Do any of you remember going to the theater for the first time? Of course, we in Alliance always said we were “going to the show.”
The first movie I ever saw at the theater, my Uncle Mike took me to. My mom dressed me in a dorky lacy dress, (I was I believe five, after that age, she would have needed the football team to hold me down to get me in one of those), she gave us money to buy some candy.
So up to the box office we went, me with my pink freezing legs, my Uncle Mike, who wasn’t much older, anticipating a sugar feast. Getting our tickets to see “Old Yeller” was so exciting. The huge lobby was so ornate, so pretty…bright…popcorn smells that were so amazing I would never forget it.
It was a magical experience for me. Next, the snack bar, Mike wanted candy…I wanted popcorn. We got candy, which he hogged. I have never let him live it down.
The movie was great except for the whole dying dog thing. Following the movie we had to go down to Thieles, where the closest phone booth was. I remember freezing my biscuits off while we stood there. It was so cold out. We were just thankful to have a booth with a door!
In the summer every year, the theater would sell pages of tickets for $10. So on Wednesday we would take our ticket tab, and a dime and head for the Kandy Snap, where you could get a small bag of candy full to the top!
Then you had to hide it, down your pants was easiest, because if Mr. Shimpf caught you with it, he would not let you in. So now finally in the door, every kid in town was there, the building was brimming, the balcony full, you couldn’t squeeze one more kid in there.
Then some of the best ever movies played…“Glass Bottom Boat,” “With Six You Get Eggroll,” “Treasure Island,” so many Disney movies. What fun, everyone was there, and the movies were the bomb! Summer was about Wednesday movies and swimming.
And once in awhile a movie special like “That Darn Cat,” would come out, it was awesome like a real premiere plus, you got a groovy cat paw stamp.