Category Archives: 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey

This is the virtual tour that will imagine what it would be like to visit every North American drive-in theater in 2017 by visiting one or two every day. While the drive-ins, restaurants, and hotels are real, all the events in this section are fiction. But it’s fun to dream!

Aug. 23: Owen Sound Drive-In, Owen Sound ON

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It’s Day 235 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my tenth in Ontario. It took just 45 minutes to drive from the Hanover Drive-In Theatre, which is in Hanover of course, to the Owen Sound Drive-In, which is in Owen Sound of course.

The Owen Sound apparently opened in 1950; a TripAdvisor photo shows “Since 1950” written on one of the walls there. At that point, it had a single, old-fashioned screen tower, later widened to accommodate widescreen movies. The Motion Picture Almanac says that it could hold 300 cars, and from at least 1953-63, the drive-in’s owner was Waite & Warwick Ltd.

There’s a second screen at the drive-in these days. Movie-Theatre.org believes it was added around 1980. In February 2012, the Owen Sound Sun Times reported that the drive-in was sold to a neighbor, Pickard Construction, who was mainly interested in an adjacent piece of land. That story said that Maurice Pickard planned to lease the drive-in section to its former owner to continue normal operations. “I have had lots of people say, you can’t do anything with the drive-in. It’s historical,” said Pickard. “Even people at the office, they take their kids to it.”

Some time between the close of the 2013 season (as seen in this blog post) and 2016 (as seen in the YouTube video embedded above), management improved the marquee. It looks much nicer now. You’ll also note that this is one of the drive-ins to place the playground behind the concession / projection building. I think that’s a smart move to keep the kids close to the sodas and snacks that they’ll want to buy.

I was again deeply grateful for the second screen, which spared me another round of The Emoji Movie. Instead I watched Kidnap for the second time.

Miles Today / Total: 35 / 27796 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Kidnap / 149

Nearby Restaurant: For the kind of retro experience I hope to find near every venerable old drive-in theater, the best place in town is Elsie’s Diner. Black and white tiled floor. Red vinyl on every seating surface. And serving a nice old-fashioned gravy-covered roast beef sandwich with a true malted milkshake.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Best Western Inn On The Bay is indeed right on the shoreline of Georgian Bay with spectacular views. My queen bed room had a mini-fridge and solid wifi, which are really all I need. Breakfast would have been nice too; at least it’s available for a few toonies more.

Only in Owen Sound: The impractical furniture theme continues just east of town in Meaford, home of the world’s largest porch swing. The Owen Sound Sun Times documented the efforts of sculptor Rob Mahy to turn hundreds of pieces of wind-blown cedar, 5,000 screws, and two cases of industrial glue into a 36-foot bench and the frame needed to swing it. Roadside America reports that Mahy succeeded.

Next stop: Midland Drive-In, Midland ON.

Aug. 22: Hanover Drive-In Theatre, Hanover ON

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It’s Day 234 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my ninth in Ontario. It took an hour to drive from Guelph to the Hanover Drive-In Theatre, in Hanover of course.

The early years of the Hanover haven’t left many traces on the internet or most of the other places I look. Most of what I know comes from a single 2013 article in The Post, which I covered in brief when it came out. That’s the source for the year the drive-in opened, 1953. The Motion Picture Almanac that year listed H. Fisher as the owner; in 1959 it listed Bert Fisher, so maybe his full name was Herbert. In 1963, the almanac said the owner was B. Wiggins. A caption fragment of a since-moved photo at the Grey Roots Museum and Archives was “Hanover, Drive-In, Theatre, Bert Fisher, Beverley Wiggins” so maybe that was the B Wiggins who later owned the Hanover.

Flash forward to 2013, when the Hanover’s owners, JD Lyons and Lyle Schaus, installed a digital projector. “The choice to go to digital was one you didn’t have a choice in,” Lyons said. “Film is quickly going to be disappearing.”

That Post article said that the benefit to the community was a big reason why the partners invested in digital. “We sort of had to pay, convert, or become history,” Lyons said. ” We decided, after dwelling on that for some time, that we would make the move and go to digital.”

And that’s about it. That gorgeous old-fashioned screen tower (better photo here) looks like it could be the original. The theatre only takes cash, TripAdvisor visitors love it, and it’s open weekends plus Tuesdays, which is why I scheduled a Tuesday visit.

Update: A very helpful researcher at Grey Roots Museum and Archives followed up by sending me a copy of that scrapbook page that had moved. At the top of the page was the note “By: Mr. Harvey Schmitt – 1964”. The photo was dated September 1960, and its caption read, “The Hanover Drive-In Theatre was built by Mr. Bert Fisher of Listowel in 1953. It is presently owned and operated by Mr. Beverley Wiggins of Durham.”

I knew this day would come. One screen, no choice in the movie I see, and that movie is The Nut Job 2. On first viewing, it seemed relatively inoffensive to grown-ups but best suited for small children.

Miles Today / Total: 66 / 27761 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Nut Job 2 / 148

Nearby Restaurant: I had a good time in the afternoon betting the horses via simulcast and having a late lunch at The Coach House at Hanover Raceway. I looked out over the track, empty that day, and enjoyed a sandwich and a beer as I looked over my opportunities to lose more Canadian currency.

Where I Virtually Stayed: If you want a hotel in Hanover, your choice is probably going to be the Travellers Inn Hanover. It’s a small place with rooms that have the full set of modern amenities despite a very nice price. There’s coffee available and plenty of cash left in my pocket for breakfast.

Only in Hanover: On the way between Guelph and Hanover, just north of Varney, is the world’s largest Adirondack chair, according to Roadside America. For much of its life, it was painted white, but the most recent report is that it was painted red with white Canadian maple leaves.

Next stop: Owen Sound Drive-In, Owen Sound ON.

Aug. 21: Mustang Drive-In Theatre, Guelph ON

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It’s Day 233 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my eighth in Ontario. It took a little over an hour to drive from downtown Toronto to the Mustang Drive-In Theatre just outside Guelph.

Guelph has had a drive-in theater since at least 1948, but it wasn’t always the Mustang. The Guelph Drive-In sat on the north side of town until it was razed to make way for a shopping center around 1958. As the Waterloo Region Record put it, “The closing of the Guelph Drive-In created a business opportunity elsewhere.”

In 1959 Charles Jemmett built the JEM Drive-In northeast of town. (The name was based on his family name and was always in all-caps.) The JEM had the same capacity, about 400 cars, as the Guelph, so that drive-in must have been doing well enough.

According to a Kitchener Waterloo Record article quoted at length by a commenter on Cinema Treasures, “Sometime in the late 1960s, Charles Jemmett sold the JEM Drive-In to Premier Operating Corp. of Toronto and retired. Premier renamed it the Mustang and later sold it to Sunset Cinema Inc., which continues to operate it today.”

Blogger Steven Petric wrote, “The success at the Mustang drive in can be pointed to the strategy of bring back families to the drive-in by running only the latest movies and avoiding R-rated slashers and horror flicks. Plus kicking out the drinkers and the trouble makers”.

How did the Mustang switch to attracting families? Petric wrote that a Mustang article in the Guelph Mercury newspaper was one example of how to lure the right crowd. “Families don’t have to worry about babysitting,” it said. “If the kids are tired, bring your pillows, and sleep in the vehicle, and smokers, come one, come all. Then there’s the sunsets. You won’t get that anywhere else.”

The video of the day comes from one of Drone to Earth’s many uploads to YouTube. I recommend that you check out the others in that series, as well as a video tribute to projectionist Bill Cardinell.

Miles Today / Total: 58 / 27695 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Hitman’s Bodyguard / 147

Nearby Restaurant: I really wanted to go back to another great Mandarin buffet, but I think I ought to avoid duplicating experiences in these regional chains. Instead I enjoyed a wood oven pizza at Buon Gusto. I really love a thin crust like on the pies here, and a meat-free margherita is at least a little healthier to eat. The local Royal City Saison beer is on tap. Good times!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Sure, it’s just another Hampton Inn, but that always represents a pretty safe bet for me. The one in Guelph has a heated salt water pool, which is something I don’t see every day. Guest laundry facilities, an indoor theater next door (useful during winter months), and a typically solid breakfast. Add a clean, comfortable room with all the amenities, and that’s why I choose Hampton a lot.

Only in Guelph: Just three years ago, the latest piece of artwork on the University of Guelph campus was unveiled. It’s a huge statue of a sleeping gryphon, the mythical mascot of the school’s sports teams. At least the gryphon is, not the sleeping part.

Next stop: Hanover Drive-In Theatre, Hanover ON.