According to Oregon Live, a wind storm last week knocked down part of a building at Newburg OR’s 99W Drive-in. The good news, if you can call it that, is that the building was an indoor theater that had been closed for 10 years.
The drive-in launched a GoFundMe page with the hope of raising money to demolish and clean up the damaged structure, which is connected to the drive-in’s concession stand. As of the article’s publication, it had raised about $3600.
photo from the 99W Drive-In web site
It’s Day 129 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Oregon’s another one of those states that look smaller on a map. Sure, I needed to travel almost from border to border heading from Milton-Freewater to Newberg, but it takes driving it to appreciate the four and a half hours it took to get to the 99W Drive-in.
The 99W opened in 1953, and it’s been operated by the Francis family ever since. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places “as a rare, remaining, intact example of a drive-in theater.” Owner Brian Francis told KOIN, “People will come in and call it ‘retro,’ which is a little incorrect. It’s actually original. It’s not recreated 50s, it is from 1953.”
The 99W caught a break in 2013 when it was one of the first five winners of a digital projector in Honda’s Project Drive-In contest. Last year, USA Today readers voted it the Best Drive-In in the USA.
A March 2016 article in The Newberg Graphic said that 2015 was was the highest-grossing season that Francis had ever seen. Despite similar weather, he said that crowds before Memorial Day tend to be better than after Labor Day. “There’s a gene in people and the idea of going to a drive-in switches off with them.”
The folks who run the 99W have a nice sense of humor. Check out their rules page, which tells patrons not to start barbecue fires and also addresses the questions that so many FAQs overlook, such as “Are you conveniently located from the Las Vegas Strip?” and “I think the moon is staring at me.” (The answer: “The moon IS staring at you. And it is JUDGING you.”)
Too bad such an historic, top-notch place was closed on a Tuesday night. The 99W is open Fridays through Sundays this time of year.
Miles Today / Total: 263 / 14314 (rounded to the nearest mile)
Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 59
Nearby Restaurant: There are a lot of excellent, upscale, expensive restaurants in Newberg. Then there’s Burgerville USA, which is a lot easier on the wallet and with food that’s a much better match to the 99W’s retro 50s-original vibe. Burgerville is part of a regional chain boasting great cheeseburgers using nearby Tillimook cheese. Great milkshakes too.
Where I Virtually Stayed: My choice for the night was the Best Western Newberg Inn for a good combination of nice and not too expensive. My king bed room had a coffee maker and a fridge. The wifi worked fine, and breakfast included biscuits and gravy and hard-boiled eggs. This place was just what I needed.
Only in Newberg: 
Next stop: Skyline Drive-In Theater, Shelton WA.
It’s Day 128 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. The fastest way to get from La Grande OR to Milton-Freewater wasn’t the shortest way, but an hour and a half later I arrived at the Milton-Freewater Drive-In Theater.
I was fortunate to find another drive-in video profile, this time for the M-F. (It’s sometimes called the Milton-Freewater, sometimes the M-F, and I’ve got to admit that three characters are a lot easier to type.)
The M-F was built in 1953 and was bought by the Spiess family in 1961. Big bills came in a cluster about 50 years later. The M-F sustained terrible damage (as seen here) during a windstorm in January 2008. “That was the first year we were in charge of day-to-day operations after my parents semi-retired from running it,” Mike Spiess told Ruralite. In 2011, Oregon drinking water laws required them to drill a new well, and they bought a digital projector in 2013.
In 2014, at that time of the Ruralite article, Mike and his wife Lorie owned the M-F and also held down day jobs. “The drive-in is our family hobby,” he said.
The M-F is open Fridays through Sundays this time of year, so I was on my own on a Monday night.
Miles Today / Total: 77 / 14051 (rounded to the nearest mile)
Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 59
Nearby Restaurant: I’m glad I got to Wee bit O’Heathers in time for lunch. They serve the kind of thin hash browns that mix well with other vegetables, and the cinnamon rolls were amazing. It was kind of crowded, but you know that’s always a good sign for a small-town restaurant.
Where I Virtually Stayed: There are some chain hotels across the border in Walla Walla WA, but I wanted to stay in town and same money, so I spent the night at the Out West Motel. Clean, if not fancy, with a fridge and a coffee maker in my room. Sometimes that’s all I need.
Only in Milton-Freewater:
Next stop: 99W Drive-in, Newberg OR.