Author Archives: mrdrivein

July 23: Huntington Twin Drive-In, Huntington IN

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It’s Day 204 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It only took an hour and a half on a quiet Sunday to drive from the Hummel Drive-In east of Winchester IN to the Huntington Twin Drive-In in Huntington IN.

The Huntington opened in 1950. The 1952 Theatre Catalog said its owner was Gail Lancaster, a man reported to have “two grand pianos in his living room”. According to Huntington County Farmers and Families, Lancaster also managed the Huntington Theater. By 1963, the owner was listed as Maurice Robbins. (There was a Maurice Robbins who was mayor of Huntington in 1980. Wonder if it was the same guy.) Later sources suggest that a group owned the Huntington.

By early 2001, the Huntington was owned by Syndicate Theatres and managed by Dave and Peggy Brooks. In August 2001, they sold it to John and Anilda Detzler, who soon began making renovations. In March 2005, most of the screen tower blew down, but the Detzlers rebuilt in time for a Memorial Day Weekend opening. They also added a second screen for the 2011 season.

In July 2013, the Detzlers put the Huntington up for sale. I didn’t see the digital projection issue mentioned then, but it had to be a factor. “There are two major reasons: I’m 61 and my wife is 68, and we’ve tried to do most everything ourselves, including the long, late hours,” Detzler told The Journal Gazette. “Our primary plan, dream and goal has always been to relocate (to Colorado) permanently.”

That’s when Bob Goodrich, owner of the Goodrich Quality Theaters chain came in. He agreed to buy the Huntington in December 2014 and closed on it the following April, at a signing apparently witnessed by WANE, Fort Wayne’s News Leader, in a report that’s now on YouTube. Goodrich installed digital projectors, added a credit card system, and generally made the place better than new. The YouTube drone video embedded above shows how nice it looked late last year.

I was a little surprised to see the serious movie Dunkirk leading off one of the two screens here. I don’t know whether I’ll get another chance to see this, so I was happy to get another break from animation and comic book heroes. I’ll have plenty of time to catch up with them in the nights to come.

Miles Today / Total:  78 / 25756 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Dunkirk / 120

Nearby Restaurant: When I’m on the road, all I really need for a meal is a good old fashioned diner such as Johnny’s. (Think greasy spoon, minus the greasy.) I brought cash to pay, and my reward was pancakes, sausage, coffee and homemade pie at a very reasonable price.

Where I Virtually Stayed: It’s nice to be back in a town with lodging choices, and the hotel I chose this time was the Comfort Inn. It felt freshly renovated, and the breakfast was a notch above the already decent Comfort standard. And my clean, comfy room had the full set of amenities. Just a nice, solid experience.

Only in Huntington: This one’s a no-brainer. Huntington is the home to the Dan Quayle Vice Presidential Learning Center. The converted Christian Science church is more than a monument to the hometown guy who famously argued the wrong side in a potato spelling debate, which he later called “a ‘defining moment’ of the worst imaginable kind.” It’s also about US vice presidents in general, “the unique and fascinating stories of each of those who have held the second most important office in our country.”

Next stop: Tibbs Drive-In, Indianapolis IN.

July 22: Hummel Drive-In, Winchester IN

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It’s Day 203 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Since it was Saturday, that meant another trip across a state line in search of another weekend-only drive-in theater. This time, the drive took about an hour and a half from Middle Point OH to the Hummel Drive-In east of Winchester IN, just across the border.

In 1949, this drive-in opened as the Air Line Auto Theatre, a reasonable name considering that it’s just across Indiana Highway 32 from the Randolph County Airport. Arthur Kemp opened the place, but by 1952, Mike Make had taken over. Make owned and operated the Air Line (eventually the Airline Drive-In) into the 1990s. Alan Teicher bought the Airline and added a second screen in 2002. (There’s a YouTube video from near the end of the Teicher era, promoting its unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign, embedded above.)

Then in August 2014, faced with the cost of converting to digital projection, Teicher closed the Airline and his other theaters. He told the Bradenton FL Herald, “I’ve been in business for 58 years, I’m 80 years old and think it’s time to retire.” It sat idle for over a year, then Shawn and Pauletta Hummel bought the drive-in in March 2016. They renamed it the Hummel Drive-In.

By early August, after $200,000 worth of renovations and projection equipment, the Hummels were ready to reopen with one screen. As Pauletta told the Richmond IN Palladium-Item, “We really started from scratch, for the most part, on a lot of these things. The foundation was there, but we did whatever we could to improve the facility.” The concession stand was rehabilitated “entirely,” including the bathrooms and projection area. They said at the time they’d start with one screen, then expand back to two screens “down the road”.

I guess conditions haven’t yet warranted lighting up that second screen, which had been badly damaged when they bought the place, so my only choice for the early movie was the latest Planet of the Apes installment. It was only the second time I’d seen it, so I was grateful for the novelty. I kicked back with a pizza burger and a “monster” popcorn and enjoyed the show.

Miles Today / Total:  73 / 25678 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: War for the Planet of the Apes / 119

Nearby Restaurant: The Referees Bar and Grille was adjacent to my hotel (see below), so that made it easy to reach. I had to leave for the drive-in before the live music started, but I was able to catch a little when I returned before it closed. Earlier for dinner, I enjoyed a rib eye steak with sauteed mushrooms and some salad and veggies to stay balanced. And beer and TV sports, of course, because I needed to fit in.

Where I Virtually Stayed: If you’re staying in Winchester, you’ll want to check the Randolph Inn & Suites. This place has a really nice new main building, plus the “budget building” that might have been an old motel. My main building room had the full set of modern amenities, and the breakfast in the morning was better than most mom and pop places.

Only in Winchester: The author of The Gaslight Addition grew up in Winchester. The 1995 movie version, Now and Then, was directed by a man who also grew up in Winchester. Although the town’s name was changed in the movie, a local museum has preserved a significant part, the Our Jonnie gravestone in the old Winchester Graveyard.

Next stop: Huntington Twin Drive-In, Huntington IN.

July 21: Van-Del Drive-In, Middle Point OH

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It’s Day 202 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It didn’t take too much extra time out of my way to have visited the Auto Vue Drive-In in Sidney OH Thursday night. It took less than an hour to drive back north from there to the Van-Del Drive-In just north of Middle Point OH on the old Lincoln Highway, halfway between Van Wert and Delphos.

I don’t know of another drive-in that went through so many changes early in its history as the Van-Del did. According to Cinema Treasures, it opened as the Star Lite in June 1948, built by the Christopher brothers from St. Mary’s OH. Just three months later in September 1948, they sold it to Paul Staup, who renamed it Staup’s Auto Movie. Staup also replaced the original screen tower, which had been blown down during its first winter, with a wider screen and installed a playground. Then in July 1951, Staup’s Auto Movie was renamed the Van-Del Auto Movie.

In April 1967 Thomas Epps started running the drive-in, (by August 1981 he was listed as the owner). widening the screen tower, installing a new sound system, and remodelling the concession stand. In September 1998, Epps sold the Van-Del to Jim and Joyce Boyd. Over the years the Boyd family has upgraded the Van-Del Drive-In with digital projection and has added two more screens.

It was complete serendipity that on the day of my virtual visit, legendary drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs declared the Van-Del to be his drive-in of the week. He wrote, “In the 1960s it pulled off a great publicity stunt as mesmerist “Dr. LeRoy” hypnotized and buried a man (Phil Davis, from Martinsville, IN) for three days. (History doesn’t say if he was entombed underneath the drive-in screen, but let’s choose to think so.) They haven’t buried anyone in a while, but the Van-Del still holds events like Dusk til Dawn nights on its three screens. And the Van-Del’s fans are so rabid that they spammed the Joe Bob page to feature their drive-in. Well played, Van-Del Drive-In.”

I found another nice drone aerial video to embed for you. This one’s from Les Bowen, who also uploaded a great drone shot of last year’s Fourth of July fireworks, but I digress.

With three screens, I had some choices for this evening’s movie, and I chose the new release. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is just too long a name for a movie. The special effects looked great under the stars, but I hope I don’t have to see it again too often this year.

Miles Today / Total:  53 / 25605 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets / 118

Nearby Restaurant: I drove just a little farther up the Lincoln Highway to the Rambler’s Roost Restaurant and Truck Stop. It’s quiet, across the street from a cemetary, and it’s on a bypassed road that used to be US 30. It’s been here for 60 years, almost as long as the drive-in. Most truck stops these days are owned by one chain or another, so it was great to get some home cooking from a mom and pop original.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Since there aren’t any hotels in Middle Point, my choices were in Van Wert and Delphos. The best combination of a safe national chain and a low price was the Microtel in Delphos. My room was clean and had the full set of amenities, and the light continental breakfast was enough to get me back on my way.

Only in Middle Point: You know how the Van-Del was named for its neighbors, Van Wert and Delphos? Well, Middle Point also got its name because it was about halfway between Van Wert and Delphos. The village was laid out in 1851, added a post office in 1854, and incorporated in 1874.

Next stop: Hummel Drive-In, Winchester IN.