The Beginnings Of Motion Pictures In Virgin Valley

By ELSPETH KUTA

Special to The Progress

On those hot days when you just don’t want, or need, to be outside; but you do want to get out of the house – a little like cabin fever in reverse – going to the movies might be an option. In Mesquite nowadays there is the Megaplex Stadium 6 Theatres on Mesquite Boulevard which offers comfortable seats, surround sound and air conditioning, a wonderful way to escape for a short while.

In the early days of the Virgin Valley people worked hard and life was pretty primitive so they too liked a moment or two away from the grind and toil of daily living. A movie would hit the spot; and who didn’t enjoy the movies?

Mesquite’s first movie shows came into existence when Howard Pulsipher’s nearest neighbor, Elmer Hughes, talked him into going into “show business” in the early 1920’s as a way to make extra income.

The first full-size screen was the plastered wall of the Pulsipher Service Garage. Pulsipher’s garage was built of adobe brick and lumber scavenged from the then derelict Delamar mining site. Everything was transported by horse and wagon. This made building relatively inexpensive but very time consuming and labor intensive.

The garage itself was 100ft x 140ft. Sixteen feet tall in the front and sloped to 10 feet in the back, the walls were 12’’ thick and plastered white, making it a perfect outdoor movie screen.

In 1925 Elmer and Howard bought a large Dynamo (Generator) and hooked it up to a Dodge motor which enabled them to generate enough electricity to run the 1906 carbon arch film projector. Electricity did not come to the Valley until after the completion of the Boulder (Hoover)Dam in the late 1930s.

The first pictures played were black and white silent films. The novelty of watching actors on the screen was warmly received and soon became a regular community activity.

Tickets cost 25 cents for adults and 15 cents for children. Widows, lovingly called “Auntie” by all who knew them, and anyone over 70-years-old got in for free. If you did not have the money you were welcome to pay with homemade butter, jellies, eggs or vegetables.

The movie business proved to be popular and profitable for Howard and Elmer. Soon they were looking for a larger venue.They made arrangements with the local school to use the school hall to show movies. In return they would generate electricity for the school as needed.

By 1934 Howard and Elmer decided to build their own movie theater out of adobe brick made onsite. It was located on Willow Street between the Relief Society house and what is now the Golden West Restaurant and Casino on property which, at the time, belonged to Howard Pulsipher.

The theater’s name was established by taking the first two letters of Elmer’s name and the last four letters of Howard’s name. Putting the letters together, they formed the “Elward Theater.”

At first a crude soundboard was created, which often amused patrons when it was out of sync with the picture. Later the sound was embedded in the film. However in those earlier days it was far from perfect.

One of the highlights of the show were two “Aunties” in the community who never missed a show. They became known for their getting caught up in the shows and offering suggestions to the actors on screen. Especially westerns where they would yell things like “Go get him!” or “He’s right there behind the bush! Are you blind?”

This created a great side show and fun for the other patrons. People would go just to see what the Aunties would say. Often at the end of the night the Aunties would be hoarse from all their yelling.

At the end of World War II Elmer and Howard decided to sell “The Elward Theater” to Mike Burns. Burns continued to operate the movie house until 1960 when television came to the Valley and doomed the theater to closure.

The Elward was reopened for a brief stint in 1980. But that didn’t last long. The building was finally torn down in 1986. But not before Verde Hughes, one of the early coordinators of the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum had rescued the original film projector and brought it back to the museum where it can be seen today with other film paraphernalia.

Drop by and take a look at the projector and our other wonderful Virgin Valley artifacts. The Museum is open 10am – 4pm on Tuesday through Saturday.