Two movements in Loudonville have perked my optimism about our community.

First is the gradually increasing activity around the Ohio Theatre.

Work to improve the theater, after a village funded thrust about a decade ago, has been limited to film technology in recent years.

A very well received Loudonville Players production of "Sound of Music" sparked some interest in using the facility for live performances about four years ago, but.. primarily because of some serious physical limitations, further productions were not pursued.

Biggest of these limitations was the lack of restrooms in the stage area of the theatre. The village is looking into installing new restrooms there, along with improved exit doors to the rear of the building. It also hired a local contractor to repair damaged parts of the theatre ceiling.

Beyond this, a committee of volunteers, called the Loudonville Theatre Advisory Committee, has formed with the mission of restoring the theatre and offering broad-based, healthy, wholesome and affordable entertainment there, and to create a financially self-sustaining, multi-generational activity center where both local and regional entertainment can be enjoyed by both community members and visitors.

The committee is planning some sort of major event for late in the summer as a major fund raising activity.

Additionally, it is seeking historic photographs of the theatre to be used in future theatre promotional efforts.

Plans are also in the works for other fund raising ventures.

The goal of these theatre restoration efforts would be to offer a viable, lively entertainment center in the historic Loudonville theatre building which produce all sorts of live entertainment as well as its traditional mainstay, films, and making the operation self-sustaining.

If this effort is successful, it would result in another magnet for the village of Loudonville.

Related in the general movement of creating magnets in Loudonville is an effort, now in the infancy stage, by the Loudonville Chamber of Commerce to encourage a downtown revitalization effort.

This was tried before and failed, but the ideas still survive and perhaps will be stimulated by the recent discussions.

A uniform decorating/signage/landscaping theme would make the downtown more attractive, and might entice more shoppers to it. A more attractive downtown would also increase local pride in the community, and as a result, improve the community's spirit.

An example of what motivated, inspired community spirit can do was manifested in the recent Loudonville Human Chain effort.