Category Archives: South Dakota

May 28: Pheasant Drive-In, Mobridge SD

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Drive-in screen at sunset

photo from the Pheasant Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 148 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I spent most of my day in North Dakota, a state with no active drive-ins, as I drove for six hours between Warren on the northwest edge of Minnesota to the Pheasant Drive-In in the northern South Dakotan town on Mobridge.

The story goes that, in the 1950s, the original Pheasant Drive-In was built close to the Missouri River. So close that when the Oahe Dam formed Lake Oahe, the drive-in was rebuilt at its current location in 1960. But construction on the dam started in 1948, so why would anyone build a new drive-in where they knew it was going to washed away? Anyway, it’s still very close to the Missouri River; you can see it from the lot.

Ron Maier bought the place in 1976. In the middle of the 2012 season, a storm knocked down the screen, and the Pheasant was closed for six weeks until it was repaired.

According to a September 2015 article in Cooperative Connections (pdf), Maier said business happened to pick up after he converted to digital projection. “This past year has been excellent, just phenomenal,’’ he said. “We’re seeing a lot of repeat customers, a lot of people bringing their grandchildren. It’s maybe some nostalgia. They kind of remember the good old days.’’

At the end of last season, the Pheasant had a smart, interesting promotion. Patrons could bring any size container up to a gallon (!) and get it filled with almost any fountain soda for $1 “while supplies last.” What a great way to expend your syrup before it goes out of date over the winter break!

I was lucky that the Pheasant had just opened for the season this weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 became my most-watched movie so far this year with my fifth viewing on this night.

Miles Today / Total:  387 / 18903 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 / 67

Nearby Restaurant: What could be better than a pizza buffet? Maybe a pizza buffet with fried chicken. That’s what they’re known for at Pizza Ranch. Sure, the buffet also has salad and veggies and other healthy stuff like that, but after another long day of driving, I just wanted easy, tasty food. This worked.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I went across the bridge to the Grand River Casino & Resort for the night. My room wasn’t as fancy as some casino resorts, but it had a fridge, a microwave, and a coffee maker. The rate was also better than a lot of resorts.

Only in Mobridge: According to Roadside America, residents of Mobridge claim that the bones of Native American leader Sitting Bull were stolen from his original grave in Fort Yates ND on April 8, 1953. They encased the bones in a steel vault embedded in a 20-ton block of concrete, then buried the whole thing on top of a very visible bluff overlooking Mobridge from across the Missouri River, and built billboards to direct tourists to the site.

Next stop: Roy’s Black Hills Twin Drive-In, Hermosa SD.

Drive-In survival: A tale of two Starlites

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Here’s a depressing story about the Starlite Drive-In (Mitchell SD) which we’ve discussed previously. According to the Argus Leader and the theater’s web site, the Starlite will close “forever” after the last show this Saturday, September 21. You know, it takes optimism and an overwhelming dedication to survival to invest in digital projection equipment for a seasonal business with modest profits. I don’t think this Starlite’s owner wanted to take on that huge debt just to keep it alive. That’s his business, and he’s not alone, but it’s still darned sad to us drive-in fans.

It was so sad that I just had to find something else for balance. Let’s shift our gaze to a different Starlite Drive-In, almost due east from Mitchell to Grand Bend, Lambton Shores, where that little Ontario peninsula reaches down from the rest of Canada. The Starlite Drive-In there is excited about reopening next May with new digital equipment. The Sarnia Observer tells us that owner Allan Barnes will stay open through October using the old film projectors. “I’m pretty much the last hold out on film, which probably annoyed the customers a couple of nights ago when the film broke,” he said.

Barnes told the Observer that he didn’t think customers would notice the difference next year, but I disagree. From my experience, digital projection has noticeably brighter colors and sharper details, especially in the corners. I’ll bet that Barnes will discover this for himself next spring. But according to the Observer, “He even plans on keeping his old projection equipment so he can keep showing the drive-in’s collection of film shorts and cartoons that he jokes, ‘we abuse, or entertain, our customers with every night.'” That’s a great reason for keeping the old equipment around even while doing what needs to be done to keep a decades-old institution alive.

Five South Dakota drive-ins may close soon

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decrepit drive-in screen in South Dakota

The Starlite Drive-In near Aberdeen SD as it looked in 1987. photo by Earl Leatherberry, used by permission

The Daily Republic of Mitchell SD published a long, thoughtful, well-researched article about the state of drive-in theaters there, and the news is rather gloomy.

According to the article, “Of South Dakota’s seven drive-in theaters, only two confirmed they will be open next summer. Miller’s Midway Drive-In and Hermosa’s Roy’s Black Hills Drive-In are already using digital equipment”. The other five are the Starlite (which we discussed a few weeks ago) in Mitchell, the Hilltop in Gregory, the Pheasant in Mobridge, the Pheasant City in Redfield, and the Winner in Winner, all of which “either say their future is uncertain, or have already said they will close.”

I can’t do justice to the lengthy Daily Republic article, which is full of quotes from the people who own and operate these drive-ins. I’ll give you just one of them, from 70-year-old Tom Gallup, who bought the Pheasant City in 1972. “It’s more of a community service,” he said. “When you get to the end of the year, you hope you’ve paid the bills and you can supply your utilities over the winter. You hang in there and try to provide a community service because once it’s gone, it’s gone.” For the rest of it, including a photo of the old, dead Pix Drive-In in Winner, plus the perspectives of the owner of the drive-in that just opened last year, you really should go read it!