I’ve been having a ‘tete a tete’ with the Mayor’s Wife, one Mrs. Becky Hontz, a lovely woman who adores her town and is proud of it.  And I applaud her for that.  In her emails to me (and comments in the previous post) she alluded to the fact that there are very nice houses and a couple of restaurants and a nice grocery store and a new pavilion going in on the river out in Watsontown.  And I replied that yes, I believe you are right, that this is a very pretty place to live and there are nice things there.

I also replied that over the course of eight years (2000-2008) there was a 6.8% decrease in the population of Watsontown.  A decrease.  An ebb and flow is certainly healthy for communities, jsut like being flexible is good for humans.  But a steady decrease of almost 7% of the population indicates two things to me: 1 – the population (the average age of which is 41) is aging and dying and no one is replacing the population with a younger crowd.  2 – no one is doing anything to entice younger, child rearing people to this town.

Now, I’ve looked at the statistics.  I’ve seen the job stats and the population stats and you know what?  These things happen.  But it would be a mistake to say that everything is fine because there are a few houses that look nice and a tattoo parlor in the downtown area.

I was also told that making the movie theatre a Community Center was not going to fly and to hold film festivals was probably a bad idea because “(t)his is Watsontown, not Sundance.”  That floored me, to be honest.  I was literally flabbergasted and had no words.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot.  Like a lot a lot.  I saw this article in the New York Times about movie theatres in small towns helping to boost the economy.  And I thought to myself, “Self, this isn’t the wrong thing to do.  It’s just the wrong way to go about it.”  So, with that, I’m going to announce this:

I’m putting my efforts to buy the movie theatre on hiatus.  I’m going to be finishing my wedding invitation, then a short film about a time traveler.  Then I’m going to spend a lot of time writing.  Then I’m going to get married.  And after that, then I will revisit this mission of ours.

Do not mis-read.  I am not giving up.  I am not stopping.  I am simply taking an extended hiatus to figure out what’s going on in my life.  I have a lot of things going on personally and at this moment, I have to take care of me.

So, it’s up to you now.  In the months that I am gone, I want to see some traffic on the Facebook page, not just bellyaching and sadpuppy.  I want more followers on the Twitter.  And for those of you with a video camera, I want you to post a YouTube video on the Facebook page telling me why we should do any of this.

And I’ll compile all of them so the world can see that this is important.

And if anyone is going to tonight’s borough council meeting, tell them I said hi.  I might want to chat with them in the future.

Trivia:  The first motion picture to be filmed in Hollywood was shot on October 26, 1911.  The Gem Movie Theatre, build on the spot of the current Watson Theatre was opened in 1912.  There has been a theatre on that spot, since Hollywood was invented.

The Watson Theatre is literally a part of film history.

I have to say, the Watson Theatre looks amazing.  It really does.  It looks absolutely incredible.  It needs some work, definitely.  I think the whole marquee will need to be replaced (it’s old wood, man.) and it’ll need to get that door to the Cinema Scoops torn off and replaced with a plate glass window.  But that’s cosmetic stuff and stuff that can wait.  All in all, that damn place looked amazing and I can’t wait to raise the money to buy it.

But then I noticed something else.  It wasn’t the theatre.  The theatre, like it’s first incarnation, was a gem.  What I noticed was the town.

Make no mistake, I hold fond nostalgic memories of Watsontown and Lord knows I’ve been accused on several occasions of looking at it through rose colored glasses.  I remember Levan’s and the Pro Hardware and the Watson Inn and the pool and the park and the towpath and Elm Street and even that teepee that’s back in the woods across 405 from the elementary school.  Is that even still there?

First thing I noticed was that Ruch’s Tae Kwon Do was for sale.  Empty, boarded up and for sale.  Then I noticed that the Hardware store hasn’t updated itself in twenty years.  I saw that the grocery store and the Ciro’s and the Watson Inn are gorgeous new buildings and that…Oh, bollocks, what’s the name of the place on Brimmer and Main?  Oh, it’s killing me that I can’t remember, but that place looks incredible.  The pub.  Better than I remembered it.  But the rest of the town, God, I can’t help but see exactly who the recession is hitting and dammit all to hell, that sucks.  The gas station by the pool is closed and gutted.  The pool, not only is it closed, it’s a goddamn yard now.  Who seriously thought that was a good idea?  Whoever that was, they need to be voted out of office and banned from community politics forever.  Also, government funded grafiti on the sidewalks telling me I wasn’t allowed to ride my bike, skateboard or anything else?  I was a little nervous walking, for fear of getting a ticket.  I can’t even tell you how many places I saw closed and for rent.  It really made me sad.

I was talking with my fiancee on the way home and we realized that Karen Bottorf, State Farm Insurance Saleswoman Extraordinaire, was right.  In an email to me, she said, “No one in town wants to see the theatre closed for good, but no one wants to put up their own money for a losing proposition.”  And hell’s horses, there’s no investor on earth that would help on this.  It’s completely pie in the sky.  She’s right.  And what I’ve noticed is that people over 35 are telling me not to do this and people 35 and under and telling me do it.  I’m also hearing that the people in charge on the borough council are the folks responsible for all this stuff.  So, my question to you is, why are they still in charge?  If they’ve screwed the proverbial pooch, why do you let them keep humping away?

Basically, as I see it the theatre is the goal at the end of the road.  That’s what we want to open up again, yes?  But we can’t get folks to go to the theatre, if folks can’t afford to go to the theatre.  And folks can’t afford to go to the theatre until there’s something thriving again.  No town, no theatre.

So here’s my new plan.  And I need your help.

First, I’m starting a Discussion on the Facebook page to try to figure out what we can do to bring industry to Watsontown.  Right now, let’s talk about hypotheticals.  Who would you want to come in?  What sorts of things are you, as an individual, able to do?  What was your job?  What IS your job?  What would you do if you have a million dollars?  Ideal stuff.  Then we work from there.

Second, I need you guys to put pressure on the borough council and everyone over at the borough building.  I’m a punkass kid from New York City, looking to change that town.  They don’t want to hear from me.  I’m a jerk.  I’m an outsider and nobody trusts outsiders.  But if they think they might get voted out of office if they don’t change some things, well, I think that might help considerably.  I’m going to need everyone who believes in this to get on the horn to the borough building and tell them, no, demand that they revoke the statutes about no skateboarding, biking, scooting, etc on the sidewalks.  Don’t threaten them.  Just say, “Hey, dude.  This is stupid.  I know you want to protect the sidewalks, but let’s face it, that sidewalk on Main Street is a little crummy.  You aren’t protecting anything.  Let our kids on the sidewalks.”  Honest to God, it’s no big deal.  You know how many kids in New York City scoot around here?  TONS.  Our sidewalks are just fine.  Point out to them that they’re being silly.  That can be the first thing you want to get changed.  We can work on others later.  That just seems to be the most ridiculous and obvious thing to tackle.

Third, and this is after we’ve figured out what we want for Watsontown, we start a petition.  We pass it out and we take it to the borough, the state legislature and the federal legislature (start small, go big).  We need to demand that they entice industry back to Watsontown with tax breaks, attractive leases and whatever else it is that business like.

Fourth, well, I need someone to head this up.  I’m not there and I don’t know who’s running things there.  I have the gumption and the enthusiasm and the optimism to do this, but I can’t actually be there.  So how about I act as “executive producer?”  I need my “director,” someone there who is there, is in touch with everyone, and honestly believes that we can make a Mayberry out of Watsontown and can whip the town into an absolute frenzy  Want the job?  Email me: thewatsontheatre@gmail.com (I’ll be honest, it’s unpaid)

Meanwhile, I’m going to get in touch with a couple of folks.  Not the least of which is a guy that I’ve been putting off calling because of, you know, life.  I’m going to call the Realtor and the Bank that is holding the theatre and I’m going to try to talk to them about the price.  Then we’ll sit on that for a bit, until we see what other progress is being made with the town.

Pass this blog along to eevryone you know.  Email, Twitter, Facebook, anything.  Let’s change our slogan from Save the Watson Theatre to something more appropriate:

Save the Watsontown.

*UPDATE!*  Tam Chomas wrote to email me and let me know that the Hardware store DID do a ton of rennovations.  I’m sorry hardware guys!  I don’t think I could see it for all the rain!  She also hooked me up with a bunch of names to contact and the name of the place that I couldn’t remember:  Mansion House!  Let me say this, that I’m not intending to insult folks here by saying things aren’t great.  I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone.  And if I missed something in my brief visit, shoot me an email.  Those of you keeping things ship shape, you guys rock.  Let’s make everything else look that good, huh?  (Dr. Chomas, Tam’s husband, filled my first cavity.  Mad props.)  She also is letting me know about how and why some of these policies are in place.  Which is good to understand.  Ok.  time for dinner.  Peace out, folks.

And it was not entirely unexpected.  Which means for the past few months, I’ve been focusing more on paying rent and surviving and maintaining my employment/benefits status than I have been on the Theatre.

Oh, also, I’m getting married in the fall.

You’ll have to forgive me, I’ve been distracted.  That’s not to say I won’t be working to get this up and running.  I am still learning and figuring out and working on getting this to happen.  It just might take a little longer.  Email me, I should be getting back on the email wagon.  And the Facebook page.  Let’s try to keep up some enthusiasm, yeah?

Sorry I’ve been gone for a while.  I’ll try to get things going again. 

(Oh, I’m employed again, so it’s ok.)

I moved, along with my family, Mark, Teena, Darian and Kirsten, to 301 Elm St. Watsontown, PA, 17777 (we were told by a former resident that once you live in Watsontown, you never ever forget the ZIP code.  He was right).  I bought my first comic book at LeVan’s Newsstand (along with uncountable portions of penny candy).  I saw a glut of films on the Watson Theatre’s screen.  Hell, I was hit by a car on 1st Street, at the bottom of that hill, where the road makes a T.  I knew the Yannaccones, the Wolfes and the Hills.  The Burdens, the Bowers, Wayne and Roxanne (who had the Boxer dogs), Genny, the old woman who lived across the street from us and who was consistently robbed by “the Goddamned Gypsies.”  I played on the bike path and in the forest.  I saw my first nudie magazine, rotting under a tree that some other kid had stolen from his dad and hidden there.

We would play hide and seek on summer nights and the town was our playground.  We would run rampant and our imaginations ran free.  We created a trio of comic book superheroes.  We went “corning” the night before Halloween, a time-honored practice that is likely still a perennial favorite.  And good for you, if you do.  The World needs a bit more corning.

But every weekend, no matter what movie was playing, we would go see a movie at The Watson Theatre.  Offhand I can only think of two of them that we saw, but I can say that if someone mentions a movie title that came out sometime in the early 90s, odds are, I saw it at the Watson Theatre.

We moved, ultimately, to Lewisburg and it was from there that I graduated.  My path took me from the Central Susquehanna Valley, to Lancaster, and back again.  I moved to New York City, five years ago and since then I have been working as hard as I can to get to a point where I can live a normal life.  I’m not there yet and lord knows when that will be.

Over the past month, I have had criticisms leveled at me ranging from “It’s too expensive,” to “the people just don’t care enough” to “Why did you only make it a month?  That’s unrealistic” to “You only want to make money off this town”  Fact of the matter is, I came up with the idea to buy the Watson Theatre and turn it into a non-profit organization in the span of one week, nearly 5 months after the Watson Theatre closed.  I executed my fundraiser in 5 days, got it up and running and over the course of 5 weeks, I actually  raised over $3000 from people from all over the country to help a community and a theatre that they had never heard of.  I think that even though I didn’t make the money to buy the theatre, it’s obvious that this is needed, not just in Watsontown, but everywhere.

But I also got a lot of emails telling me that I should keep it up; that this is needed; that the people want it and need it and that they want their kids to go there and that they went there as a kid and Watsontown needs the Christmas party; and that, essentially, the theatre is the centerpiece of the town.  I think that’s true.

It’s very easy to let the few sarcastic and hopeless folks get to you.  I’ll be honest, today, I was feeling it.  I was really ready to say, “You know what?  I’m not even going to try.  Nobody cares enough to keep the damn thing running when it was still running, why would I even think they would help get it back on it’s feet again?”  It’s hard not to feel that way when you get these comments.  The negative overpowers the good, and when you think about it, the good really did overpower the negative over these five weeks.  Most people I talked to told me it was an amazing thing that I was doing.

So.  Let me tell you what I want to do.  You tell me if it’s worth doing.  And in the future (not sure when, but we’ll figure it out soon), I’ll come to Watsontown and we’ll have a chat.  But first, let’s talk about what I want to do.

I want to make a non-profit organization to buy and run the Watson Theatre as a community film center.  That means I can’t possibly make any money on the theatre or on the town.  I can’t make one cent.  The money goes back into the theatre to make it operate properly for you.  Let me repeat that:  I will not benefit monetarily from this.

I want to show classic and independent films.  I want to show films from the community.  I want to teach classes for the community.  I want to have a movie club for the community.  I want to get people excited and riled up about movies.  I want people to go to the movies and to feel that same sense of exhilaration that I do.  The flickering picture on a giant silver screen gets me every time.

On his last show on his 7 month run on The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien said one last thing to his audience before he got onstage to perform “Freebird” with Will Ferrell.  I will never forget it as long as I live and his words stuck with me.  He said, “Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. It’s my least favorite quality. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”

So, yes.  I’m going to find a way to buy this movie theatre.  And I’m going to work hard to keep it running and to keep you the audience attending films.  And I’m going to let the negativity run off my shoulders because I’m taking Conan’s words to heart.

You should too.

To everyone who has donated and to everyone who has emailed and spread the word, thank you all so very much and I’ll see you in the funny pages.

Save the Watson Theatre:  www.thewatsontheatre.com
Kickstarter: http://kck.st/bxp6MQ
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Watsontown-PA/Save-the-Watson-Theatre/297736718955
Twitter: @watsontheatre

I’m now 50 & grew up in this theatre and my father, Clair LeVan helped to run the “talkie” and silent films in this theatre when he was a kid.
Those were the best days growing up in Watsontown. Every Friday night a bunch of us kids would stand in line early at the ticket window because this theatre and the smell of the popcorn was something special in our small town. The place was packed in on those nights and it really didn’t matter what movie was playing because as a kid/teen we just wanted to be with our friends and raise a little cane in the aisle occasionally, until someone of authority would walk the aisle next to the red velvet seats and shine her flashlight right at us and sternly tell us to be quiet. Oh, we’d keep right on talking or yelling to one another, but when the lights dimmed and the movie started, we were quiet. Red cherry licorice, jujubees, & salty-yellow popcorn & milk duds were in every kids hands as they juggled their way to that velvet seat usually right down front. As you sat down with all your treats, you sunk down quite far in those seats, & you sunk so low that ya’ kind of thought you’d made it to the bottom of the cement floor, or you were not far from it. Your feet usually landed on something sticky also such as gum or a sucker.
When you grow up in a small town and there isn’t much to do, this movie theatre made us feel like it was a special place to be every weekend.
After the movie ended we’d again congregate outside of it on the sidewalk and stand there till the crows dispersed then take ourselves to Murray’s Ice Cream Shop up on 8th street past the railroad tracks before heading up the big hill.
There we’d find our friends and sit and have a milkshake or root beer float and get a little loud at Murray’s, while Mrs. Murray calmly looked over us with that “Motherly” look of concern, just trying to keep a peaceful ice cream shop fairly peaceful. And if you wanted extra sprinkles on your chocolate sundae, Mrs. Murray would pile them on very generously.
Anyhow, the Watsontown theatre holds a special place in my heart and I would like to see it stay.
Thank You,
Mary LeVan Hagerman

Wow!  Have you seen this new website?  It’s amazing!  It was whipped up by the awesome folks at Parrish Web Design. You should go talk to them if you need a website.  They do amazing work.

Other updates:

I’m looking into new/more Kickstarter incentives.  Keep an eye out for that.  Meanwhile, head on over to the Kickstarter page!  We’re almost to $2000!!!

Still need to give the cinema preservation group a call, but I will certainly be doing that.

And don’t forget, everyone:  Spread the word.  Tell as many people as you can!  There has been an amazing amount of support.

I’ll be posting a lot on here now.  As The Joker said in The Dark Knight:

“And here…

We…

GO!”

Because $200,00 seems an enormous sum, we might take a minute to think about money. Your support via word of mouth, and online is greatly appreciated, but pledges are vital too.

To put it all into perspective:

$1 – The cost of 100 pieces of Penny Candy at Levann’s Newsstand.  It’s also the cost of one song on iTunes.

$25 – I live in New York City, so this is the cost of two tickets to the movies.  But according to the National Association of Theatre Owners, the average ticket price in 2009 was $7.50.  So $25 would get you two movies, popcorn and a soda.  Or five movie rentals on iTunes.

$50 – an iPod shuffle.

$100 – the cost of a flight from Austin TX to San Francisco, CA on Jetblue.  Or an iPhone.

$500 – A Television.

$1000 – A nice computer.

$5000 – A used car.

$200,000 – A movie theatre.

How much does it take?

200,000 people need to donate $1.

100,000 people need to donate $2.

50,000 people would need to donate $4.

25,000 people would need to donate $8.

10,000 people would need to donate $20

5,000 people would need to donate $40.

2255 people (the population of Watsontown in 2000) would need to donate $88.69.

For those small amounts, not even in triple digits, we could save a historic movie theatre.  We could give the community something back.  You wouldn’t need to go to the Mall anymore.  We could help Watsontown flourish again by bringing the Downtown back!

Let’s save this theatre.  Let’s make it a hub.  And besides…

Who doesn’t like the movies?

Kickstarter: http://kck.st/bxp6MQ

Facebook Fanpage:  http://bit.ly/cjIvHI

Twitter:  twitter.com/watsontheatre

Kickstarter: http://kck.st/bxp6MQ

Facebook Fanpage:  http://bit.ly/cjIvHI

Twitter:  twitter.com/watsontheatre

Hook us uppppp!!!!

Save the Watson Theatre

A new non-profit initiative has formed to preserve an historic single-screen movie theatre in Watsontown, Pennsylvania. Save the Watson Theatre is running a Kickstarter campaign requesting monetary pledge donations from the community at large to purchase the property. You can also show your support on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and thewatsontheatre.com.

Watsontown, PA – February 15 – March 15, 2009

Save the Watson Theatre, a non-profit initiative is running a Kickstarter campaign soliciting monetary pledge donations to purchase and preserve the 70 year-old, single-screen movie theatre in Watsontown, Pennsylvania. From February 15 – March 15, 2010, donors can make pledges on http://www.kickstarter.com/ (search: Watson Theatre) or directly through http://kck.st/bxp6MQ. This is a pledge drive, and donors are not required to issue any funds unless the entire project goal is achieved. With less than 300 single-screen movie theatres remaining in the United States, it is vital to small cities and towns across the country to preserve the legacy of the theatre as a cultural cornerstone of the community.

The Watson Theatre is located at 131 Main Street, Watsontown, Pennsylvania, a location that has been home to a theatre since 1912. The current Watson Theatre opened in 1940 and closed in September 2009. The Save the Watson Theatre project was launched by area native, Matthias Sundberg in February 2010 to raise funds to purchase the theatre and its equipment to establish The Watson Theatre Foundation, a non-profit community organization. Future projects include special programming such as a featured filmmaker series, midnight movies, and a local filmmaker showcase, as well as film festivals, and community film classes on history and technique.

However, the future of The Watson Theatre Foundation projects hinges on the purchase of The Watson Theatre. From February 15 – March 15, area residents, film professionals, amateur filmmakers, movie enthusiasts, architectural preservationists, and cultural advocates are encouraged to pledge donations on the Save the Watson Theatre Kickstarter page, show support and spread the word on the Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr pages.

About Save the Watson Theatre

Save the Watson Theatre is a non-profit initiative founded by Matthias Sundberg, editor and producer of original online content at Channel Frederator, a cartoon website. He is a native of Watsontown, Pennsylvania and spent nearly every Saturday of the late 1980’s and early1990s at the Watson Theatre. Sundberg is confident that the preservation of The Watson Theatre as a non-profit community space will benefit the greater central Pennsylvania region and the cultural legacy of film and film history in the United States. For more information about Save the Watson Theatre or The Watson Theatre Foundation, please contact Matthias Sundberg at 412.999.1125 or via email at thewatsontheatre@gmail.com.

Contact Info:

Matthias Sundberg, Save the Watson Theatre

34-06 45^th St., #2F,Astoria, NY 11101

Email: thewatsontheatre@gmail.com
Web: http://thewatsontheatre.com

Kickstarter pledge drive: http://kck.st/bxp6MQ

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Watsontown-PA/Save-the-Watson-Theatre/297736718955

Twitter: @watsontheatre