Malone Popcorn Vendor

From undated (ca. 1970s) Malone Evening Telegram:

Ca. 1930s Photo of Frankie Browning, by Floyd Lord 

Courtesy of George Pond

In the 1930s, Frankie Browning operated a mobile popcorn machine outside the Grand Theatre in Malone, from which he also sold peanuts and raisins.  Harold F. Brown wrote in his Do You Remember When? Editor's Column,  "A kerosene burner supplied the heat for making popcorn and Frankie had to turn the roller popper by hand.  The picture shows the kerosene can and snouted pourer underneath the stand.  The pail hanging on the back caught the parts that did not pop.  The fragrance of popcorn filled that section of Main Street each evening, tempting theater goers."   Peanuts cost a dime, a box of raisins a nickel, a bag of popcorn cost a nickel and big box could be had for a dime.  According to Brown, Frankie Browning was "badly crippled" and laboriously wheeled his popcorn cart across Main Street from its storage area behind Pond's store each night.