Fred Baum was a dear friend. He could be stubborn, cantankerous and offensive ... but in the end, all would be forgiven and forgotten, and his big heart would shine through. And his death on May 29, 2007, was as much of a paradox as was his life ... a shock, but not an unexpected surprise.

His obituary in the Hamilton newspaper read, in part, as follows:

"Fred Baum made movies his life as the owner and operator of several theaters in Butler County, most recently the Holiday Auto Theatre on Old Oxford Road, the very place where he began his career at age 16.

A native and life-long Hamilton resident, Charles "Fred" Baum died in his home Tuesday morning.
He was 64.

Baum's career included owning and operating several movie theaters in the area and building the first multi-screen cinema in Oxford.

In the 1980s, he sold all of his operations and retired from the business, but not for long. In 1995, he purchased, restored and renovated the Holiday Auto Theatre for the nostalgia of it, he told the Journal News.

In 1999, Baum created some controversy when his request to add two screens to the drive-in was denied by the county's board of zoning appeals ... Baum then sued the county, but lost.

Last year, Baum put the Holiday Auto Theatre up for sale at a list price of $650,000. Calling it "the end of an era," he expected that it would be sold and used for other purposes.

Baum was also known for a fleet of vintage buses that he collected. Many of the restored buses are on display at the drive-in.

Memorial services will be held at a later date."

But he was so much more than all that!

Years ago, Fred was a local celebrity, hosting afternoon movies on a local television station. He would introduce each film, give trivia and little-known facts about each one, astounding everyone with his vast knowledge old Hollywood classics. My wife never missed this program, and was a major "fan" of this bigger-than-life character. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would one day count the famed Fred Baum as one of her (and our) closest personal friends.

But it happened! Many years later, after Nancy and I were married, I was looking for a job. One day, while checking out what was playing at the local movie houses and driveins, I saw that the Holiday Auto Theatre was hiring. I applied for the position of "consession stand worker" and ended up becoming the manager of the drivein! And Nancy's dream of meeting the incomprable Fred Baum became a reality. We all became fast friends.

Fred with my sister-in-law Linda and my wife Nancy

Eventually my wife also became part of the Holiday "family" (office manager and later my consessions co-manager). Some of our best memories will always be listening as Fred shared HIS favorite memories from his life and career ... in particular, about his personal friendship with the late, great Kate Smith.

   

Nancy & I shared many things in common with Fred, besides our love of drive-in theatres and movies! We were all extremely patriotic flag wavers; we loved traveling to Maine and loved lighthouses; we all adored cats (how he LOVED his Sylvester, Katie, PG, Chessie and Calie) and we all shared a love for cooking. Like Fred, Nancy is also pretty much set in her ways, which caused them to occasionally butt heads! But all three of us knew how much we cared for one another. It was always amazing to me how someone so "rough and tough" could suddenly turn to mush over something like hearing a sad song, or watching something sentimental to him, like "The Little Match Girl" cartoon, which he showed at the theatre every holiday season.

I'm going to miss my daily conversations with Fred, and I know my wife will miss her daily phone calls from him, as well as exchanging recipes with him. We'll miss grillouts at his house, and spending every Christmas afternoon with him, which became a tradition for us.

The great voice is silenced now ... never again to be replaced, because Fred Baum was truly irreplacable!

Goodbye, Fred. We always wanted you to realize how much you were loved ... now we wish you could know how much you are missed.