Some of the fondest memories of my childhood involve sitting in the old creaky seats watching movies at the Ready Theater in downtown Niles.

It has been more than a decade since the downtown’s iconic theater closed its doors and forced moviegoers to travel a few more blocks to see their films, but I could still paint you a picture of the place if I really set my mind to it.

Even as a young teenager, I remember reading letter after letter in the newspaper from Niles residents who were beside themselves with the news of their beloved theater closing. The funny thing is, if I were to paint you that picture from memory, the painting would show more deficiencies than strengths.

The seats made so much noise that it was difficult to hear most of the time, and I remember them being remarkably uncomfortable. Parking was so limited that it became habit to find a friend who lived on “this side of Niles” within walking distance in order to make it to our seats before the movie started. I remember a crumbling old banister that I clung onto with a fifth-grade classmate during a scary movie we had convinced our parents we were old enough to see alone. It probably wouldn’t support our weight these days.

When we were forced to start seeing movies in the new Wonderland Cinema, I remember hearing constantly that people would rather drive to Mishawaka than “watch movies in an old grocery store.”

Well, look at that old grocery store now. People from all over Michiana — including Mishawaka — travel to the Wonderland every weekend to see the newest feature film because the prices are good, the seats are great and there is plenty of parking. My point is, despite the resistance to break from tradition and watch an old building go, I have to admit that my movie-going experience has improved since Wonderland opened. This does not mean that my memories — good and bad — about the old Ready don’t still exist. It means that despite the resistance in the beginning, we have embraced the alterations to our downtown, and most of us can admit that while different, we have seen improvement.

Like one of my favorite professors was apt to say, “change is gonna come. There’s no use fightin’ it.” The same can be said for some other projects that are going on throughout the area.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to hear feedback from people sad to see an old building go or an old business shut its doors. It shows that we have great pride in our communities and the organizations within them.

I’ve heard a lot of feedback from people upset about the former public safety complex being razed, the construction on the Main Street Bridge in Niles and, at one point, the possible demolition of the historic Cass County courthouse in Cassopolis.

In all cases, civic leaders have opted to make changes in order to make improvements for the people they serve. The Main Street Bridge is being reconstructed due to safety concerns. The public safety complex was razed because the city had no luck selling it over the course of several years and felt residents deserved the possibility for a better opportunity to come to the area. The courthouse relocated to a modernized location in order to better accommodate the needs of the people it served, and leaders in Cass County are still doing their best to repurpose the old building to fit the needs of the community surrounding it while paying respect to the historic building.

For more than a year now, new owners of the Ready Theater have been working on bringing the establishment back to life with modernizations and new installations, like the marquee installed last fall. While the theater won’t be the same one I remember from my childhood, I look forward to the new, revitalized business that could potentially serve as the downtown icon the building once was.

So, as easy as it is to get angry when change presents itself or get frustrated by the roadblocks (literal and figurative) that present themselves in the process of these changes, we all need to try to keep an open mind. Eventually, I think we’ll find that the ends justify the means and, like the Wonderland Theater, will be worth it in the end.

Regardless, change is gonna come.

Ambrosia Neldon is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com.