by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 08/97) - When Jeannie and Fred Daniels took over Fort Smith's abandoned cinema, they had no idea how popular a move they had made.

The Daniels bought the Park Theatre in May. The previous owner had shut it down last Christmas after deciding it wasn't profitable enough.

Fred, who is busy with his janitorial business in the evenings, leaves most of the business dealings with the theatre to his wife.

Jeannie, who was able to score a week-long training session in Yellowknife on how to run a projector, says she never dreamed she'd one day own a theatre.

Born in Neepawa, Man., Jean came to Fort Smith two years ago. She was only planning to spend the summer working as a waitress. But then she met Fred.

Soon after getting married, the couple were eager to find a business they could run together.

"I was raised on a farm -- owning a theatre is a totally different step," she laughs.

The couple has found that because of Fort Smith's population, rotating two feature films each week helps them break even.

"We run each movie for three days, which seems to be working out well," Jeannie says, adding that they've got a deal with a distributor in Calgary that's been "fantastic in shipping us the films on schedule."

The couple also made the decision to scrap the pinball arcade that had been housed next to the theatre and are busy renovating the area and hope to open a dance club for teenagers.

"The place was in pretty bad shape. Kids would punch holes in the walls and burn the floors. People who were in seeing the films were getting disturbed by the noise," Fred says, adding that he's hoping that by offering a clean, hip environment that kids will respect the place more than they did the arcade.

His renovations include adding a stage and "hopefully a sound system" so local teen musicians will have a place to practice.

"There's no place for these kids to go. Kids are always waiting around the theatre as it is, we've got the space so why not help out."