Author Archives: mrdrivein

Super Video: In-depth view of South Dakota’s 6 or 7 drive-ins

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Continuing my cleanup of stories I missed over the past couple of years, I want to share with you one of the best drive-in videos I’ve seen. In May 2023, South Dakota Public Broadcasting presented an episode of “Dakota Life Detours” that was all about the six family-owned drive-in theaters in the state, plus a glimpse of a seventh that closed just weeks before airtime.

Those drive-ins, along with the time that they’re first mentioned in the video are the Winner Drive-In Theatre in Winner SD (4:13), Miller’s Midway Drive-in Theatre (5:34), Mobridge’s Pheasant Drive-In (6:25), Roy’s Black Hills Twin Drive-In in Hermosa (6:52), Gregory’s Hilltop Drive-Inn Theatre (7:40), and the Pheasant City Drive-In Theatre in Redfield (8:22). The video also described the most recent chapter in the story of Mitchell’s Starlite Drive-In (18:28), which quickly renovated and reopened in April 2020 after being dark for seven years. The Starlite’s owners elected not to reopen for the 2023 season, announcing that the drive-in had been “not meeting expenses.”

There are so many great images of drive-in playgrounds, twilight scenery, and varied snack bars that it’s hard to call out even a few of them. The item that most caught my attention was the gas-fired, open-flame popcorn popper used at the Pheasant City (16:21). I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything like it.

Host Larry Rohrer got it just right, balancing nostalgia with the celebration of great times going on now. His relaxed, folksy narration was perfect for discussing the “community service” that these drive-in families provide for their neighbors who come by for popcorn, snacks, and a place to get away from it all.

I stumbled onto this video while looking for the latest updates about the Winner, which suffered serious screen damage from a windstorm in July 2024. The town rallied behind the drive-in, and its Facebook page showed a photo from a few weeks ago with fresh lumber next to the screen remains. Here’s hoping the Winner is back in action soon. Until then, we’ve got a great opportunity to see what it and its sister drive-ins looked just a couple of years ago.

Video: PA’s Point upgrading under new ownership

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After announcing that it might convert to a solar farm, then closing for all of 2024, the Point Drive-In near Northumberland PA is getting ready to reopen for the 2025 season, thanks to new ownership. That’s the good news from WNEP, Moosic? (yes, Moosic) PA’s News Leader.

Josh Brosious is the new owner of the Point, and the WNEP video documents the work he’s doing to get the drive-in’s facilities renovated for modern times. The kitchen and the toilets in the “Refreshment Pavilion” are getting replaced before he opens in a few weeks, and the easier touch-ups at the box office and fences are also underway.

(Side Note: You know I focus on odd details. Moosic’s population, per the 2020 census, is less than 6000. Are there any other TV broadcasters in the US that are based in smaller municipalities? Maybe there’s some postage-stamp-sized suburb out there that’s the official host for another station, but none come to mind at the moment. Let me know, okay? Now, back to the drive-ins.)

The Point was one of the last stops on my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey in 2017. I knew some of its history then, and I’ve learned more since. Harold Bell opened the single-screen Arrow Drive-In in June 1952. The Comerford Theatres chain took over before the 1957 season, changing the drive-in’s name to the Point. Somebody was showing X-rated movies there in the 1970s. Around 1980, new owner Joe Farruggio added two screens and switched to standard movies.

Dave Renn bought the Point around 1990. A couple of decades later, he held a Jackalope music festival to raise money to finance the successful conversion to digital projection. The main screen up front was damaged in 2019 and removed, leaving two working screens. Renn sold the Point late last year, which brings us up to the new Brosious era.

Brosius, who happens to be mayor of nearby Sunbury, had been talking with Renn as early as July 2022 about ways to keep the Point open. He said, “It’s safe to say everyone wants it to stay here so if we here in Sunbury can help, we will.” It’s great news that Brosius found a way to keep this drive-in alive for generations to come.

Video: Arizona’s only ozoner might be Drive-In Heaven

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I’m not sure why two local stations decided to run stories about their year-round drive-in theater less than a week apart. But it’s always nice to celebrate any open drive-in, especially the only one that’s left in the entire state of Arizona.

Anyway, that means you get to see plenty of Travis Brown, the general manager of the Glendale 9 Drive-In along with plenty of lovely twilight shots from ABC15, Phoenix’s News Leader. And if you want a parallel dose of Brown after dark, check out the video published five days later by Fox10, Phoenix’s News Leader.

I was especially drawn to this story because the Glendale 9 was the starting point of a too-short drive-in road trip that I took 12 years ago. Back then, I described it as Drive-In Heaven, and that title probably still applies. The folks there were so nice to me, and the facility is so perfect for watching movies from your car. Then again, I haven’t tried watching a movie there during the amazing (not in a good way) central Arizona summers, which might make the experience feel a bit less like heaven.

So check out the videos for a glimpse of what I saw. If you ever get to try a July or August night at the Glendale 9, please let me know how it went.