The classic movie poster exhibit at Yancey Library has been viewed by hundreds of people since opening in May and has proved to be the most popular show ever presented at the library’s Herring-Kivette Gallery.
Burnsville resident Bob Wilson, an avid collector of movie memorabilia, will conclude the exhibit with a talk about the history of two local theatres, the movies, and his collection at the closing reception on August 26.
Wilson said he has more than 1,500 posters and several hundred lobby cards and other movie-related items in his collection, and has been pleased to share them with the community.
The public is invited to a reception that begins at 5 p.m. and Wilson’s talk at 6 p.m. There will also be an exhibit of additional posters in the library meeting room where the reception and talk will be held. Serials from the early days of movies, such as Captain Marvel, will be playing on the screen in the library meeting room beginning at 4:30 and during the reception.
Free refreshments that will be available when you enter the upstairs “lobby,” including popcorn, drinks and a variety of classic candy that will be familiar to movie goers. He will also have Nail Keg Theatre shirts for sale.
This will be the last chance to view the display of some of his posters, along with history and memorabilia from Yancey Theatre, which opened in 1939, and Nail Keg Theatre in the Pensacola community that operated from the 1930s to the mid-1940s.
He will tell stories about the two theatres and the filming of a silent movie in Pensacola in 1915 that featured many local residents. Items in the exhibit include a projector from Yancey Theatre, one of three in his vast collection of movie-related items.
The Nail Keg Theatre was an interesting part of the county’s movie history. The construction of the theatre in Burnsville in 1939 and the fact that many residents left to serve in World War II or work in war production factories states ended the movie presentations in Pensacola.
Yancey Theatre was built in Burnsville by local businessmen Reece McIntosh and Guss Peterson. The theatre was managed for decades by Lum Clevenger for Cherokee Amusements, then other owners over the years, including the Ben Mandala family.
In the early years of the theatre, movie stars even came to Burnsville to promote their films. In the 1940s through the 1950s, Yancey Theatre also hosted appearances by musicians such as the Carter Family, Ernest Tubb, Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, and many others.
Bob Wilson, who grew up in Pensacola, developed a life-long love for movies due to the influence of seeing cowboy movies and serials at the Nail Keg Theatre when he was a young boy. Wilson, now 90, has collected movie history and posters for much of his life, especially things related to Nail Keg Theatre and Yancey Theatre.
This exhibit and closing event is sponsored by the Herring-Kivette Gallery and Archives and the Ruth and Everett Kivette Trust that is held by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina with funding administered by the AMY Regional Library System.
