The pandemic has not hit every sector in the same way.

We read about the growing wealth among tech company leaders and a fiercely competitive job market one day, and we read about nonprofits going under the next. We hear about huge corporations hiring, while small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open.

The pandemic has been notoriously selective in where it hits. But for many of the businesses that have hung on for the last two years, there is at least hope around the corner as the pandemic winds down and people slowly return to their regular activities.

And then there are movie theaters.

Theaters were already struggling before the pandemic, as more and more people went online for entertainment. This cultural shift has hit the movie industry hard in the last few years, particularly the small, local theaters. The pandemic exacerbated the crisis, leading to closures around the country, many of them permanent. Yet somehow Vashon’s little locally-owned theater has survived.

And even in this difficult time, the theater is somehow improving. In fact, the little theater is getting kudos. King County is honoring the theater with the “Spellman Award” this month, which salutes great work in historic preservation, something the owner has invested in heavily.

The theater was built in 1947 and Eileen Wolcott and family, who purchased it almost 20 years ago, have given deeply to keep it going. The list of improvements they have made to save the theater is mind-boggling.

But behind the scenes, the struggle has been immense and the work has been overwhelming at times for Wolcott and her entire family.

“We are hanging on,” she said. “We made it the first few months with a small grant and people buying gift cards.”

And since those initial days of the pandemic, Wolcott has tried an array of approaches to keep the theater hanging on. And like George Bailey in Wolcott’s favorite movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Wolcott has found there are people out there in the community willing to help.

Todd Pearson is one of the islanders who has taken a fierce interest in helping the theater survive, constantly brainstorming with Wolcott on ways to make revenue.

“When the flow of money into a business slows or stops, as it has in these frustrating, torturous COVID times, many owners simply stop spending money. Not Eileen Wolcott,” Pearson said. “She saw the opportunity to forge ahead with long-planned, disruptive jobs, impossible in normal times. An empty theater, for instance, made it possible to spend months removing stubborn epoxy paint from the entire theater floor, then to slowly install new tile and seating. Even with income slowed to a fraction of normal, Eileen is intent on improving the building she loves and the business for which she has such passion.”

Quite simply, the theater is a beloved part of Vashon; people just know it’s there. They take it for granted, knowing in the holiday season it will host free community caroling and even a screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (See page 1 for dates and times for these events).

But the theater has faced huge enough obstacles that Wolcott does not turn on the heat during the day to save on the utility bills as she works alone at the theater, writing grants as quickly as she can. In the face of constant bad news, she is committed to helping the theater survive, even in the face of recent vandalism, the repairs of which just added to her bills.

Yet, as the pandemic wears down and people return to their worlds, who is returning to theaters? Are people still committed to big-screen experiences? Will they return? And on Vashon, what does it mean to have a historic building like the theater? How can it be saved?

In the coming weeks, I look forward to writing more about some of the things the indefatigable Wolcott and her family have been doing in the last two years to keep the historic building afloat to serve as a vital gathering place in our community.

For now, I invite you to join me at the movie theater.

Lauri Hennessey, a longtime islander and frequent Beachcomber contributor, is the excecutive director of the League of Education Voters.