It’s the middle of July — hot days, warm evenings and, hopefully, a thunderstorm or two to help relieve the heat and make the corn grow. This time of year brings back great memories for me. Growing up in Minnesota, summer meant going to the cabin every weekend, with a couple of breaks for the annual Boy Scout canoe trip to the Boundary Waters and some other form of camp to give “the folks” a break.

Summer also meant visits to our local movie theater on those blistering afternoons (thanks to air conditioning) and the drive-in on Saturday in the town near our cabin. My parents often had my aunts and uncles to the lake on Saturdays and, for some reason, were usually amenable to having the young ones gone for the evening. Being the youngest, it was my usual spot to ride in the trunk, along with one cousin, to allow for an extra bag or two of popcorn with the admission money we’d save.

I know, from speaking with other Webster City folks, that I’m not the only one around here anticipating the re-opening of the Webster Theater. Which brings me, finally, to the topic of this week’s “Our Neighborhood.” I ran across Percy Long, well … walked by him actually, on a stroll. Percy was a manager of the Granada (now the Webster) and Isis theaters and was also a moving force in bringing the Corral Drive-in Theater to Webster City.

Long first came to town a couple of years after the theater opened and managed it for six years. He then moved out of state to operate other theaters in the same chain before returning in 1945 to, again, manage here. By 1949 Percy was also the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, member of the Elks Lodge, and a past president of the Rotary Club.

The year 1949 also brought a new theater to Webster City: the Corral Drive-In.

It was the beginning of a new era in movie watching: a chance to get outside, enjoy a movie in your own car with friends — and maybe do a little “necking” at the same time? The Corral was state of the art, room for some 450 cars, Altec speakers for great sound in each car, and a snack shop complete with bathrooms.

What more could one ask?

Percy and his wife, Eileen, raised three boys here in Webster City while also operating the two theaters until 1952, when Percy passed at the young age of 51.

The story might have ended here, but in 1954 the Isis Theater closed. Another “Neighborhood” resident, Art Downard, bought the Webster Theater and the Corral Drive-In and managed both of them with his wife, Pat, until their retirement in 1980.

The Corral continued to operate until 1987 when it closed; the drive-in was demolished two years later to make way for Beam Manufacturing. The Webster Theater continues to this day, having had remodeling work and renovations along the way — the latest caused by a fire next door and subsequent water damage this past November.

Now I’m looking forward to another grand opening of the theater and the chance to see great movies and enjoy real movie theater popcorn again!

Our Neighborhood is a column by Michael Eckers focusing on the men and women whose presence populates Graceland Cemetery in Webster City.