Author Archives: mrdrivein

July 2: Cinema 67 Drive-in, Spencer IN

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It’s Day 183 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The halfway point! For every drive-in around here that’s open on weeknights, there’s another that only does weekends, so I set out from Litchfield IL towards the closest one that would be open on Sundays but not Mondays. That’s why I drove three hours east to the Cinema 67 Drive-in a few miles north of Spencer IN.

Before I start, I want to mention that the YouTube video I embedded above is a fun little tour of the Cinema 67, but it was posted at the end of the 2011 season. The grounds look a lot better these days, as you can see on the Cinema 67’s Facebook page.

According to Cinema Treasures, the Cinema 67 opened as the Records Drive-In in 1957. An article in the Indianapolis Monthly picks up the drive-in’s tale in the 1970s. It wrote that “an aging businessman and his pretty young wife had purchased the drive-in … and hoped Owen County would accept their breed of (X-rated) entertainment.” Since the screen was visible from Highway 67, that didn’t work out.

In came Jon Walker, who bought a drive-in with broken speakers, back-row fights between rival high schoolers, and weak attendance. He changed its name to the Cinema 67 to signal a fresh start. He switched to FM radio, first removing most of the in-car speakers then all of them. He hired security to stop the fights, and the warring teenagers went away. Which did not immediately help the attendance problem. “We stopped all that monkey business,” Walker said. “Well, that stopped our business, too.”

Over time, the improvements lured the family crowd that would sustain the Cinema 67. It made the transition to digital projection and continues to promise “Lots of great food and great entertainment on the screen and under the screen”.

I settled in to watch my new best friend, Despicable Me 3, for the third time in four nights. As I munched on my burrito in a box and sipped my hot coffee, I wondered, where did the Minions come from? A Despicable Me wiki claims they’re “invincible and immortal,” and that they came into existence “3.8 billion years ago”. Hmm.

Miles Today / Total:  184 / 23377 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Despicable Me 3 / 99

Nearby Restaurant: After a fairly long drive, my eyes lit up when I saw the sign for Chambers Smorgasboard. That meant a buffet, and you know how I love buffets. The fried chicken was good enough for a chicken restaurant, and that was just the beginning of the meats and veggies available. Top it off with hot fresh bread and apple butter, and I hardly needed dessert, but there was some pecan pie. Ahh!

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t any of those fancy modern chain hotels around here, but I had a great night at the Canyon Inn inside McCormick’s Creek State Park right next to Spencer. This place has been around for 100 years, but they maintain it nicely. My small room in the historic east wing just had a shower, but that’s all I use anyway. The peace and quiet were a nice break, and the breakfast in the hotel restaurant was worth paying for.

Only in Spencer: There’s a giant rooster statue on a pedestal at the corner of East and Cooper Streets. According to Roadside Architecture, that’s the Owen County Fairgrounds. It was originally located at a restaurant in town which closed.

Next stop: Route 66 Twin Drive-In, Springfield IL.

July 1: Skyview Drive-In, Litchfield IL

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It’s Day 182 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. This day was a naked ploy for more active drive-in nights as I strive to reach my goal of 200 for the year. After I left Earlville IL, I drove past Springfield’s Route 66 Twin Drive-In, which will be open again on Monday, to Litchfield’s Skyview Drive-In, which is strictly Fridays and Saturdays. It took a bit under three hours to get there.

Retired educator Dr. Walter “Chick” Bishop says in the 2013 video above that the Skyview opened in June 1950. It’s the only US 66 drive-in that’s been in continuous operation since it opened.

The Frisina Amusements Company was the Skyview’s first owner. Norman and Del Paul bought it in the 1980s and owned it until they passed away in the 2010s. Their daughter and her husband sold the Skyview to a pair of couples, Nick and Mindy Pastrovich and Mike and Debbie Pastrovich, in March 2016. Mindy told the Route 66 News, “We plan to run it as a drive-in indefinitely.”

The Pastroviches are keeping the Skyview grounded in the past, including the dancing hot dog animation that it shows between movies. “It’s almost like a trick dog, and it’s on a podium, and it does flips, and then it jumps into the bun,” Mindy told The State Journal-Register. “I have had multiple, numerous requests to make sure that the dancing hot dog did not go away. The dancing hot dog is not going away.”

I settled in to watch and question my old friend, Cars 3. We met again for the 10th time. As I munched on my chicken strip basket, I wondered, if there are no humans in the Cars universe, why do they have door handles?

Miles Today / Total:  192 / 23193 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Cars 3 / 98

Nearby Restaurant: I had hoped for a meal at the Ariston Cafe, across from the Route 66 Welcome Center, but it was closed for the Fourth of July weekend, so I went next door to the equally historic Jubelt’s Bakery & Restaurant. Back to healthy eating, I tried Jubelt’s signature garbage salad with ham, turkey, bacon, and eggs, along with some healthy greenery. I celebrated my balanced diet with a fresh baked cheese danish for dessert.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Normally I’d default to a nearby Hampton Inn, or maybe the Holiday Inn Express. But the Quality Inn is so very close to the Skyview; it’s within easy walking distance if you ever wanted to walk to a drive-in. It was also noticeably less expensive than those alternatives. My room was clean, had the full set of amenities, and the hot breakfast was a cut above some other Quality Inns. Woohoo!

Only in Litchfield: Really I should talk about the Route 66 Welcome Center, but 31 miles away, the DeMoulin Museum in Greenville was having its Family Reunion Weekend celebration just a couple of weeks after appearing on the History Channel’s American Restoration show. As described by Roadside America, the DeMoulin Co. was once the world’s biggest provider of fraternal lodge initiation pranks. They included a bucking “ferris wheel goat” and such fake trials as the “molten lead test.” DeMoulin is still in business in Greenville, now as one of the world’s biggest suppliers of band uniforms.

Next stop: Cinema 67 Drive-in, Spencer IN.

June 30: Route 34 Drive In Theatre, Earlville IL

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It’s Day 181 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. When I was putting together this leg of the trip, I saw that the Route 34 Drive In Theatre in Earlville IL would be open from the previous Friday through the Tuesday Fourth of July and somehow mistook it for a seven-day schedule. That’s why I took a two-day detour to northern Indiana for my Wednesday and Thursday night shows, and why I needed a three-hour drive from Knox IN to the Route 34 for to rejoin my previously planned route.

The Route 34, then owned by Charles Dyas, opened as the Dyas 34 in June 1954. He kept it running until selling it to Ron Magnoni Jr. in 1994, which is probably when the drive-in’s name changed. That’s Ron above in an excellent 2015 YouTube video, extolling the virtues of a rural drive-in with its lack of ambient light.

That video interview comes in the middle of the conversion to digital projectors. In a 2014 article in DeKalb Daily Chronicle, Magnoni talks about raising funds for the new system, replacing film projectors “made of a combination of parts from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘70s.” He also said business improved a few years after he bought the 34 when stopping showing R-rated movies and lured in more families.

In the video above, Magnoni talks about the preparation work he had done to modernize the projection booth. About switching away from film, he said, “All my friends (in the business) tell me they hated it at first, then they loved it. Well, I don’t think I’m going to love it.”

Then an April 2016 article in the La Salle NewsTribune, Magnoni announced that the Route 34’s transition was almost complete. “I should be able to play anything from any film company now,” he said.

Tonight marked my second consecutive night of Despicable Me 3, which was nothing compared to my Cars 3 marathon. The concession stand sells fried chicken, which I think is a terrible food to bring in but a real treat to eat when it’s freshly cooked. (Not to mention that it’s much better to support the concession stand whenever possible.) Life is good!

Miles Today / Total:  164 / 23001 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Despicable Me 3 / 97

Nearby Restaurant: For some surprisingly complex and flavorful Italian food in the middle of a small Illinois town, you’ll want to go to Francesca’s Restaurant. I enjoyed some baked spaghetti for lunch, and I almost wish I’d come back for some cod in the Friday night fish fry.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t any hotels in Earlville, so I had to take US 34 to I-39 for Mendota IL’s Comfort Inn. I’ve been so spoiled by in-room mini-fridges at similar chain hotels that I was surprised by its absence in my king bed room, which was otherwise everything I needed, including wifi and a coffeemaker. Breakfast in the morning was up to the typical Comfort Inn standards. Just another typically great night.

Only in Earlville: Every September they hold the Fiber in the Park festival in Shabbona Park here. “Bring your projects or your spinning wheel, and spend the day listening to live music, far from the city.” Plus they have alpacas.

Next stop: Skyview Drive-In, Litchfield IL.