Goshen Theater Stories

I have so many fond memories of the Goshen Theater. As a child, I lived close enough to the downtown that my siblings and I could easily walk there and often did. I can remember recoiling in absolute fright while watching the classic suspense film Wait Until Dark, and sitting in absolute delight while watching The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady.

My favorite memory of the Goshen Theater is from the around the year 1964. The theater offered a special to get 10 Saturdays of movies for a total of $1.00! Each Saturdays’ offering included a couple of full-length feature films and a couple of cartoons. The theater issued a punch card which was punched each time you went to the theater.

The movies were not new releases but included all sorts of genres. A few of the movies I remember seeing were Journey to the Center of the Earth, and an array of Frances the Talking Mule movies. There was also the biblical movie The Story of Ruth. I have no recollection of parents accompanying me, or other children, for that matter. My brother and sister were my usual companions.

My favorite movie snacks were Milk Duds and Slow Poke Suckers. This series of movies was hours of fun for us kids and cheap babysitting for our parents!

Story submitted by Pat Minnick
Goshen, Indiana

When I was around 16, my best friend and I attended a Halloween special there one weekend. They showed two or three Vincent Price movies and I think they even dropped a skeleton from the ceiling during part of it. I wish I remembered more about it or had some photos.

Story submitted by Dave Oplinger
Lapel, Indiana

A memory ingrained in my mind forever. When I was about 4 years old my parents took me with them to see The Legend of Boggy Creek. Yep, the scene where the man was in the bathroom and something came through the window was all I could take. My Mom rushed this terrified screaming youngster out as fast as she could.

I still remember that old reddish brown with gold (I’m color blind so in my mind that was the color) fancy tile print carpet, because that was all I could see as mom tried her best to calm me down as I stared at the floor not wanting to see anything else around me!

Also, have many GOOD memories of movies watched, as that was the only place around!

Story submitted by Brian Brown
Goshen, Indiana

I was encouraged to go with a friend up the long stairway at Goshen Theater to the cameraman’s booth who welcomed us to watch him switch from the first to the second reel.

He had us watch the movie screen through a portal for a mark near the end of a film reel and then he switched to the next prepared reel. We were fascinated!

That would have been around 1947 when I was in Goshen Jr. High School.

Story submitted by Jean Boshart-Stucky
Goshen, Indiana