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 “It was the easiest money I ever made,” quipped Arnold. “All
I had to do was sit for it.”
They began the sitting marathon Friday at 7 p.m., and endured
nine showings of “Groundhog Day” – one in Portuguese – as well
as about 45 viewings of the “Spongebob Squarepants” movie
trailer.
Contestants were allowed to sleep in their seats and were given
regimented five-minute restroom breaks every three or four
hours. For sustenance, they got all the popcorn and beverages
they wanted.
Larry Hodges also won a free one-year pass to all Arlee events
for raising the most donations for the Arlee’s Save Our Seats
campaign.
Proceeds of the Sit-a-thon go toward restoring 350 of the
78-year-old Arlee seats. It cost $100 to enter, with the winner
getting 10% of the take.
“We planned the event to have a minimum of 50 contestants so we
could give at least $500 in prize money,” said Gaye Maxson of
the Arlee. “We only had ten brave people enter the contest, but
thanks to several generous sponsors, our ten percent prize came
to $165. The contestants all decided to go for it.”
By 7 a.m. Saturday, the contest was down to four drowsy people –
the three teens and Andrew Cook, who sits for a living driving a
school bus. They were roused by reveille played by Corey Hull.
Shortly after, sponsor Lois Rickard delivered fresh donuts
donated by Mason City IGA.
Around noon, John Maxson started trying to bribe contestants to
bow out, offering gift certificates donated by Do Drop In,
Casey’s, Subway and Smokey’s Bar and Grill. There were no
takers.
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 After 4 p.m. Maxson offered a bigger package and after some
thought, Cook took the bribe, leaving the contest to the teens.
It became apparent to the trio that all were stubbornly in it
for the long haul, so they started negotiating amongst
themselves about all coming out with something, and got an eager
okey-dokey from the exhausted Maxsons.
“I was real proud of the contestants for lasting so long,” said
John Maxson.
“We could not have done this without all the sponsors and our
crew who helped us: Randy Tucker, Corey Hull, Lois Rickard, and
our daughters Mary Day and Marcia Schwartz,” Maxson said. “We
appreciate the enthusiasm of the community for this fundraiser
to restore our seats, and are closer to our goal.”
Anyone who wants to help with the Arlee’s S.O.S. campaign can
email Maxson at
jmaxson@arleetheater.com or write the Arlee at 139 S.
Main St., Mason City, IL 62664 for more information.
[Gaye Maxzon, Arlee Theater]
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