KVSV

PART ONE: SOLOMON VALLEY CINEMA..............THE BEGINNING

 

The Solomon Valley Cinema – In the Beginning

By Terry Bailey

September 1, 2015

 

One of the most enduring characteristics of small communities in America is that when something needs to be done, people rise to meet the challenge and things get done. They don’t wait for the government to take care of things. They do not wait for the wealthy benefactors to bankroll a project. Small town Americans roll up their sleeves, go to work, and get the job done. While everyone may laugh at Larry the Cable guy his message is clear – “Get – r – Done.”

In the early 1990s friends of friends of Sharon File (now Sharon Comba) were visiting Beloit. The Christmas season was approaching and these folks wanted to go on a family activity in Beloit. It became apparent that there were virtually no family oriented activities in our town.

At the time, Sharon was president of the Chamber of Commerce. At the next Chamber meeting, Sharon mentioned her recent dilemma with her fellow members simply as passing conversation. Other Chamber members shared similar experiences with our town’s limited entertainment opportunities. The issue grew from an ‘Oh, by the way” passing comment until it reached the “We ought to do something” stage.

A steering committee was organized to consider the possibilities. Sharon File-Comba, Wayne Ronnenbaum, John Cashatt, Guy Steir, and Carol Tolbert emerged as the “Committee of Five.” Sharon File commented, “At first we hoped to find a way to renovate the Main Street Theater. It had great historical significance to the community.”

At the time, Beloit did have an operating movie house, The Main Street Theater. The Main Street was becoming less and less structurally sound to the point that many patrons had stopped attending. Building inspectors had closed the theater on more than one occasion because of safety issues. At first it appeared that the needs of the owner of the Main Street and needs of the community might find common ground. That was not to be.

The theater owner wanted total control of all aspects of any project that dealt with the Main Street. We tried all kinds of ways to compromise and get together on the program but he would not budge,” said File-Comba. “It became apparent that we would have to build our own theater and let the Main Street go the way it was going.”

The Committee of Five proved to be a very contrasting group with a common goal. According to Sharon, they met every Wednesday morning for a working breakfast at the old 24/66 Restaurant for almost three years. . One of the most fascinating factors was the diversity of the group. Some people had talent here and other people had talent there. Our differences drew us closer together.”

File-Comba said, “As discussions began, a few fundamental ideas began to emerge. At first, all kinds of possibilities were kicked around. Skating rink, arcades, teen center and others came to mind but a movie theater kept rising to the top of the possibilities. We became convinced that two groups were our priority; school kids, young and old and Senior citizens. We wanted our kids to be able to see good movies in Beloit so they would not be on the road to Salina. We wanted our older citizens to enjoy movies locally. Making the long trip to Salina or other places was not possible for many of them. We felt if we had an orderly, up-to-date theater, we could serve those two groups and the middle group would follow along.”

Another core belief surfaced. The Committee of Five became committed to the idea of the theater being owned and operated as a non-profit corporation. First of all, they were not going into the theater business to compete with an existing theater. They were going into business to offer the community a safe, clean and well-managed place to watch a current movie. There were some tax benefits to operating as a non-profit business. Taking a look at the long range stability of the operation, attempting to simply cover the costs of operation and not worrying about making a profit would allow the business to be operated with fewer fiscal implications.

The notion of building a two-screen operation also gained favor. “We believed that by constructing a twin-screen complex, we could offer a greater variety of movies and draw more people to the theater. We tried booking movies in each theater that would cater to different crowds. If patrons didn’t like the movie in theater #1 there is a chance they might enjoy the movie in theater #2.”

As time passed many other topics were considered. Where would the new theater be built? What type of building was necessary and how big? How many seats should it contain? How would the money be raised to finance the new theater? Who would oversee the day-to-day operation? What type of movies would be shown and who would decide which movies would be shown? How would the theater be staffed?

 

Next report – Getting the Project off the Ground.

 

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA