FLT regular will be missed in Florence

It is a little like the end of an era. But to start at the beginning, a young couple moved to Florence more than 50 years ago so he could work in a family manufacturing business in the county.
They were Ronald and Doris Sopkin. A small Southern town was quite a change from where they came from, big cities of the North, but one of things they liked was a lively arts scene for a town this size, and Florence Little Theatre particularly rang a bell.
FLT was in very modest circumstances in a small theater at the Florence airport that had served as a movie house for the World War II Florence Army Air Field. People with long histories at FLT can tell sometimes hair-raising stories about the limits of that little building, but the Sopkins could see the people involved did some really good work despite the building’s physical limitations.
They plunged in, and gave time, and very possibly blood, sweat and tears, as Churchill might have put it, to the community theater. Later their daughters did, too.
They also worked hard for the Community Concert during its glory years, and Doris served as president, and maybe Ronald did, too.
FLT had some good years at the airport. The Sopkins enjoyed being part of that, and their Wentworth Manufacturing Co., which had its plant in Lake City, was a clothing maker that could give some important help. I remember being dazzled by the costumes when the theater did “My Fair Lady” for the first time.
The Sopkins were all-purpose volunteers and both served on the board of directors and as president of the theater. In addition, their house had a big ballroom that became a fine party site for the theater’s opening nights.
During the 1960s, as audiences and interest grew, FLT needed a bigger and better facility.
How to pay for it was a big question. FLT never had much money, so it looked first where the money was. Ronald was among a small group who called on area business and industrial leaders to seek financing for a real theater. A general fundraising drive finally came up with about $160,000, 1960s type.
The result was the theater on Cashua Drive that housed Florence Little Theatre from 1968 through the 2007-08 season. It included real wing and backstage space and dressing rooms.
One of the legendary FLT stories occurred in November 1968, just before opening of its new theater on Cashua. It was nearly ready, but the seats were being delayed, and the show could not go on without the about 400 seats.
So Ronald Sopkin sent Wentworth trucks to the plant in Texas at what I’m told was breakneck speed to get the seats here in time. They were still installing them the afternoon of the grand opening, but that night, all went smoothly and everyone had a seat.
Their three daughters went through FLT, and in the early ’70s, their oldest, Nancy, directed “Applause,” which I remember as one of the best things FLT ever did.
We FLT regulars were excited and looked forward to more great stuff from her, but tragedy struck. Nancy died very young in a highway accident.
That led to Doris, who liked to be out of the spotlight, having a star turn on stage when FLT put on a special show as a tribute to her daughter. “This is for you, Nancy,” she said in the wings before going onstage with Grace Duncan in a musical number that highlighted the show.
Nancy’s death was not the end of the tough times for Doris. Ronald died not long after Nancy, and their daughter, Gail, also died unexpectedly.
But Doris kept on. She served on the FLT board right up until this past week and was here for FLT’s first season in its splendid new building on South Dargan Street. (What do you suppose Ronald would have thought of the new theater?)
Now she has decided she should be in Florida near her youngest daughter, Bonnie, and yesterday, Doris woke up in her Florence home but ended the day in her new home in Florida.
Let’s hope things go well for her in her new surroundings, but I surely am going to miss her.

— Thom Anderson is a retired journalist who has 40 years experience with South Carolina newspapers, including the Morning News.