City council considering permanent memorial honoring Rouman family

A community effort to honor the Rouman family by bestowing their surname on a city street reached the Rhinelander Common Council Monday evening. Attorney Brian Bennett broached the topic during public comment, referencing the untimely loss of George Rouman in a car accident earlier this month and the death of patriarch Mike Rouman last August.

“We’ve suffered in our community a terrible loss. Completely and utterly unexpected was the death of George Rouman following the death of his father last year,” Bennett said. “And it really cannot be overstated the positive impact on our community the Rouman family has had. And a lot of folks have, as they oftentimes do when we have a sudden tragedy in our community, a desire to do something.”

He then referenced a change.org petition with more than 1,000 signatures requesting the city change the name of Eisenhower Parkway to Rouman Drive.

“The short street is perfectly situated between the current Rouman Cinema and the former site of the Rouman Drive-in, both locations that have brought movie magic to countless Hodags,” the petition states.

“All three generations of the Roumans had an immense impact on the community,” Bennett noted, adding that this effort is result of “parallel thinking” as a number of residents independently expressed similar thoughts following George’s death on June 9.

This effort likely comes as no surprise to those who were raised in Rhinelander or have lived here for a very long time. That’s because the Rouman family has been entertaining local residents for over a century and it’s not a stretch to say that nearly everyone has a foundational memory related to an experience at the Majestic Theater, the State Theater, the Rouman Drive-in or Rouman Cinema, depending upon your age. 

The first generation was Peter and George Rouman, brothers who arrived in Rhinelander from Greece “during the boomtown days of the early 1900s when trains stopped frequently, and the lumber industry rolled along,” according to Mike Rouman’s obituary.

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, Peter Rouman began operating a confectionary in Rhinelander starting in 1905 and the cinema business followed a few years later. The brothers, and a partner, began construction of the State Theatre (110 N. Brown St.) in September 1921. According to the archives of legendary Daily News columnist Kris Gilbertson, the grand opening took place in March 1922.

“News stories raved about the facility and noted it was designed to provide excellent viewing from any seat in the house,” Gilbertson wrote in a June 1993 column included in the “I Recall” book published in 2002. “The auditorium had nearly 1,000 seats of Haywood-Wakefield make, all leather upholstered,” he added.

The feature film on opening night was “The Old Nest.” Shows were at 7:15 and 9:15 p.m. and the admission was 75 cents, “including war tax.”

Following the special grand opening, admission for feature films was 10 cents for children and 30 cents for adults, according to Gilbertson’s column.

After Peter’s death, his nephew Michael “Mike” Rouman moved to Rhinelander in 1969 to help with the family business. According to his obituary, by 1976 he had assumed full control of the company.

As more years rolled by, it continued to be a family business as Mike’s wife, Evdokia, and their children George and Patti were very much involved. 

As the family recalled in his obituary, George “did everything from selling tickets and concessions to operating the projectors.”

As decades passed, the company continued to grow. In 2000 the family opened the Rouman Cinema, a modern multiplex on Lincoln Street. 

While Mike remained an indelible presence until his passing last August, George eventually became president of Rouman Amusement Company. 

He also operated the Fun Factory Sweet Shoppe and a gelato catering business.

Bennett told the council that he reached out to George’s mother and sister regarding the street renaming idea and they expressed support for it.

He also said he reached out to the Eisenhower family, the descendents of President Dwight D. Eisenhower who was a frequent visitor to Vilas and Oneida counties from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, as Gilbertson also chronicled in his columns.

“I received a response within 30 minutes,” Bennett said. “Not only is (the Eisenhower descendent) in favor of it, he encourages us to do it, telling us that it sounds like the Roumans were the kind of family who need to be honored with something like that here in our town.”

In a closing argument, of sorts, Bennett went on to note that “we all knew the Roumans. Those of us who are Hodags grew up with them.”

“We all enjoyed their hospitality, even when Mike was yelling at us for putting our feet up on the seats of the old State Theater. We all loved them and they clearly loved us. So let’s honor them in a way that’s not only fitting but a daily reminder of their service to our community. They were out there for us six days a week, entertaining us, literally bringing joy to our town every week....”

“Let’s make sure we do something audacious for the family, not something easy,” he added, noting that there are only six addresses, none of them residential, that would need to be changed if Eisenhower Parkway becomes Rouman Drive. “Running that theater and bringing joy to our town was not easy, we should reflect back to them the effort that they gave us. So let’s not do something easy here, let’s make something good.”

Bennett finished his remarks with a request for the street renaming request to be placed on a future council agenda.

Another speaker, Josh Wanty, offered an alternative. He suggested renaming West Side Park the Rouman Memorial West Side Park. 

Having grown up on the west side with George and Patti, Wanty thought that location might be more fitting.

“It wouldn’t cost anything to any of the residents or businesses and (the Roumans) spent a lot of time down there,” he said. “They were part of the west side community, they knew everyone there.”

Following public comment, Mayor Kris Hanus stated he had heard from individuals who suggested renaming some part of the Brown Street area, where the State Theater and Fun Factory are located, and the Majestic Theater once stood, in honor of the Roumans. He then directed the city clerk to place an item on the July 8 agenda regarding discussion of a potential memorial to be determined by the council.