Category Archives: Video

June 23: Midway Drive In Theatre, Sterling IL

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It’s Day 174 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It took only about an hour and a half to drive east from Delmar IA to the Midway Drive In Theatre northeast of Sterling IL.

I could be wrong about this, but I believe that every Midway drive-in was named for being about halfway between two cities. For this one, those cities are Sterling and Dixon IL. It opened in 1950, probably by John Kontos and L. G. Rorer, and claims to have the oldest standing screen in the state.

Mike and Mia Kerz, founders of the Flashback Weekend Movie Conventions in Rosemont, have owned the Midway since 2007, and they’re proud of their restoration work. As the Midway’s About page put it, “From the classic retro ‘spaceship’ ticket booth, to the full service concession stand, a trip to the Midway is like entering a time capsule to the 1950’s.” You can see the playground equipment in front of the screen in the YouTube drone video I’ve embedded above.

During Honda’s Project Drive-In voting in 2013, a string of horror film luminaries encouraged voters to choose the Midway to win a digital projector. Svengoolie, host of a weekly movie series on MeTV, posted the request on his web site. Robert Englund, George Romero and others added their support in a YouTube video for the Midway. In the end, Honda awarded the projectors to other drive-ins, but the Kerzs were able to switch to digital by the end of the 2014 season.

With all the single-screen drive-ins out there, I should have expected this would happen at some point. I’m really happy that my planning, combined with the onset of summer, has given me 22 consecutive active nights this month, but this is the fifth straight night watching Cars 3. It occurs to me that it’s an odd movie in that there’s no true antagonist. There are a few complaining jerks, but no character ever tries to prevent Lightning McQueen from reaching his goals.

Miles Today / Total:  71 / 22329 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Cars 3 / 90

Nearby Restaurant: Over in Dixon, the home of comfort food is Flynnie’s Diner. I had a healthy breakfast here, honest, with an egg white omelette with spinach, green peppers, mushrooms and onions. The potato cakes that came with it were probably healthy too. And I had to try a fresh cinnamon roll.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Since Sterling didn’t really have any hotels, I went in the other direction from the Midway to Dixon, where there’s a Comfort Inn. My room had the now-usual set of microwave, mini-fridge, coffee maker, and wifi. The indoor pool had a small slide and a mural of the beach. Breakfast had the usual waffle iron and Comfort Inn standards plus some scrambled eggs and fruit. Pretty good deal!

Only in Sterling Dixon: There’s a replica of the Berlin Wall, complete with graffiti and a statue of an East German armed guard, at the Reagan Peace Park here. Dixon is Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home, and a Bulgarian immigrant donated the Wings of Peace and Freedom sculpture to the City of Dixon.

Next stop: Blue Moonlight Drive-In Theater, Galesburg IL.

June 22: 61 Drive In Theatre, Delmar IA

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It’s Day 173 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I left Wisconsin behind, driving a bit less than two hours via the fastest route, through Dubuque, to reach the 61 Drive In Theatre about a mile west of Delmar IA. The much larger town of Maquoketa is just about four miles north of the 61.

The 61 Drive-In opened around 1950 and has been in operation ever since, taking time out to repair screens destroyed by storms in 1960 and 1995. It’s a small, narrow drive-in surrounded by farmland and has a capacity of 180 cars.

According to an article last year in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, owner Dennis Voy bought the 61 in 1972 “over a cup of coffee.” That’s when he started the free “train rides” for kids, as shown in the Gazette’s YouTube video embedded above.

Voy also told the Gazette something that I’ve noticed over the past decade or two. “People always ask me if they still come in the trunks — to my knowledge, no one does anymore,” he said.

I should buy some shares of Disney. After seven paid viewings, mostly last month, of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, this was my fifth round with Cars 3. Even in those GotG days, I never saw the movie four nights in a row as I just did here. It kept me thinking about the Cars universe – we see a few children, but do they grow? Are they manufactured (as in 2005’s Robots) or created organically? I’ll keep watching for clues.

Miles Today / Total:  95 / 22258 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Cars 3 / 89

Nearby Restaurant: Of course I was attracted to Flapjacks Family Restaurant in Maquoketa. On one hand, it’s got a great salad bar. On the other, it serves breakfast all day. Breakfast is healthy, right? I chose the Maquoketa Meal Deal with bacon, eggs, sausage, and flapjacks of course. Maybe my next meal will just be salad.

Where I Virtually Stayed: After staying in one chain hotel or another so many nights, I was able to spend the night somewhere historic. The Decker Hotel in downtown Maquoketa has been around since 1875, but it still works. There was no fridge this time, but there was a flat-screen TV and wifi, plus I got a pass to the nearby YMCA if I wanted to work out. There was coffee in the morning, and I saved enough cash by staying here that finding breakfast was no problem.

Only in Delmar Maquoketa: There are any number of museums, sideshows, and tourist traps with two-headed critters, but the Jackson County Museum is the first I’ve heard of with a two-butted lamb. There are 22,000 square feet of exhibits over two floors, but the player pianos won’t stick in your head the same way. If you can’t make it in person, Roadside America has a photo.

Next stop: Midway Drive In Theatre, Sterling IL.

Video: Big Mo Zapped By Lightning

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The Monetta Drive In Theatre, typically called “The Big Mo,” in Monetta SC was hit by a lightning strike Sunday night, knocking out two of its three screens. WJBF, Augusta’s News Leader, ran a story last night talking about owner Richard Boaz’s work to get everything running again.

The power surge disabled the air conditioner and two projectors, and Boaz has been tracking down digital projector parts. He’s also waiting for a technician from Virginia to do a complete inspection of the equipment, hopeful that no more damages are discovered.

Insurance might cover some of the damage. In any event, the plan is to fix the air conditioner so at least the main screen will be available tonight. Although I wish the occasion was happier, it’s always nice to share some video to see what the drive-in looks like today.