Childhood memories of Nevada theater inspire a third-generation fan to lead its renovation

A screenwriter could develop a heartwarming script about Melissa Sly's experience with the Camelot Theater, where she is the third generation to connect with Nevada's historic landmark.

Her love of visiting the Camelot Theater with her family spawned a lifelong passion, one that is carrying the tradition into the future.

Every time she and her family made the short trek over from Maxwell, her dad, George Cordell, would tell the story of how he had been one of the carpenters who worked on lobby renovations in 1969, when the theater became part of the Fridley company.

Now as president of the Camelot Theater Foundation, Sly is heading a $2.5 million project to renovate the 95-year-old theater, a project that makes her one of the Des Moines Register's 15 People to Watch in 2024. The update will add a bistro, a rooftop bar and flexible seating to accommodate a variety of uses, including plays, live music and corporate events.

Movies still show occasionally at the Camelot, which is screening classic films at least monthly. And movies will continue into the theater’s future.

Camelot Theater a source of movie memories, family connections

The Camelot was Sly's childhood hangout.

She has vivid memories of getting a small popcorn and pop for 25 cents and hoping her parents would dismiss her to go sit with her friends to watch movies like “Towering Inferno.”

“In the ‘70s, those disaster movies were so common,” she said with a laugh.

Her family connections to the movie industry and Nevada's business district run deep.

Sly was transfixed by the story of her grandparents, Glen “Skinny” and Veda Minear, who also had a special connection to the theater.

“My grandfather was a barber, and he worked next door to the theater, and he actually lived in one of the apartments upstairs,” Sly said. “When he was dating my grandma, they could watch movies from the balcony.”

Veda ran a café called The Spot on Main Street. Skinny retired from the Nevada barbershop when he was 99.

“He ended up living in Maxwell, and he was the town character,” Sly said. “He couldn’t stand to retire so he went back to work there and he worked until he was like 103.”

Sly enjoyed "scooping the loop" in Nevada and going out for pizza before ending up at the Camelot.

Camelot renovation seen as 'transformative project' for downtown

The Slys left Ames in 2009, hoping to help bolster Nevada's business district. Melissa Sly credits the city of Nevada for backing a Main Street organization that has generated buzz downtown by promoting a more vibrant business district.

Her vision for the Camelot fits into that plan.

“I feel like the Camelot is one of those transformative projects that can change the whole aura of downtown,” Sly said. “It’s already happening, but once it’s complete, it will help create a lot of opportunities.”

Sly hopes Camelot's extensive renovation inspires residents to spend their free time downtown while also drawing in visitors from nearby communities. Sly imagines the project building off of Nevada's recent economic growth.

"We have great schools, employment opportunities, housing that’s being created, so we really need entertainment, dining and family outing opportunities," Sly said. "I see this coming together as a critical piece of all of that."

Verbio biorefinery and Mid-States Companies millwright and steel fabrication are among the local businesses that have seen job growth recently, said Jordan Cook, Nevada’s city administrator.

“Also Burke Corporation is expanding, and I think they will continue to grow,” he said of the manufacturer of pizza toppings and other fully cooked meats.

Nevada has seen a population growth of about 125 in the past two years, Cook said. Based on a 2022 census estimate, Nevada has 7,052 residents.

“I think a project like the Camelot makes a huge difference when it comes to quality of life for our residents,” Cook said. “It will offer good things to the community for many years into the future.

“I give Melissa Sly and the rest of the Camelot foundation board props and thank them for their hard work, which will be extremely beneficial for the community.”

Camelot’s renovation will keep some key features in place

The Camelot Theater is nearing its 100th birthday, and Sly hopes to help the facility and its elegant ambiance thrive well beyond the century mark.

“This was built as a vaudeville theater in 1928,” Sly said as she sat in one of the theater’s center seats, looking up at the soaring ceiling, which has small lights to mimic stars in the night sky.

“The Camelot has always been this atmospheric-style theater, which means that it feels like you’re outdoors when you're indoors," Sly said. "It has that outdoor terrace feeling where you’re under the stars. The ceiling height alone is just amazing.”

The iconic alcoves high on the walls to each side of the stage used to hold parts of the original pipe organ.

“It was quite grand, I understand, but it got sold off and was sent back to Germany where it was made,” Sly said.

Melissa Sly is putting nonprofit experience to good use

Sly was director of council operations at the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) in Ames, a nonprofit where she served for 11 years, before joining her husband in business full time in 2021

She said her nonprofit experience has been invaluable since she took over at the Camelot in November of 2021.

“We had a very limited budget at CAST so I learned to be good at doing a lot with a little," Sly said. "I guess I would credit my entrepreneurial spirit for learning to just figure things out.”

Whether it was designing a website, creating a database or conducting the annual meeting on Zoom, Sly figured it out.

And she’s still teaching herself things at the Camelot.

When a bar-shaped light on the stage’s floor recently quit working, Sly took the light home and googled how to fix it.

“It was going to cost $150 to replace the light, but I read a manual and it turned out we could just order the part from Amazon for $12,” she said.

Nevada native and Camelot board member Tracy Ellingson has seen Sly work hard to develop ideas to raise money, including the laborious task of applying for grants.

“She has been so instrumental in all of the grants that the Camelot Foundation has received,” Ellingson said. “There is also a lot of time and work involved making sure the grant money we do receive is spent correctly and the money is maximized to the fullest.”

The foundation has raised about $1 million through grants and donations for the project. Sly expects the renovation will be complete sometime in 2025.

The Camelot is still hosting live music nights, classic movies screenings and events like open-mic night as the construction continues.

Camelot's downtown apartments also getting a makeover

The first phase of the Camelot’s renovation is already complete, which included sealing the building, waterproofing it and replacing the windows.

Work is underway to update the building’s two upstairs apartments, including the one where Melissa’s Grandpa Skinny used to live.

“The two apartments will be huge for us to add some more downtown living spaces and just more housing in general,” said Emily Schaack, executive director of Main Street Nevada.

Having another event venue will be valuable to the community, too, Schaack said.

“We have Gatherings, which is a very popular space,” hosting weddings, class reunions, corporate events and parties, she said. “Hopefully, it’ll bring more people from out of town, draw more visitors. That will be good for all of our downtown businesses.”

New generations will make memories at the Camelot

Movies at the Camelot are woven in the tapestry of memories for many local residents. Sly and other foundation board members want to add to those memories and help new generations of Camelot-goers make their own, she said.

Board member Ellingson visited the theater growing up, as did her parents, who are also lifelong Nevada residents.

“This project is very important to us and the community,” Ellingson said. “I am very excited to have not only the theater brought back to life but also all of the great additions that will happen because of this project.”

The foundation is accepting donations, and it also needs volunteers. Crafts people are needed for work on the apartments, Sly said, and volunteers are needed for concessions and other tasks during events. Contact the foundation through its website, camelottheaterfoundation.org, or Facebook page for more information.

“Renovating a 150-year-old building has and will continue to have many challenges, but with Melissa and Dave and the community’s help, this project can happen,” Ellingson said.

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

Meet Melissa Sly

AGE: 57

LIVES: Nevada

EDUCATION: Bachelor's in business and MBA from Iowa State University

CAREER: Full-time management of rental properties owned jointly with her husband

FAMILY: Husband, Dave Sly, and adult daughters Morgan and Madison

About the Des Moines Register's 2024 People to Watch

It's a Des Moines Register tradition to close out each year and open the next by introducing readers to 15 People to Watch — individuals expected to make an impact on Iowa in the coming year.

This year's nominations from readers and our journalists totaled nearly 60 people and posed hard decisions for staff members charged with winnowing them to just 15.

The final 15 include people in business and the arts, those who train the world-class athletes of the future, chefs on the cutting edge, farmers teaching refugees how to run their own farms, and people fighting for representation through cosmetics and medicine. We hope that you are as inspired by reading about them as we were in profiling them.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Third-generation devotee of Nevada, Iowa, theater leads its renovation