Hardisty’s Vista Theatre an icon in the Community

The Vista Theatre in Hardisty closed its doors after airing Smurfs 2 on Sunday, Nov. 3.

Now this piece of history sits in limbo awaiting its fate.

Owner Trevor Bitzer, who is the second generation in his family to own and operate the theatre, felt it was time for he and his family to close the doors.

“It is time to move on. We were able to provide a service to the community and employ a few kids.

“We were glad to be able to do it.”

Bitzer says when his parents Wayne and Edith Bitzer bought the theatre, it was really a family-run business.

His parents purchased it in 1969 from Don and Fannie Wilder of Hardisty.

It gave him and his siblings a place to work and be a part of something that brought joy to the community.

Bitzer says he and his brother cleaned in the theatre and also learned to run the projectors.
The projectors are the same today as then, including the carbon arc light source.

Bitzer bought the theatre from his parents after he returned from college in 1988. He, too, made this his family’s business and his kids took turns working in the theatre.

Virginia Weatherly, a long-time Hardisty resident said, “My earliest memory of the Vista Theatre is from about 1940, when it was known as Keifer’s Theatre, owned and operated by Ralph Keifer and later, his son Dick Keifer and wife Beryl.

“‘The Show Hall’, as it was known, was the only hall in Hardisty for dances, concerts, and Christmas Santa Days.”

Read the rest of the story in the December 3, 2013 Edition of The Community Press, on newsstands now!