55

The Movies

Although the district was without electricity, the movies still came to Sturgeon. Donnie Campbell, a young entrepreneur from Montague, equipped himself with a 16-mm movie projector, a gasoline-powered generator, and an old station wagon and set up a movie circuit in several communities. Sturgeon Hall was one of his weekly stops. Early in the evening, we could see a cloud of dust on the horizon. Shortly thereafter we would hear Campbell’s voice, or that of his friend, Norman Nicholson, over the loudspeaker on top of the old station wagon, promoting the movie playing that night. The whole family gathered up enough money to “ get in to the show,”