Category Archives: South Dakota

June 1: Hilltop Drive-Inn Theatre, Gregory SD

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It’s Day 152 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. This was my shortest drive in months – less than a half hour on US 18 from Winner SD to the Hilltop Drive-Inn Theatre west of Gregory.

The Hilltop is the oldest drive-in in South Dakota. It was built in 1946 and has the biggest screen, 72 by 40 feet.

Cecil Harsin started part-time as a projectionist at the Hilltop in 1954. He bought the place in 1989 and still runs it with his family. Louie Harsin told the Rapid City Journal in 2010 that drive-ins are “slowly making a comeback.”

And there was big news just a couple of weeks ago. The Daily Republic of Mitchell reported that the Hilltop had finally acquired a digital projector to keep operating. In a great story with a nice video, it wrote that the Gregory community had raised enough money for a down payment, and that fundraising would continue over the summer to pay it off.

The Daily Republic wrote, “Between 40 and 50 people attend shows each night the theater is open, Harsin said, and he hopes that number increases with the installation of the new projector.”

Even with the new projector, the Hilltop will probably just open on weekends. In any event, it was dark on this Thursday night.

Miles Today / Total:  22 / 19542 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 68

Nearby Restaurant: I’ve had great pizza at a bowling alley before, and with the drive-in closed for the night, I needed something to do. Gregory Lanes provides the food, the beer, and the entertainment for a good time in this small town.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Now there’s something you don’t see every day – a TripAdvisor listing with 18 reviews, every one of them 5 out of 5. That probably tells you all you need to know about the Gray House Motel, but I’ll also point out the fridge and microwave, the free wifi, and the mom and pop friendliness you would expect with reviews like that.

Only in Gregory: I was going to mention the South Dakota Outhouse Museum, but it recently moved out of Gregory. Instead I’ll point out the large pheasant statue that’s still there, with a plaque quoting Fortune magazine calling Gregory “The ground-zero of pheasantdom.”

Next stop: Pheasant City Drive-In Theatre, Redfield SD.

May 31: Winner Drive-In Theatre, Winner SD

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It’s Day 151 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. After my brief stop near Carhenge in Alliance NE, I drove about four hours to return to South Dakota. My destination was the Winner Drive-In Theatre, just southeast of Winner SD.

As you can see from the YouTube video above, the Winner features a curved screen, a grassy playground area, and rows of outdoor seating.

The Winner reopened last Friday for the 2017 season. It was built in 1950 by Harvey Fast, then widened in 1955. The Fasts added that playground equipment in 1960.

Betty Fast, Harvey’s widow and owner of the Winner, told the Rapid City Journal in 2014 why she bought a digital projector that year. “It is an expensive switch, but it’s something that I’ve enjoyed doing,” she said. “I want to do it and the community needs it.”

“The people that come, they aren’t my customers, they’re all my friends,” she said.

In 2015, KWYR had a great video tribute including interviews with Betty Fast and other drive-in workers. That’s where I learned that Winner has a tradition of handing out Tootsie Rolls at the ticket booth, and that the drive-in uses what is only its third popcorn popper.

Some drive-ins are only open on weekends, others are open seven days a week. Then there are drive-ins such as the Winner, which is open Fridays through Mondays. All of which left me out of luck on a Wednesday night, but it gave me time to look ahead and plan the next couple of weeks. It’ll take a few more miles, but I’ll keep the dark nights to a minimum this summer. I hope.

Miles Today / Total:  227 / 19520 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 68

Nearby Restaurant: The Holiday House is a fine local restaurant that serves a little bit of everything. I had the broasted chicken, but any place that serves steak and shrimp and beer already has a lot going for it.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Although I was amused to read the Super 8 here advertise itself as “within walking distance” (1.5 miles) from the drive-in, I went upscale and chose the Holiday Inn Express instead. A clean, comfortable room in the evening and a hot breakfast in the morning. I’ve been limiting myself to just one cinnamon roll each time I stay at a HIE. This demonstrates willpower.

Only in Winner: According to Wikipedia, Winner is the county seat for an adjacent county as well as its own, Tripp County. Okay, technically, it’s just the administrative center of Todd County, but you get the idea. And Winner was named for the fact the town had emerged the “winner” as Tripp County’s most successful trading point.

Next stop: Hilltop Drive-Inn Theatre, Gregory SD.

May 29: Roy’s Black Hills Twin Drive-In, Hermosa SD

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Drive-in screen at twilight

photo from the Roy’s Black Hills Twin Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 149 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. This time it was “only” a half-day’s drive, four hours from Mobridge SD to Roy’s Black Hills Twin Drive-In in Hermosa.

Roy’s Black Hills Twin is one of the wave of 21st-century drive-ins. Opened in 2012 by Roy Reitenbaugh, it claims to be the first drive-in built with digital projection.

Reitenbaugh talked with The Daily Republic of Mitchell SD in 2013 about the challenges of getting the new drive-in built. After getting the idea, “it took seven years to find an investor and a location at the same time,” he said.

The construction of Roy’s had to wait until issues were solved to meet county and town ordinances, including build permit and floodplain concerns. Even obtaining sign permits has been a challenge. “I didn’t know it was going to be that hard,” Reitenbaugh said.

The concession stand at Roy’s has a bit more than just the usual drive-in suspects. Pulled pork sandwiches, side salads, and especially walking tacos can’t be found just anywhere.

What a great way to spend Memorial Day, relaxing in my car and watching an excellent drive-in movie on its opening weekend. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales probably isn’t an excellent movie (without the drive-in part), but all that action and CGI are just what we need on the big screen.

Miles Today / Total:  247 / 19150 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 68

Nearby Restaurant: There’s the kind of pizza that gets served in a buffet and there’s the kind that’s hand-crafted with personality. So lunch at Lintz Bros. Pizza was different than the previous day’s pizza and chicken extravaganza. I had some Lean Greek pizza, which is supposed to be sort of healthy, and the “pig wings,” which made no such claim. And some Boulevard Wheat Beer to wash it down.

Where I Virtually Stayed: To stay somewhere close to Roy’s the choices are the cluster of hotels near Mount Rushmore 12 miles away, the cluster of hotels in Rapid City 17 miles away, or the White Tail Ridge Bed & Breakfast two miles away, just west of Hermosa. I missed out on driving twisty two-lane highways late at night, and I got to eat rhubarb waffles with blueberry sauce for breakfast. Score!

Only in Hermosa: As mentioned in Roadside America, here in the shadow of Mount Rushmore, you could find 15-foot tall busts of three other American presidents. Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and John F. Kennedy may have been advertising the nearby, now defunct, Presidents Park. Check out this Google Street View of the busts with the drive-in screens in the background.

Next stop: Sandhills Drive In, Alliance NE.