Campus Theatre Stories Project

You can participate in Campus Theatre Stories Project by telling us your stories. They can be from yesteryear or yesterday, meandering anecdotes filled with details or a single paragraph. With your permission, we'll post the stories here on the site for everyone to read.

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Our First Date
By October 4, 1985, Kathryn and I had known each other for about four months. We must have met in late May or early June. The way she remembers it, what followed was "the summer of the pursuit," although for most of that time I was too dense to realize that I was her objective. She would occasionally stop by my office to ask a question or say hello, but I had no idea she was "interested" in me.

I was clueless even after she "happened" to meet me over the lunch hour one day, when I was sitting outside eating a sandwich and watching the clouds and probably thinking about how much I hated my job, which I'd only been at for two months. I remember she casually sat down beside me on the concrete bench and said something like, "Do you mind if I sit here while you eat your lunch?" I said, "Not at all. Do you want half a sandwich?" "No thanks," she replied. Then suddenly we were talking about TV shows and movies and books, and we found we both loved Star Trek, the original series, and we both loved Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. (Sixteen years later, in 2001, we would be amazed by Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring--it would become one of those "dream come true" experiences, since we had always thought it highly unlikely that a good movie of LOTR could ever be made.)

But back to the summer of '85. I remember the summer passed uneventfully. I must have talked with Kathryn several more times, but it wasn't until one afternoon in September when it dawned on me that she seemed to "like" me. We had had another of our brief chats, and I cannot recall what, if anything, was particularly special about that meeting, but after she left my office, I got up from my desk and stood at the window and watched her walking away to the building next door. And I suddenly thought something like, "She is a beautiful woman. And I want her to walk back in here."

So not long afterwards I must have gotten up the courage to ask her to go out to dinner and a movie. Neither of us can remember what restaurant we went to on October 4, but we both clearly remember going to the Campus Theatre to see Cocoon, the charming science fiction movie about some elderly folks who discover an "energized" swimming pool that makes them feel young and frisky again. It seemed like the movie was speaking directly at us: "Stay together. Grow old together. The love you share through the passing of the years will always keep you young at heart."

A few weeks later I moved in with Kathryn. We married in 1987, and, of course, we remember our wedding anniversary, but we also always celebrate October 4, the anniversary of our first date at the Campus Theatre.

And that's just one of the stories of why the Campus Theatre means so much to us.

Steve Styers and Kathryn Kopchik
Mifflinburg, PA

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I lived in Lewisburg as a boy from 1950 to 1958 and enjoyed many Saturday afternoons watching cartoons and Randolph Scott westerns at the Campus theatre and cliffhanger serials at the Roxy. I enjoy your Website. By the way. the Roxy Theatre was located on North 3rd street 1/2 block from Market street, not 2nd street as stated on your website. I know because on lived on North 3rd street.

Jim Lubrecht

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I remember it clearly, ~ the day the "Campus Theatre" opened, ~ January 17, 1941. Oh, what excitement this generated in my small town of Lewisburg when I was a little girl.

Prior to the advent of the Campus, all we had in the 'burg was the Roxy, just off Market on North Third Street. It was quite a milestone when I became old enough to walk there from my home. I'd travel the few blocks along beautifully brick-paved Market Street on a Saturday afternoon, crossing at the traffic light in the middle of the Third Street intersection, and clutching my quarter for the magical ticket to watch the Saturday matinee at the Roxy.

I wasn't much interested in cowboys and Indians and the Wild West, but that's what was showing, week after week. So off we'd go, a few young friends and I, to see the latest episode in the continuing saga. Each week we'd be shown a cartoon or two, and then the feature film, which always ended as a "cliff-hanger." And then we'd have to come back the next Saturday to see what happened next! Once a month or so, we'd finally reach the end of the story, with the cowboy riding off into the sunset, ~ only to be shown a preview of the next "must-see" film for the following Saturday. And so it went on, week after week. No TV, no DVD's, ~ ~ these were simpler times.

But soon, there was excitement in the town. The news spread that a brand new movie theater was going to be built, so amazing and wonderful, and it was to be called "The Campus Theatre." Even the spelling of the word "theater" was new and different! ~ "Theatre." ~ ~ Certainly this would prove to be a magical place!

For months we went about our daily lives, walking past the noisy, covered-up construction site, ever so curious but not able to get even a clue about what was hidden behind the barriers. But finally, after months of secrecy and speculation, the big day arrived, and people flocked to the opening of this spectacular new edifice. We were not disappointed, for it was every bit as amazing as we had been led to believe it would be.

For many months thereafter, much of the excitement of "going to the movies" was due to the thrill of being able to enter this beautiful place and bask in its luxury. And of course we always had to have a visit to the "Ladies' Room," to make sure it was still as amazing as we remembered it from the week before.

We'd get our tickets at the clever little glass booth, with Nettie greeting each of us by name, ~ and push past the shiny cold turnstile, into the semi-darkness. I remember the chilly turnstile being level with my chin at first, and as the years passed, it seemed to gradually move down to my waist. If we were lucky enough to have a few more coins, we'd buy a box of Cracker-Jack or Milk Duds, and then we'd find our favorite seats. Soon we'd be greeted by the enormous MGM lion, roaring at us, followed by the News of the Week. Since it was wartime, we would watch intently to see what sobering things had happened in the past week in those places so far away from our safe little town.

Then, to brighten the mood, there would be Bugs Bunny, or Woody Woodpecker, to entertain us and prepare us for the anxiously anticipated main attraction. Because, in addition to the grandeur of this new establishment in our midst, the most wonderful aspect was the 'kinds' of movies it offered! No more cowboy classics. We were treated to all the newest films from Hollywood, and of course the best and most talented actors and actresses of the time. Initially many films were in black and white, of course, but then, gradually, more and more came to us in amazing color, ~ all presented on the huge screen, with the sound seemingly coming from all directions.

After the closing credits, we would walk slowly up the aisle to the lobby, taking care to see who else was present in the theatre that evening. Then we'd push through the heavy doors and step out onto the "diamond-studded" sidewalk, beneath the brilliantly lighted marquee. The sparkly sidewalk was really the frosting on the cake, the final embellishment to this palatial gathering place. The sparkles have been worn away over nearly 70 years time, but if you look very carefully you can still see a few, here and there, ~ memories of happy times gone by.

I remember very clearly, four years later, on August 14, 1945, coming out of the theatre after one of our weekly visits, to great excitement. The street in front of the theatre was full of noise, and lights, people and shouting, ~ and music, ~ what in the world could be happening in this sleepy little town? It didn't take long to find out, ~ the news had just reached Union County while we were watching the movie, that it was officially "V-J Day," ~ the end of the war, ~ the day we had all been waiting for, and America was celebrating from coast to coast. A few impromptu bands had shown up for this spontaneous parade, ~ there were several makeshift floats, and it seemed as if the entire town was marching down Market Street, waving flags, and cheering and shouting.

I remember so many wonderful films and so many actors and actresses from those years so long ago. I watched Gone With the Wind on this screen, and Casablanca. National Velvet, Lassie Come Home, Robin Hood, and Wizard of Oz. Miracle on 34th Street, Going My Way, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Snow White, Fantasia, Bambi, Singin' in the Rain, State Fair, the list goes on and on. I remember Gene Kelly singing and dancing in the rain, Esther Williams swimming in a different bathing suit and a different pool about once a month, Ingrid Bergman, Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Vivien Leigh, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, ~ they all parade through my memory.

And so, for eight years, the routine on Friday or Saturday nights meant going to the Campus with my family to see the newest film. After the movie we'd walk to Bechtel's, nearby on Market Street, for ice cream. In the Fifties there were a few years of Saturday night dates at the Campus, after which I married and moved away from Lewisburg. But our summer trips back to the area would usually include a return to the Theatre, first just the two of us, and then later with our children. We'd take them to the Campus and I would tell them all about how Mommy was just a little girl when the Campus Theatre was built.

Now that I'm back and living in Lewisburg again, it's been wonderful to see that people really care about the history of the Campus, and are in the process of restoring it to its former glory. (I must admit, though, that I miss my favorite seat, as a number of rows were removed to create the "dining area.") Nevertheless, we should all be proud of our beautiful Campus Theatre. After so many years of constant use it was in very sad shape, but after lots of hard work in recent years it now is making a splendid comeback. With continued community interest and support, it is well on the way to being every bit as wonderful as it was on that chilly January day in1941.

Margaret E. Ritter (Peggy O'Brien)