Category Archives: Ohio

July 20: Auto Vue Drive-In, Sidney OH

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It’s Day 201 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. My route still zigzags back and forth more than a perfect mileage-saving trip, but I’m doing it to catch drive-ins when they’re open. In this case, it was barely a half-hour drive from the Starlight Drive-In, between St. Henry and Maria Stein OH, and the Auto Vue Drive-In in Sidney OH.

According to its (unsuccessful) 2014 Kickstarter page, the Auto Vue was built in 1956 by the Nagelspach brothers. The Rees family bought it in 1987, and now daughter Teresa Covington runs the place. “The first season ended in 1987 with a thunderstorm ripping the concession roof off, requiring the building to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up – but we did it. In 1994, during a storm, a third of our steel screen was ‘curled down’, just like a sardine can, but again we rebuilt,” she wrote.

The Auto Vue has an unusual story behind its conversion to digital projection. In February 2015, at a drive-in conference in Florida, Covington asked Transit Drive-In (Lockport NY) owner Rick Cohen for fundraising suggestions. Cohen’s response was to start walking north from Kissimmee to raise awareness and money for the Auto Vue. He made it over 250 miles before a sprained ankle ended the walk, but not before he raised $8000. The Auto-vue took out a loan for the rest.

I was writing about the Auto Vue just last October, when it hosted the premiere of the regional promo Moving A Nation: Made in Shelby County. Then this year it opened earlier than usual so it could show the live-action Beauty and the Beast.

Thank goodness for drone photography! I’ve seen more aerial drive-in footage shot in the past year than in the 30 years before it. I embedded a decent view of the Auto Vue made by Jack Feazel and posted to YouTube.

This was just a picture-perfect drive-in night. The temperature was 80 and dropping at showtime, and the rain held off long enough for me to enjoy a Throwback Thursday showing of Smokey and the Bandit. That movie is such a fun 70s romp! And the concession stand had chocolate-covered frozen bananas, my new favorite pseudo-healthy dessert. It sort of balanced out the hot funnel cake I also got there.

Miles Today / Total:  26 / 25552 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Smokey and the Bandit / 117

Nearby Restaurant: For another great slice of retro, the place to go in Sidney is The Spot To Eat. It has a neon sign on the outside and red vinyl diner furnishings within. It serves up the classic burgers, fries, rings, and shakes at very reasonable prices, put the pies make it feel even more like a diner. My favorite, of course, remains pecan pie.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I guess it’s been a while since I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, so I took advantage of the one on Sidney. It’s a nice modern place, like most HIEs, with the full set of room amenities. Breakfast reminded me that I’d been missing out on those warm cinnamon rolls.

Only in Sidney: Several towns in the region were heavily influenced by the Miami and Erie Canal in the early 19th century. It took $8 million and 20 years for the state of Ohio to complete the project, just before the advent of railroads make it quickly obsolete. Just down the road from Sidney, you can see the canal’s restored Lock 1 plus four unrestored locks all in one place, called Lockington.

Next stop: Van-Del Drive-In, Middle Point OH.

July 19: Starlight Drive-In, Maria Stein OH

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It’s Day 200 (yay!) of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I was back across the border, driven by the need to catch a drive-in on the right day of the week. In this case, it took me less than two hours to go from the Auburn Garrett Drive In Theatre, just north of Garrett IN, to the Starlight Drive-In, between St. Henry and Maria Stein OH.

According to Cinema Treasures, the Starlight Auto Theatre opened in June 1948, built and operated by the Feltz brothers from Cassella OH. It had a capacity of 300 cars and a 50 feet high by 46 feet wide screen tower. (It looks wider now.) Eventually, the Starlight converted from in-car speakers to an AM/FM sound system.

After having various owners over the years, the Starlight Auto Theatre was sold to Joanne Myers and her son Dan in 1987. Joanne started working at the auto theatre in 1968.

In early 2015, Dan Myers launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a digital projector. Myers wrote, “We are a family owned and operated theater, for the last 28 years we’ve had our drive-in opened every summer with great movies and many memories about going to drive-in theaters and watching the shows under the stars.” Within a couple of months, he had found enough cash to lease a projector for a year.

Just a month ago, Myers issued an update, noting “we are open for the third season since the upgrade.” Other upkeep projects around the Starlight have been delayed because the new projector required so much cash, so they’re still looking for donations. “If you’re ever in the area of grand Lake St. Mary’s in Ohio stop in and say hi.”

Opening night for the Starlight was delayed a week when the lot flooded after a heavy rain. Glad I missed that! This place has an odd schedule of Friday to Sunday plus Wednesday, which is why I scheduled this visit for a Wednesday night. I haven’t seen the latest Transformer episode very often, though that’s probably a good thing.

Miles Today / Total:  89 / 25526 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Transformers: The Last Knight / 116

Nearby Restaurant: Well I just had to try the Korner Kafe in Maria Stein. You can just guess where it is – on the corner at the intersection of the two highways that go through town. On the other hand, the name sounds like a coffee shop but it’s really more of a sports bar. I grabbed a sandwich and a beer and was ready to face a night at the Starlight.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Starlight is about halfway between St. Henry to the west and Maria Stein to the east, but the closest chain hotels are 10 miles north in Celina on the other side of Grand Lake. The Best Western Celina greeted me with cookies in the evening and an adequate breakfast in the morning. In between, my room had the full set of amenities, and that was all I needed.

Only in Maria Stein: Devout Catholics visiting the region will definitely want to make a pilgrimage to the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics, which houses over 1,000 relics of the Saints and the True Cross. The Sisters of the Precious Blood arrived here in 1844 and started building the first chapel and convent. Now there are several chapels, a heritage museum, and the Pilgrim Gift Shop.

Next stop: Auto Vue Drive-In, Sidney OH.

July 16: Field of Dreams Drive-In, Liberty Center OH

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It’s Day 197 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I paid for my last-minute detour to Michigan’s upper peninsula, driving six and a half hours from Manistique to a drive-in that’s only open on weekends, the Field of Dreams Drive-In northeast of Liberty Center OH.

Just last month, The Toledo Blade ran a great, long article about the Field of Dreams and its owners, Rod and Donna Saunders. They had lamented the closing of the Star Auto Theater of Wauseon OH, where Rod grew up. The Star shut down in 1999, and the Saunders were reminded of its passing whenever they drove by and saw its abandoned screen.

“Finally, after a couple of years of hearing her say that, I said somebody ought to open one,” Rod said.

After researching some other sites, they settled on the most logical – the backyard of their home. It required plowing down acres of cornfields, so it was natural to name it the Field of Dreams after the 1989 Kevin Costner movie.

This place is really remote, so it doesn’t have to worry with a lot of light pollution. As the Blade put it, “The theater has been known to fool more than one GPS or cell phone, and — when corn’s about ready to be harvested — it’s easy to drive by the site without knowing it.”

The Saunders added a second Field of Dreams Drive-In in Tiffin OH, about 70 miles away, in 2011 after learning that its previous owner was about to shut it down. I’ve got more drive-ins in Michigan and Indiana left to visit, but I should get back to the Tiffin in early August.

Thank goodness the Field of Dreams has two screens, giving me a chance to dodge Despicable Me 3 this night. War for the Planet of the Apes was the early movie on Screen 2, and it makes a good drive-in movie, but I bet I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d seen the movies that led up to it.

Miles Today / Total:  420 / 25305 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: War for the Planet of the Apes / 113

Nearby Restaurant: This was my first exposure to Pisanello’s Pizza, a local chain centered around Toledo. After the decadent food I’d had the previous couple of days, I grounded myself with a large Italian salad. Then I smelled the pizza, and compromised on a small pizza sub sandwich. That way, I had my pepperoni and lettuce too.

Where I Virtually Stayed: There’s no place to stay in Liberty Center. The closest hotels to the drive-ins are in Napoleon, and the Comfort Inn there took care of me for the night. My room had the full range of amenities, breakfast was solid Comfort Inn quality with a waffle maker, and the location was quiet away from the highway. Just what I needed after a couple of days of hard driving.

Only in Liberty Center: Just next door in Napoleon OH, the Campbell’s Soup plant has a water tower decorated like a Campbell’s Soup can, and a grounded stationary 20-foot tower painted to look just like a huge can of Campbell’s tomato soup. That’s it!

Next stop: Capri Drive-In Theater, Coldwater MI.