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!

June 6: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA

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It’s Day 157 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Thanks to I-90, it took me just a little over an hour to drive from Luverne MN to the Superior 71 Drive-In Theater just south of the border in Spirit Lake IA.

The Superior 71 is a single-screen (55 by 90 feet), 21st century drive-in with a capacity of about 360 cars. It might accommodate another couple hundred in nearby grassy areas when they’re dry.

As described by a fine video from KARE, Minneapolis’ News Leader, Gaylord Kemp built the place in 2008 after he pried 10 acres of farmland away from a corn grower, convinced local officials to change the zoning, and found an intact screen eight miles away at a drive-in shuttered for nearly 40 years.

“We began looking for land in 2005,” Kemp told the Sioux City Journal this week. He found this 10-acre cornfield in Superior Township just before land prices went up. He found his screen practically next door on Highway 9, where the old Chief Drive-In stood, abandonded, west of Estherville. Kemp built a two-story projection, concessions and restrooms building.

“It’s a perfect retirement business,” Kemp said. “The drive-in creates an atmosphere everyone enjoys. What kind of job can you work at where people come in and they’re all happy because they can relax and watch a movie?”

I was really happy to find a Tuesday night drive-in movie, and it’s great to be making progress towards my goal of 200 live nights this year. This was my fifth active night in a row, the first time that’s happened since February. More than all that, I was happy to finally get a chance to see the Wonder Woman movie that has been getting so much buzz. It’s a really good movie, especially for drive-ins.

Miles Today / Total:  76 / 20247 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Wonder Woman / 73

Nearby Restaurant: I love finding comfort food, and even the name Family Diner just, well it doesn’t scream, but it quietly assures you of comfort food. Where else can you get a good hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy except at a true diner? And don’t get me started on the huge slices of meringue pie!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Another small town, another Super 8 motel. I guess I’m racking up a lot of virtual Wyndham Rewards points so I can stay at even more Super 8s for free when I’m done with this odyssey. Anyway, the Spirit Lake Super 8 had freshly remodeled rooms with mini-fridges, microwaves, and solid wifi, plus there’s that carb-packing Super 8 continental breakfast (with biscuits and gravy!) to get me on the road in the morning.

Only in Spirit Lake: Just a little south of the drive-in is Arnolds Park Amusement Park, which has been in operation in one form or another since 1889, when Wesley Arnold built a 60-foot tall tobaggan-style waterslide. It includes the Legend roller coaster, built in 1930 and one of the oldest wooden coasters still in operation.

Next stop: Valle Drive in, Newton IA.

June 5: Verne Drive In Theatre, Luverne MN

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Verne Drive-In marquee

photo from the Verne Drive-In web site

It’s Day 156 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. My virtual odometer rolled over 20,000 just south of the Missouri River as I drove three hours from Neligh NE to the Verne Drive In Theatre in Luverne in the southwest corner of Minnesota.

The Verne was definitely built by Ken Sargent and opened before 1955. One source lists the opening date as 1954, but Walt Deutsch, who bought the place in 1966, told The Globe of Worthington MN that he “thought the first owners had the theater for 17 years before he took it over,” which would make the start date around 1949. The drive-in has always been a single screen with a capacity of almost 300 cars.

Deutsch, who had built a house next door, sold the Verne in the 1980s, and it closed some time after that. Glenn Burmeister bought the Verne and reopened it in 2000 after building new ticket and concession buildings and removing the old speaker poles. According to a great video by Pioneer Public Broadcasting, Deutsch and Burmeister are friends, and Deutsch still comes over to help sell tickets when the line gets too long.

I’m always happy to be at a drive-in that’s showing movies on a Monday night, even when that movie is latest Pirates of the Caribbean installment for my second night in a row. Snacking on honey drummies and pork shanks, I was able to make it through the movie’s two and a quarter hours one more time.

Miles Today / Total:  195 / 20171 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 72

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to the Verne, and possibly the best, is The Bluestem. The atmosphere is casual, but the menu is a bit upscale, or at least ambitious. Nothing beats a good filet mignon, and it was great to find someone who offers it. I added some breaded cheese balls and a slice of peanut butter devil’s food cake. I’ll eat healthier tomorrow.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The GrandStay Hotel & Suites was a regional chain I hadn’t run into before. Looks like it’s mostly around Minnesota and Wisconsin. At any rate, it was pretty nice. My room had a microwave, mini-fridge, a coffee maker, and good wifi. The hot breakfast was the best hotel breakfast I’d had in at least a few days. I’ll be looking for more of these GrandStays as I roam this region over the next week or two.

Only in Luverne: The Wayside Chapel just north of Luverne has more stained glass windows than seats, 6-3. (A photo from a story in The Globe from Worthington MN shows there’s also room for a standing preacher or two.) Parishioners of the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne dedicated the tiny chapel in 1963. The Rev. Bert Den Herder told The Globe, “It’s open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.”

Next stop: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA.

June 4: TK-Starlite Drive-In, Neligh NE

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TK Starlite Drive-In marquee lit with cloudy background

photo from the TK-Starlite Facebook page

It’s Day 155 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took about three and a half hours to drive from the Midway Drive-in Theatre north of Miller SD down south across the border to the TK-Starlite Drive-In in Neligh NE.

The Starlite Drive-In opened in 1952 with a single screen and room for about 300 cars. It’s been operating ever since. Current owner Stacy Klabenes purchased it from Jack March and added the TK initials “using the letters from his children’s names,” according to a 2011 article in the Norfolk (NE) Daily News.

“I want to pull more people in,” Klabenes said then. “Basically, we want to put Neligh back on the map.”

Jennifer Blackburn-Nielsen, a spokesperson for local business group Grow Neligh, told the Daily News, “The drive-in theater is also a very important aspect as far as tourism in Neligh and helps attract people from all over the state who come to enjoy the nostalgia of a drive-in theater.”

It was great to find an open drive-in on a Sunday night. I saw the latest Pirates of the Caribbean installment again, keeping my eyes busy again while I munched on popcorn and a pizza burger.

Miles Today / Total:  211 / 19976 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 71

Nearby Restaurant: When I read “Imperial” on the sign, I think Chinese restaurant. When I see Imperial Steakhouse, I think, y’know, steak. But it turns out that this place serves a little bit of everything, especially Mexican food. I enjoyed the “enchiladas imperial” with rice and beans and a beer margarita. Yum!

Where I Virtually Stayed: The TK-Starlite is unusual in that it actually suggests nearby lodging. At the top of its list is the Deluxe Motel. The Deluxe is nothing too fancy, but it had a fridge in the room and coffee available, two of the things I hope to find wherever I spend the night.

Only in Neligh: Roadside America also has an entry for the Deluxe Motel. According to their story, Michael Landon, then starring in the TV staple Bonanza, was the headliner at the local county fair in 1962 and spent the night at the Deluxe Motel. Now there’s a large hole in the side of the wall in Room 10 with a plaque that says after he checked out, they noticed the damaged wall. “What may have started out as a slam on a fancy-pants Hollywood star has obviously morphed into civic pride for the late great star.”

Next stop: Verne Drive In Theatre, Luverne MN.