Category Archives: Video

May 31: Winner Drive-In Theatre, Winner SD

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It’s Day 151 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. After my brief stop near Carhenge in Alliance NE, I drove about four hours to return to South Dakota. My destination was the Winner Drive-In Theatre, just southeast of Winner SD.

As you can see from the YouTube video above, the Winner features a curved screen, a grassy playground area, and rows of outdoor seating.

The Winner reopened last Friday for the 2017 season. It was built in 1950 by Harvey Fast, then widened in 1955. The Fasts added that playground equipment in 1960.

Betty Fast, Harvey’s widow and owner of the Winner, told the Rapid City Journal in 2014 why she bought a digital projector that year. “It is an expensive switch, but it’s something that I’ve enjoyed doing,” she said. “I want to do it and the community needs it.”

“The people that come, they aren’t my customers, they’re all my friends,” she said.

In 2015, KWYR had a great video tribute including interviews with Betty Fast and other drive-in workers. That’s where I learned that Winner has a tradition of handing out Tootsie Rolls at the ticket booth, and that the drive-in uses what is only its third popcorn popper.

Some drive-ins are only open on weekends, others are open seven days a week. Then there are drive-ins such as the Winner, which is open Fridays through Mondays. All of which left me out of luck on a Wednesday night, but it gave me time to look ahead and plan the next couple of weeks. It’ll take a few more miles, but I’ll keep the dark nights to a minimum this summer. I hope.

Miles Today / Total:  227 / 19520 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 68

Nearby Restaurant: The Holiday House is a fine local restaurant that serves a little bit of everything. I had the broasted chicken, but any place that serves steak and shrimp and beer already has a lot going for it.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Although I was amused to read the Super 8 here advertise itself as “within walking distance” (1.5 miles) from the drive-in, I went upscale and chose the Holiday Inn Express instead. A clean, comfortable room in the evening and a hot breakfast in the morning. I’ve been limiting myself to just one cinnamon roll each time I stay at a HIE. This demonstrates willpower.

Only in Winner: According to Wikipedia, Winner is the county seat for an adjacent county as well as its own, Tripp County. Okay, technically, it’s just the administrative center of Todd County, but you get the idea. And Winner was named for the fact the town had emerged the “winner” as Tripp County’s most successful trading point.

Next stop: Hilltop Drive-Inn Theatre, Gregory SD.

May 21: Amusement Park Drive-in Theatre, Billings MT

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It’s Day 141 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I drove across state lines for the sixth straight day, but it was the shortest of that bunch. In just an hour and a half, I motored from Powell WY to the Amusement Park Drive-in Theatre in Billings MT.

According to the Amusement Park’s history page, currently inactive but captured by the Internet Archive, the screen, marquee and sign are from the Park Drive-In, which operated in Cody WY from 1946 to 2003. Owners Riley and Vickie Cooke rebuilt the screen and opened in Billings in July 2005.

Like the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa, only smaller, the Amusement Park uses both sides of a single screen for two viewing areas. The front projection booth is a 1909 caboose, and the back projection booth is a 1938 circus truck purchased for $300.

There are amusement park rides at the base of the screen, along with a small mini-golf course, but it’s unclear whether they’re still in operation.

The Amusement Park installed two digital projectors in 2013, and Billings’ News Leader KULR was on hand, resulting in the video embedded above.

Riley Cooke told the Billings Gazette in 2015 that he was trying to recover the cost of those digital projectors. “It was go digital or go dark,” Cooke said. “I figure I’m not a businessman, I’m a showman, like P.T. Barnum or Buffalo Bill, but didn’t they die destitute or drunk?”

At this time of year, the Amusement Park is only open Fridays and Saturdays, leaving me out of luck on a Sunday night.

Miles Today / Total:  85 / 16636 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 63

Nearby Restaurant: Oh yes, I was ready for this. The Oktoberfest German Restaurant serves up the kind of cuisine I hadn’t been able to find for weeks. The “Montana Schnitzel” tasted just like the pork cutlet schnitzels I’ve grown to love. Served with Hofbräu Original beer, my favorite. What a great way to spend a Sunday!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Even though it’s supposed to be nice, I’m too superstitious to stay at a place called the Boothill Inn. Instead, I chose a good old Hilton Garden Inn, which is closer to the Amusement Park rather than an old cemetery. My room had a fridge, a microwave, and good wifi. There was a bar for unwinding in the evening and a free (for us Hilton Gold folks) breakfast in the morning. It left me ready for another trip across the border.

Only in Billings: Over a month ago, in Cuba MO, we found one of the old shoes of Robert Wadlow, the World’s Tallest Man. There’s another one in Billings at Al’s Bootery. Unlike that Cuba shoe store, Al’s opened after Wadlow passed away, so it didn’t get the shoe during one of his promotional tours. How did they acquire it? I just don’t know. Update: From the horse’s mouth: Al’s Bootery was a spinoff from Depner’s Shoe Repair that goes back into the early 1900’s. The shoe was acquired by someone at Depners then handed off to Al Jenkins who started Al’s Bootery and Repair Shop in 1946.

Next stop: Clearwater Drive-In Theater, Kyle SK.

Video: Goochland Attracts Richmond News Crew

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The anchorman from Good Morning Richmond (VA) told his audience this morning about the great time he had at the Goochland Drive-In Theater about 45 minutes away in Hadensville. Thanks to WRIC, Richmond’s News Leader, I have the full report embedded here.

Morgan Dean spoke with John Heidel, owner of the 8-year-old Goochland. “I wanted my kids to know what it was like to grow up going to a drive-in theater,” Heidel said.

Back in the studio, Dean said he and his photographer took their sons with them and “had such a great time.” He brings a boom box with him to listen to the movie through the theater’s FM broadcast. Here’s hoping that plenty of Richmond viewers will be inspired to experience the Goochland for themselves.