Reminisce with the past and current owners of the Verne

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Verne_URLThis week, the Worthington (MN) Daily Globe gave us a present of the kind of relaxing, fun drive-in theater article that’s always a pleasure to read. The occasion was a meeting of Walt Deutsch, a guy who owned the Verne Drive-In Theater (Luverne MN) back in 1960s and 70s, and Glenn Burmeister, the guy who owns it today.

There are so many highlights, but I was most struck by a story that sounds a lot like a report we carried about a Russian drive-in that was looking for someone to scare its patrons.

Burmeister said, “During ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ (Deutsch) had a chainsaw, took the chain off and would go in back of a car, start it up and come out with the chainsaw.”

“There were five girls in the car and when I ran that they piled out the other side,” Deutsch said.

And then there’s romance. “We have had two wedding proposals here,” Burmeister said. “We have another one coming up. I got an email from a guy and he asked if we would do it. Usually what I do is I’m upstairs and I read it and it goes over the speaker system. The one guy, they were in a pick-up and they stood up and I read it. I asked, ‘What if she says no?’ He says, ‘Then I’m embarrassed in front of a lot of people.’”

And those are just two of the great, fun anecdotes that the Daily Globe article covers. I shouldn’t even have to tell you that you should go read it!

Aut-O-Rama wins business of the year award

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Aut-O-Rama drive-in marquee

photo by Fan of Retail

The Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In Theatre has something to celebrate beyond switching to digital projection. This week, it won the North Ridgeville (OH) Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 Business of the Year.

NorthCoastNow.com has the story of the local, family-run business that has found a way to succeed. Brothers Tim and Del Sherman, who are treasurer and vice president, accepted the award. Their mother, Deborah, is the president. Del’s wife handles the concession stand.

“We’ve been around for a long time, and it’s because of our community we stick around,” Del said.

Chamber CEO Dayle Noll praised the Aut-O-Rama’s local involvement and noted that it draws customers into the area. “Certainly with Aut-O-Rama being the only drive-in on the whole West Side of Cleveland and being located in North Ridgeville, they do a great job of bringing people to the city,” Noll said.

For the standard award presentation picture and more info about what the Aut-O-Rama’s been up to lately, go read the article!

Revamped Mission sits, waiting

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I was in San Antonio TX last week for reasons that, for a change, weren’t very much about drive-in movie theaters. But of course I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revisit the locale that essentially inspired the creation of this web site. Plus, I got tired of grabbing other folks’ photos of the place.

The site of the old Mission Drive-In Theatre is in a depressed neighborhood in the middle of the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. I never saw its sign look as good as it looked last week, with bright colors and faux neon lights on the lettering.

The drive-in screen on the other side was also restored to its original appearance, a framed white screen with two long arms at its base extending to the sides of the viewing area. Where the projection stand used to be, there was a fresh little building with rest rooms and storage. But it was all fenced off, quietly resting in the warm Texas sun. The drive-in site was meant to be seen, not enjoyed, at least not that day.

I had been encouraged by reports of a new library on the site, and there it was. When I went in, I looked for anything that celebrated the history of the Mission, but there was nothing. I asked the guy behind the counter whether there were any movies or activities planned, he shook his head and said, “We don’t have anything to do with that.” Then he reached into his drawer and handed me a pre-cut scrap of paper with the phone number and web address of the city agency in charge. Not only was he indifferent to the drive-in next door, his indifference was premeditated.

Its nice that this touchstone of drive-in history has been restored to remind us all what it was like. Let’s hope that someone in San Antonio does something with it now.