It's tax deductible!
I was idly looking over my usual internet haunts and came across Robert Graham's Save the Texas Theatre photos on myspace. With a few simple captions he managed to captivate and draw me into the history of the old movie house. Give his album a look, and if you wish to donate to the cause, contact the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce at the number listed above .
I guess the reason Robert's photos are singular to me is that we frequented the theatre during the same era. Through my seventh and eighth grade years there was rarely a weekend I didn't go to the show, and sometimes I went both nights.
This was where my friends and I came of age and all the girls asked each other who they would be "sitting with" come the weekend.
I also saw many movies before and after that period of time. Early memories include "Jaws" and "Ode to Billy Joe". Later, I cried at the end of a Pokemon movie I took my kids to see.
James Hallmark, father of our friend Sherolyn, used to have the theatre, as well as a photography studio (there are photos in almost every home in town with the Hallmark logo in the bottom corner), and she was included in every movie preview. It was just more proof of our privilege, more proof that we belonged, that we should munch popcorn and watch our friend as she walked under the studio portico in her cut-offs up on the screen.
Ah, I could go on and on, as anyone who knows me will tell you. Anyway, I'll get off Memory Lane to tell you that the Sweetwater Middle School SEEK classes raised more than $2,700 to go toward the renovation.
It's hard to understand why, in this booming town, there is no entertainment to partake in, but that's how it is, and it would be nice to be able to go to the movies once again in Sweetwater. I'm hoping that the project is a success.
