PHILIP, S.D.(KCCR)- They were sounds not heard in the Gem Theater in Philip for what seemed like a life time.
The family-owned and operated theater’s projector was damaged in March due to a power surge after winter storms caused numerous power outages. A remarkable fundraising effort collected over 43-thouand dollars in a little over a month and a half to replace the projector.
Theater manager Amy Moses says the support the theater got from the community means a lot.
Around 20 people took in Boss Baby II on the big screen from places like 30 miles north of Milesville in Haakon County, Quinn, even Nebraska and New York. Joey and Lori Jones trekked 44 miles from Wasta, a truck stop town west of Philip on Interstate-90.
In an ironic twist of fate, the new projector’s first movie played for a crowd on Friday the 13th. The theater’s old projector also played its first movie…on a Friday the 13th.