PHILIP - Nothing pleases Dan and Theresa Walker more than watching parents drive away after dropping off their children for a night at The Gem Theater.

"They know they can leave them here and they'll be safe," Theresa Walker said, standing in the lobby of the movie theater that is remarkably reminiscent of how it looked when it closed 24 years ago.

The same glass display case holds boxes of Dots, Milk Duds and Old Crows. A sign advertises bags of popcorn starting 75 cents.

On a wall hangs a 1955 poster announcing two feature films - "How to Marry a Millionaire" and "Fort Vengeance." Admission prices were adults 50 cents, high school students 40 cents and children 20 cents.

The ticket booth is original to the building, though the price of an adult ticket has gone up to $5.

Hanging near an exit is a faded newsprint advertisement announcing The Gem's first "talkie" - the 1928 National Pictures/Warner Brothers production of "Noah's Ark" starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien. The movie made it to the big screen in Philip in 1929.

Just as they did years ago, people travel for miles to watch a movie, according to the Walkers.

Movies play every Friday and Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. The theater has 190 seats and is wheelchair accessible.

The Walkers re-opened the theater four years ago, after spending six months reclaiming it from a brief life as a secondhand store and card room.

"The orchestra pit is still there," Theresa Walker said.

Bringing a movie theater back to town seemed like a good economic development opportunity, Dan Walker said.

A loan from the Small Business Administration helped finance the theater. The couple steered clear of historical preservation opportunities.

"I was advised not to because of the red tape," Dan Walker said.

However, fear of a little paperwork should never discourage people from exploring historical preservation, said Linda Kluthe, executive director of Preserve South Dakota.

"I guess it depends on what people's tolerance for paperwork is," Kluthe said.

The state Historical Preservation Office will assist with the work necessary to place a structure on the state and national historic registers, she said.

There are also many misconceptions about the restrictions that accompany a historic designation, she said.

Listing a structure on a historic register does not erase ownership, she said.

The National Park Service does provide "very general guidelines" for the preservation of structures on the National Register of Historic Places, Kluthe said.

There are also state and federal tax incentives for preservation, she said.

South Dakota has an eight-year property tax moratorium on rehabilitated historic properties.

In this case, the community embraced the Walkers' project. Several people donated items or contributed labor. A church youth group spent one evening hauling years of accumulated "stuff" out of the building.

"It would have taken us two weeks," Dan Walker said.

The high school volleyball team and women from community organizations helped with the painting chores.

Theresa Walker said the volunteer helpers turned what seemed like an endless renovation into a do-able project.

"It was very generous," she said.

A Huron theater owner, Jeff Logan, gave Walker the seats. The volleyball team was pressed into service to scrub down the chairs, Theresa Walker said.

Remnants of the theater's early days mingle gracefully with the Walkers' improvements.

Below the curtains sewn by Theresa Walker and local women, the theater's walls are covered with the same wood paneling that was there when the theater closed.

The second floor "cry room" still sits next to the projection room.

Someone occasionally confesses to getting their first kiss up there, Theresa Walker said.

Philip native Dan Walker said his childhood and high school years were spent going to movies at The Gem.

"This is the only place I went to a movie," he said.

Today, although an occasional "R" rated movie creeps in, the Walkers try to show only "G" and "PG" movies out of courtesy for families and the senior citizens who live just across the street in the former Senachel Hotel apartments.

The movies aren't the newest releases but are relatively up to date when they reach Philip.

At Christmas time, The Gem shows a movie for the town's holiday promotions. Children leave with a bag of peanuts and hard candy, just as they did decades ago.

The Walkers aren't getting rich off of three shows a week. Movie vendors keep lobbying them to raise their prices, something they're resisting because the prices attract customers.

The theater is as much a part of the community as the Walkers are. Even though the theater has been "a huge amount of work," Theresa Walker said they like making a difference in people's lives.

"We get a lot of comments," she said. "Some folks come every week."