At the Dust Bowl Theater on Main Street, J.W. Tidwell could watch two movies and a cartoon, eat popcorn and a candy bar and drink a soda for the dollar in his pocket. He even left with a little change.

It was 1962. Interstate 10 was being built but hadn’t yet reached the small community of Eloy. Tidwell was a high school student who worked at a local grocery store. If his shift ended early he walked to the theater, then walked home.