered the show closed and the patrons evacuated from the theatre. The patrons left in an orderly manner.
James H. Carr, superintendent of city streets also went to the theatre. Several city detectives and patrolmen were on hand.
Dziekanski said it was “a bad job of plastering,” for which Warner Brothers or the local management could not be held responsible.
Chief Erickson corroborated Dziekanski’s opinion.
“The theatre manager and other employees did a fine job when they moved the patrons from the section where the balcony ceiling fell,” Erickson said.
Heard ‘Ripping’ Sound
Mrs. Udell’s grandson, Bertram Ellis, of 617 Broadway, said he heard a ripping sound before the plaster fell. Mrs. Udell’s husband, William, said he heard of the incident and ran into the theatre to help his wife to the street.
William Herbert, of 1000 Newton avenue, said:
“It looked to me like about 40 feet of the balcony came down with a twisting and crackling sound,” he said. “The manager spoke from the stage and told us not to get excited. I saw one of the heavy electric light fixtures crash. Some people were excited when the lights were not turned on. They kept showing the picture just as if nothing happened.”
John Nowrey, of 1388 Whitman avenue, said he was seated on the aisle across the section from where the patrons were told to move when the plaster came down.
“There was a long ripping sound,” he said. “Lots of people ran for the exits. I was showered with plaster dust.”
Constructed in 1926
The present Lyric Theatre, a fireproof building, was constructed in 1926 on the site of the original theatre bearing the same name. None of the old theatre is part of the present one. The original owners were Handle and Rovner, a local theatrical firm, which later sold the building to the old Stanley Company of America. Later Warner Brothers took over its operation.
“I was seated in the part where the plaster first started to crack,” said Mrs. Sarah Udell, of 1007 Broadway. “The manager told us to move over to the other side of the theatre, which we did.
“Some time later I heard a cracking and ripping sound and the plaster and metal fell near the place where I had been sitting with other people. Some people got excited and started running for the doors. I was scared when the plaster dust fell on the people.”