Chives Prosser, Johnsonville Businessman and Theater Owner

Chives Prosser (1899-1982)
Photo courtesy of Tom McCutchen Jr.
Colorized by Josh Dukes

Chives Prosser (1899-1982) was a Johnsonville farmer and businessman. He was a son of Eldridge Franklin "E.F." Prosser and Lillian Camillia Cox Prosser. 

Chives was postmaster at Johnsonville from 1920-1925.  He then owned and operated the Prosser Theater in Johnsonville since its inception in 1925, when silent films were king.  A September 1930 News and Courier article noted that the Prosser Theater had contracted with RCA Photophone to purchase a "talkie outfit" with plans to reopen that October with sound accompanying the films.

This original theater was located on the south side of Broadway Street, next door to where Jakes Barbeque is today. A fire in the film booth burned the first Prosser Theater to the ground in 1937.  An alarm in the building allowed the public to exit without incident, but a collapsing wall injured two men in Chapman's Hardware Store next door, which was also destroyed.  Walter E Wall and Loyes McCallister were both hospitalized after the blaze.

The theater was rebuilt across the street from the original location and named his theater the "New Theater." It stood guard over the NE corner of Broadway and Bellview Avenue until it too was claimed by fire in 1977.  The theater had ceased operations for about 13 years at that point. 

Prosser was first marred to Ira Mae Brown (1902-1960). Their children were Elizabeth  Prosser Roberts and Barbara Ann Prosser Powell.  He later married Mildred Athlene Hopper (1915-1984).

In addition to the theater, Prosser also served as mayor of Johnsonville and chartered the Johnsonville State Bank. He owned and operated the Johnsonville Ice and Fuel Company, and he served as a rural postman for 20 years during the early years of the movie theater ownership. 

Chives Prosser owned the land on Possum Fork Road that became Prosser Field, a baseball complex which still serves the community.  Even today, the league bears his name - “Prosser Field Youth Organization.”