Franček (Francis) »the Sheriff« was from the Studenci district. The older residents of that part of Maribor remember that as a kid, he would often burst into Zadruga (Cooperative), a pub at the start of Sokolska Street, and shouted a warning to his father who was there for a drink or two: "Mom's coming!" Soon Franček's mother would appear. She would slap both her son and husband, finish the rest of her husband's wine and noisily led them both home.
Later, when he was on leave from the military service, Franček was seen parading the streets of Studenci in his uniform, so everyone could see that he too was serving his country. Franček was employed as a factory worker at TAM (the Maribor Automobile Factory), and every morning he would catch the workers' bus departing from the stop located outside the familiar Zadruga inn, also called Pri Amerikancu (At the American) by some.
On the wall at the front door of the inn there was a notice board with the local cinema listing, and it is very likely that Franček regularly studied it. He absolutely loved going to the cinema, and after screenings he relived the film he had just watched on the streets of Maribor. Many Mariborians knew Franček because they had seen him roam the streets while "shooting" imaginary gunmen and talking in his distinctive »American language«. Sometimes he would be seen in the middle of Gosposka Street embracing the gutter and howling loudly. The local cinema must have showed Tarzan or King Kong that day.
Unfortunately, Franček's »film performances« were mostly alcohol-related, and ultimately it was drinking that brought him to an untimely end.
Gosposka ulica 26
2000 Maribor
