It started in 1936 when the Natchez tourism bureau approached Vicksburg resident Julia Arnold about starting a tourism promotion here.

A theatrical production would be a good idea, she thought, and the melodramatic play &#8220Gold in the Hills” was selected.

Arnold’s idea lives on today as the Vicksburg Theatre Guild celebrates its 70th anniversary and the 70th year of staging &#8220Gold” for locals and visitors.

&#8220We still would love to see more tours come in to watch the show. That’s our hope for the future,” said producer Earlene McCleave.

&#8220We used to have a lot, but then came the casinos, and there went our audience,” McCleave said.

Cast member Beth Martin, who has been a part of the show for five years, says watching the show is a family-friendly event.

&#8220And if you ask me, it’s much more fun to throw peanuts than gamble, and we can promise you’ll leave with money still in your pocket,” Martin said.

&#8220Gold in the Hills” was written in 1930 and first performed March 28, 1936 – the same year the VTG was chartered – aboard the &#8220Dixie Belle” showboat barge.

The show proved to be an immediate success and became a continuous performance for the guild. The show always went on, even in rough weather during which it was performed inside the Old Bowmar Playhouse, a house on Bowmar Avenue that was given to the guild by Christ Church.

In 1948, Vicksburg bought the Sprague for a dollar from Standard Oil, and the steamboat served as the stage for all shows until it burned in 1974.

The Parkside Playhouse on the North Frontage Road was built in 1977 to serve as the official playhouse of the VTG and &#8220Gold” has been offered seasonally there since.

Several generations of families have performed in the show throughout the decades, and McCleave said there’s a new generation waiting to start almost every year.

&#8220The young ones are definitely interested. They grow up in this show,” she said. &#8220We have transition parts so they can go from one to the next as they get older. We’ve even written in parts like the paperboy for that purpose.”

And it’s always a reunion of sorts for cast members, McCleave said.

&#8220A lot go off for school and come back for one weekend during the summer to do the show or come back for good once they graduate. They all want to come back. That’s what’s so great about it,” she said.

And as for the future of &#8220Gold,” there’s still plenty of life left in it for a few more years, Martin said.

&#8220We have to make it to 100 at least,” she said.