Ketchum’s only movie theater, Merlin’s Magic Lantern, has been a presence in this town for fifty years, seeing countless movies appear on its screens and just as many patrons, both local and out-of-towners, come through its doors. New owner Bob Peterson has taken over the historic theater, breathing new life into the business born of former owner Rick Kessler’s passion for movies. The History It’s hard to believe there was a time in Ketchum’s history when the Magic Lantern wasn’t in operation, but until owner Rick Kessler moved here in 1972 and opened the theater three years later, in 1975, that was indeed the case. The theater, named for the 17th-century image projector, originally opened in the Odd Fellows Hall, on Washington Avenue, until the size of the growing community demanded a bigger space, and Kessler moved into the theater’s current space across the street, on Second Street. Just 25 years old when he opened the Magic Lantern, Kessler envisioned providing something he saw as essential to a community: not just a space to see movies, but a place to meet friends, a place for kids to go on a summer afternoon, a place for tourists to go in the …