LaSalle

From Friday night double features at the LaSalle with my Dad, to more recent visits with my daughter to see "Pirates of the Caribbean", the LaSalle has always been my favorite movie destination. I have always been grateful that the LaSalle has survived as an intact and operational theatre. I remain grateful for the dedication of the Kaplan family,... followed by Wendy Sadoquis and finally Robert Kasner. It was with considerable sadness that I arrived in Kirkland Lake last winter - looking forward to whatever the LaSalle might have to offer - only to find that the times, and economics, had finally taken their toll. You may wonder who I am, and why I would presume to take on the ownership of the LaSalle. My grandfather, Ernest H. Powell , was the first music teacher at KLCVI. My Dad ( David D. Powell ) grew up in Kirkland Lake - and began his teaching career in Swastika. I was born in Kirkland Lake - but we moved away when I was quite young. However, we maintained our cottage at Round Lake and so I grew up visiting Kirkland Lake, and its theatres, every summer of my childhood. Later, as an adult, I continued with regular visits to our cottage - and the LaSalle. Although I didn't technically 'grow up' in Kirkland Lake, I consider that I am from Kirkland Lake. I spent most of my growing up years in Cochrane. After high school I trained to become an actor and I obtained a BFA in theatre in 1979 from the University of Windsor. While I was still a student at university I spent my evenings apprenticing to become a movie projectionist - which was a 'skilled trade' at that time. Once I received my 'operator's license' my job as a 'relief projectionist' at most of the theatres in Windsor, and later in Toronto, paid my way through university and law school. I always intended to be a producer of live theatre - I felt that a law degree, combined with a theatre degree, would make a perfect background for theatre production. Instead I discovered that acting - and courtroom drama - were a good combination and I have now been a ...Read More