Three Rivers popcorn stand to get some TLC

(Emma Crevier|Watershed Voice)

A small group of volunteers met on Monday morning in Scidmore Park to discuss work on the park’s venerable popcorn stand. Jerry Barkley, owner of the Kelsey Block Brewing Company, joined Mike Curtis and Lisa DeVine of Three Rivers Improvement Movement (TRIM) to begin repairs in preparation for the summer season.

According to Curtis, Barkley reached out to him last fall to talk about fixing up the stand. Curtis said Barkley was coordinating support with the Department of Public Services staff and the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce. Barkley again contacted Curtis and DeVine before the three of them met in the park on Monday to evaluate the structure.  

“The physical condition was getting a little rougher each year, so we decided it was time to fix it up a little bit,” Barkley said. “The goal is just to have it be a nicer place for the clients to operate out of and keep it in good shape so it’ll still be there in the future.” 

On Monday, the service window was removed in order to have it repaired, since, as Barkley put it, “(the window) was basically stuck barely open enough for a bag of popcorn.” Other planned work includes repairs for a roof leak and related water damage, replacement of some siding, repair and replacement of some of the decorative lights, and an overall coat of paint. DeVine will also repair and repaint the stand’s sign. 

“We were worried that it might be rough, but it isn’t as bad as we thought,” Curtis said. “We’ll get it looking good again.”

Mike Curtis of the Three Rivers Improvement Movement (TRIM) works on the popcorn stand located in Scidmore Park in Three Rivers on Monday, June 15. (Photo provided)

Under Curtis’ leadership, TRIM has also continued to assist with other improvements and beatification work for the historic downtown and the park area, including paint and repairs on some of the Main Street buildings, helping with business signage and decoration, and maintaining some of the plantings.

The popcorn stand, which sits near the Spring Street entrance to the park, has been a Three Rivers fixture for decades. Originally owned by Walt Neiderheiser, it sat at the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Main Street for many years, where it was the last of a series of popcorn stands that occupied the same site beginning around 1910. 

Briefly, in the 1960s, after car traffic became too heavy at its original location, it could be found near the intersection of Portage and Main Streets, and for many years after it was a fixture on South Main Street near the railroad tracks between Broadway Street and Lutz Road. 

The stand appears to have changed hands at least once before the City of Three Rivers acquired it in the 1980s and moved it to its current location in the park. Since that time, a variety of groups has operated it for the benefit of various local causes including the Three Rivers High School Band Boosters and Three Rivers Area Mentoring (TRAM). 

For the last few years, TRAM has shared it with St. Joseph County Community Mental Health (CMH). Christy Barkley, who is married to Jerry Barkley, coordinates CMH’s operation of the stand.  This year, TRAM is unlikely to participate, so Christy will continue providing staff through CMH’s Supported Employment Program, which provides its clients with on-the-job training in various settings.

Social distancing concerns will impact the stand’s operation. “Normally, the clients are required to have a job coach working with them, so they are going to have to work that out as far as the inside work goes, but there is sort of a natural distancing aspect with the window, with the way that operates, so I don’t think that will be a problem,” Jerry Barkley said. He said they plan to be fully compliant with Michigan OSHA guidelines for COVID-19 restaurant safety.

Jerry is unsure what this year’s business hours will be yet. Last year the stand was open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m., so this year’s hours may be similar. Christy Barkley requested the stand to be ready for opening before the end of June. 

“I think we’ll make that,” Jerry said. He estimated that he and Curtis hope to accomplish most of the repairs this week and clean up any remaining work early next week, and the stand would be ready “by the end of next week,” or around June 26. 

Dave Vago is a writer and columnist for Watershed Voice. A Philadelphia native with roots in Three Rivers, Vago is a planning consultant to history and community development organizations and is the former Executive Director of the Three Rivers DDA/Main Street program.