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Miss Lacy and Mickey -- two very special ladies
Five O'Clock Shadow
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Published: June 29, 2009
Miss Lacy Starnes, one of the highest-profile women in the history of Hickory, died last week, a month after observing her 98th birthday — two years short of reaching 100.
Her first and only job after graduating at Claremont (Hickory) High School was working in the ticket booth at Carolina Theater in downtown Hickory, where she was in charge for the next 65 years.
In his book on theaters in the Catawba Valley, "Big Time for a Dime," it figured that author Don Barker would use plenty of ink and paper to extol the wonders of Lacy Starnes, the ticket lady at Carolina Theater.
Barker was one of many pre-school boys — likely hundreds — who felt their first pangs of puppy love in the presence of Lacy. Always elegantly dressed, each ticket that popped out of the magic ticket delivery machine arrived wrapped in her understated 1,000-watt smile.
The day "The ticket lady" began work at the Carolina, competing theaters downtown were the Grand, Rivoli and Park, none of which now exist.
Lacy was often as big a box office attraction as many of the films, for boys, men, women and families.
"Her love for people was her most endearing quality," Baker observed in his book on theaters.
Young boys in the five and six-year-old age range, who loved Miss Lacy, grew into men who remember and cherish those early years.
Other than manning the box office at Carolina Theater, Miss Lacy was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where as the oldest member, she qualified as dean of the congregation.
A reader offered this tribute, one that fit hundreds, perhaps thousands of the greater Hickory population:
"When we went to the Carolina Theater, as teenagers, Miss Lacy Starnes probably sold us the tickets. I'm sure she sold my boyfriend and me tickets when we were courting, and even after we married and took the children to the movies, she was there.
"Surely most of us have memories that include Miss Lacy."
I confess to being one of those many boys in the 5 to 6 age range caught in Miss Lacy's engaging smile and her willingness to always take time to say hello and, perhaps, inquire about your mom.
The other highest-profile woman in Hickory during Miss Lacy's era was Mickey Coe, who wouldn't take failure as an answer. A people person, Mickey did so much in developing and saving the Hickory Museum of Art.
A striking blonde with a ready smile, Mickey divided her time between the fledgling museum and working part-time at Spainhours.
Mickey also had a retinue of boys in short pants who claimed her as their secret love.
When her husband, museum founder Paul Whitener died, Mickey was motivated to secure his dream. With great community support, the museum was able to become one of the finest featuring American art.
Although Mickey never had children, she spent a lifetime of mothering the dream she shared with Paul Whitener.
"Hickory Museum of Art," she declared at age 93 in one of her last public appearances, "is my baby."
She died a few months later.
If Hickory or Catawba County needs a name for a new park, Miss Lacy and Mickey are excellent nominees for the honor.
Charles Deal is a former newspaper editor and publisher. Reach him at chazdeal@aol.com.
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