Author Archives: mrdrivein

Sept. 25: Fairlee Motel & Drive-in Theater, Fairlee VT

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It’s Day 268 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Even though most of my travel was on I-89, it took almost two hours to drive 83 miles from Colchester VT to the Fairlee Motel & Drive-in Theater in Fairlee VT of course.

The Fairlee opened in 1950 as the Holiday Park, built and owned by Reginald and Terri Drowns. In 1960, they added six motel rooms and renamed it the Hi Way 5. It was the first time anyone had combined a drive-in with a motel.

Before I continue, I must refer you to a superb article in the August 2015 issue of Southwest: The Magazine. It’s what I would write about the Fairlee if I gave myself more space, and if I were a better writer. However, that article and one by blogger Larry Coffin (who says he was present at opening night) are the only mentions of “Drowns”; directories of the period refer to the owner as Reginald Drown or Brown.

In 1966, the Drowns added another block of six motel rooms. An old NBC News article said there used to be a washing machine next to the projectors, where they presumably did laundry between reel changes.

By the mid-80s, something happened because in 1987 the Hi Way 5 “had fallen into neglect after being shuttered for a few years.” That’s when Ray and Elaine Herb revived the motel and drive-in, and it was also probably when it was renamed the Fairlee, since a 1992 newspaper roundup included it that way.

Peter and Erika Trapp bought the Fairlee in 2003. (You can check out how it looked on DocRebuild.) He upgraded the projector with a platter system and added FM sound, although they also kept the in-car speakers. When they needed to upgrade to digital a decade later, a successful Kickstarter campaign brought in enough money for a down payment on the new projector, and the Fairlee kept on running. Along the way, they even got the attention of the BBC and the Denver Post.

The Trapps have a cattle farm across the river in New Hampshire, and the burgers at the Fairlee are made from that beef. It’s too bad that they’re closed for the season, especially since the high temperature was 90 degrees on the day I arrived.

The YouTube video of the day is a simple 360-degree view of what the Fairlee looked like before a show in 2008. I love seeing all those speakers!

Miles Today / Total: 83 / 31414 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 169

Nearby Restaurant: I’ve sure been finding a lot of good old diners in New England, and the Fairlee Diner is another good example. I made it in time for breakfast, where I took advantage of huge blueberry pancakes with true Vermont maple syrup.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Well of course I had to stay at the Fairlee Motel overlooking the drive-in. My room was clean and had the full set of modern amenities. I could see the speaker in the wall, much like the times I’ve stayed at the Movie Manor in Monte Vista CO, and I was a little sad that there was no movie to watch this night.

Only in Fairlee: Just west of Fairlee at the Post Mills Airport in the town of Thetford is Vermontasaurus, a 25-foot-tall, 122-foot-long folk art representation of a dinosaur. According to Wikipedia, retired teacher Brian Boland built the original in 2010. Part of it collapsed in October 2011 but was rebuilt as a “baby Vermontasaurus” the following year. In 2017, Boland unveiled an “adolescent” version at the Orford-Fairlee Fourth of July Parade.

Next stop: Bethel Drive-In, Bethel VT.

Sept. 24: Sunset Drive-In, Colchester VT

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It’s Day 267 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Desperate for a drive-in that was showing movies on a Sunday night, I drove almost three hours almost due north from North Hoosick NY, just west of the border, to the Sunset Drive-In in Colchester VT, just east of it.

The Sunset opened as a single-screen drive-in on May 29, 1948. According to Seven Days, Vermont’s independent voice, Ernest and Dorothy Handy bought the Sunset from a developer that year and ran it until their retirement in 1979. That’s when it passed to their son, Peter Handy, who has owned it ever since.

The year after Peter took over, he added two more screens to the Sunset. It stayed at three screens until he added a fourth in 1994. Another big change came in 2013 when with the need to convert to digital projection looming, Peter built a 11-room motel facing the drive-in. I wrote about it back then when it was planned, Seven Days had an article about its unveiling. “The Starlight Inn will support the drive-in, and the two will play into each other,” Peter said. “So I think our odds of staying open now are better than ever in the face of this digital Armageddon.” WPTZ, Burlington’s News Leader, offered a slide show of how the Starlight looked.

That motel must have done the trick, because the Sunset converted all four screens to digital the next year. “It’s a labor of love,” Peter told the Lake Champlain Weekly (pdf) years earlier. “It’s not for the profit. As I said, it’s like a member of the family now.”

The YouTube video of the day comes from Stuck In Vermont, a whimsical-looking series from Seven Days.

With four screens on this Sunday night, I was surprised to find that I’d already seen all of the early movies. I picked American Assassin for a second viewing as a flick that wasn’t bad enough to avoid.

Miles Today / Total: 121 / 31331 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: American Assassin / 169

Nearby Restaurant: The Guilty Plate Diner is right across Porters Point Road from the Sunset, although I probably would have driven across town for its food. I love breakfast all day, especially when I can get a great eggs benedict like theirs for lunch.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Well of course I had to stay at the Starlight Inn on the Sunset grounds. I could see some of the screens from my room, which was immaculate and had all the modern conveniences. (After all, this hotel isn’t very old.) There was no breakfast included, but that’s a quibble since the best restaurant in town is literally across the street.

Only in Colchester: In nearby Burlington, there’s a plaque marking the first scoop shop of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. It was located in an old gas station on the corner of St. Paul and College Street and opened in May 1978.  The location is now a parking lot and the plaque is embedded in the sidewalk in front.

Next stop: Fairlee Motel & Drive-in Theater, Fairlee VT.

Sept. 23: Hathaway’s Drive-In Theatre, North Hoosick NY

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Hathaway's Drive-In marquee and screen

Photo from the Hathaway’s Facebook page

It’s Day 266 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Even though it was barely 100 miles between Milford NH  and the Hathaway’s Drive-In Theatre in North Hoosick NY, it took almost two and a half hours to drive there.

Hathaway’s opened on May 7, 1948, “built by a partnership between Chase & Mary Hathaway and Dean & Dorothy LeBarron Hathaway,” according to New York Drive-Ins. The hurricane of November 1950 blew down the original screen, which was rebuilt using wooden poles heavily braced to support the screen. In 1994, wind destroyed that screen, so it was replaced with the current steel screen.

The Pingree family owned and operated Hathaway’s since 1988 according to a story in the Brattleboro Reformer. (An article in Hemmings Motor News said the date was 1990.) They put it up for sale in 2004 but had a hard time finding a buyer. Duane Greenawalt bought the place in 2009.

In August 2013, Greenawalt announced that Hathaway’s needed a digital projector and would close unless he got support from the community or was a winner in Honda’s Project Drive-In. “Maybe people don’t think I’m serious when I say we will close,” Greenawalt told the Bennington Banner. “But, my family and I have discussed this at great length and we just can’t afford to stay open without help. We need to win this.”

The next spring, that help came from an unusual source. As documented in The Eastwick Press, Lynn Caponera from In The Night Kitchen at Scotch Hill Farm in Cambridge NY came to the rescue. The late Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of such children’s books as Where the Wild Things Are and In The Night Kitchen, created In the Night Kitchen Farm, a non-profit that grows and distributes fresh produce to those in need. The Greenawalts agreed that Hathaway’s would run on-screen public service announcements promoting awareness for hunger relief in exchange for the funding.

I was happy to watch another new release on a Saturday night. The latest Kingsman installment makes a fine drive-in movie.

Miles Today / Total: 103 / 31210 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Kingsman: The Golden Circle / 168

Nearby Restaurant: Jean’s Place is a little diner that’s probably the closest restaurant to Hathaway’s. They had a Sloppy Joe special for dinner this night, but they also serve breakfast all day, which tends to be my favorite. Blueberry pancakes and plenty of coffee hit the spot any time.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Google Maps said that the closest hotels to Hathaway’s were all in Bennington across the border in Vermont. Honestly, I didn’t go out of my way just so I could stay at another Hampton Inn; it was just a coincidence. It was all the very nice, dependable Hampton standard including a clean, comfy studio suite with all the modern amenities and a solid breakfast in the morning. Thank goodness for happy coincidences.

Only in North Hoosick: One of 29 historic covered bridges in New York State is the Buskirk Bridge in Hoosick. Wikipedia says that it’s perhaps the state’s earliest surviving William Howe truss bridge.

Next stop: Sunset Drive-In, Colchester VT.