"The revival is not confined to North Dakota; Main Street movie houses like the Alamo in Bucksport, Me., the Luna in Clayton, N.M., and the Strand in Old Forge, N.Y., are flourishing as well. But in the Great Plains, where stop signs can be 50 miles apart and the nearest multiplex is 200 miles round trip, the town theater — one screen, one show a night, weekends only — is an anchoring force, especially for families."
That's not the reality in cities like Sioux Falls or Omaha, but it's a good description of the vast Plains. Some would consider 100 miles to the multiplex a short jaunt - there are towns at much greater distance from city amenities.
It also explains some of the challenge in attracting and retaining clergy to serve the towns. The isolation can be formidable. Not only are denominational peers far away - in some cases there are few if any clergy of any tradition with whom to build supportive relationships.
h/t Jon Kevin Lauck
2 comments:
Brookings' Movie theatre is not quite on Main Street, but it is certainly of the type this article describes.
Not that I know much about it, seeing as I have a daughter who is in bed by 6:30.
LOL Archer, you will find that your awareness of cinema will continue to shrink as you raise the child - first by her depriving you of the time and funds for movie-going, later as you seek to shield her from the barrage of on-screen garbage.
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