I lived in Kerville as a child, ages 7 through 11, from 1942 through 1946. During those years there were two movie theaters in town, the Rialto which showed the first run films, and the Arcadia which showd the second run films. I originally paid an admission of ten cents which was increased to fourteen cents when a forty percent wartime tax was added. The Arcadia featured a Saturday matinee which was usually a cowboy film, a cartoon, a newsreel, and a segment of a serial. In both the Rialto and the Arcadia, there was always freshly popped popcorn which, if I remember correctly, was a dime for a box. There was also a good selection of nickel candies.
The Arcadia had a side door emergency exit that opened onto a sidewalk that also reached the publc (whites only) swimming pool. Many were the times when a group of us would go to the Saturday matinee, one person paying to get in and then going to that side door to let the rest of the gang in. Shame on us!
There were also the many times that I would be accompanied at the Arcadia by my dog Laddie who would sit in a seat beside me.
I have many, many fond memories of those five years in Kerrville, memories of my friends, memories of Tivy Elementary, and memories of the Guadalupe river. There are times when I think they were perhaps the best years of my life.
I lived in Kerville as a child, ages 7 through 11, from 1942 through 1946. During those years there were two movie theaters in town, the Rialto which showed the first run films, and the Arcadia which showd the second run films. I originally paid an admission of ten cents which was increased to fourteen cents when a forty percent wartime tax was added. The Arcadia featured a Saturday matinee which was usually a cowboy film, a cartoon, a newsreel, and a segment of a serial. In both the Rialto and the Arcadia, there was always freshly popped popcorn which, if I remember correctly, was a dime for a box. There was also a good selection of nickel candies.
The Arcadia had a side door emergency exit that opened onto a sidewalk that also reached the publc (whites only) swimming pool. Many were the times when a group of us would go to the Saturday matinee, one person paying to get in and then going to that side door to let the rest of the gang in. Shame on us!
There were also the many times that I would be accompanied at the Arcadia by my dog Laddie who would sit in a seat beside me.
I have many, many fond memories of those five years in Kerrville, memories of my friends, memories of Tivy Elementary, and memories of the Guadalupe river. There are times when I think they were perhaps the best years of my life.