Category Archives: Wisconsin

June 18: Starlite 14 Drive In, Richland Center WI

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Starlite 14 marquee with screen in background

Photo from the Starlite 14 Facebook page

It’s Day 169 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I had to add a little zigzagging to catch weekend-only drive-ins when they’re open. In this case, it means driving almost three hours from Chilton WI to the Starlite 14 Drive In just southeast of Richland Center WI.

The Starlite opened as the Highway 14 Drive-In in 1952, owned by Sarah Eskin and Ervin Morris. It was renamed the Starlite 14 in the mid-1980s, and according to Cinema Treasures, Bill and Lisa Muth bought the place in 1988. You can see Bill Muth in this November 2013 YouTube video explaining the need to get money for a digital projector. By early 2014, the new system was in place, and the Starlite 14 keeps rolling.

The 2016 young adult novel The Giant Smugglers features the Starlite 14 by name. It’s the only place where the protagonist can bring his 20-foot friend to watch a movie.

And that’s pretty much all I could find about the Starlite 14. One blogger speculated that the original Highway 14 marquee blew down, possibly explaining the name change. I saw a 1975 photo of the original wooden screen (with room for offices on the ground floor) on the Starlite’s Facebook page, and I wonder whether a storm knocked it out too, or instead, since the current metal screen looks fairly modern.

I love it that the Starlite 14 has both FM radio sound and the classic (original?) in-car speakers. Tonight marked back-to-back viewings of Captain Underpants. I’ve had worse this year.

Miles Today / Total:  154 / 21970 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Captain Underpants / 85

Nearby Restaurant: A couple of places I tried – the Cheese Cellar and the Empire Grill – were closed because it was Sunday. At least the Center Cafe was still open for a late lunch. It’s the kind of comfort food place where I could find a hot turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes. I knew that would keep me going until I could reach the Starlite 14 concession stand.

Where I Virtually Stayed: I was pretty happy with my stay at the Ramada here. The price was great, I had a mini fridge and microwave in my room, and solid wifi. In lieu of breakfast, I got a coupon for the attached Country Kitchen restaurant, but the room rate was low enough that it was still a great deal.

Only in Richland Center: Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright was born at Richland Center in 1867. The A. D. German Warehouse, completed in 1921, is the only building designed by Wright in the city and is an early example of his Mayan Revival style.

Next stop: Big Sky Twin Drive-In Theatres, Wisconsin Dells WI.

June 16: Field of Scenes, Freedom WI

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It’s Day 167 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I back down Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula, circled Green Bay, and continued southwest to the Field of Scenes in Freedom WI. The drive took less than two hours.

Tim and Brenda VandeWettering built the Field of Scenes from the ground up, surrounded by farmland, in 2003. The drive-in switched to digital projection in 2014 and added a second screen just last year. According to the Field of Scenes About Us page, their pictured but unnamed(!) children are taking over operations beginning this summer. (Don’t worry, a story last year in the Appleton Post-Crescent identified them as Taylor VandeWettering and his sister Brittni LeNoble.)

I included a 2013 report from WLUK, Green Bay’s News Leader, which had the questionable idea of doing a live morning-show remote of this drive-in theater. (A recorded segment from the night before would have looked much better!) Owner Tim was game, hauling out a wide sampling of concession stand treats, as you can see in the YouTube video above.

Mini-golf returned this summer, and there are a couple of hoops for patrons who bring their own basketballs. Or you can kill time before the movie the way I did, at the adjacent Fieldhouse Sports Bar.

Cars 3 is a perfect, family-friendly film to show at a drive-in. The original Cars, which features a drive-in at the end, was the last movie I saw at the Cinderella Twin, which was the closest drive-in to Carload World Headquarters in Denver. I wonder how many times I’ll be seeing it again over the next couple of weeks.

Miles Today / Total:  93 / 21785 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Cars 3 / 83

Nearby Restaurant: I took advantage of the Friday night fish fry and grand buffet at the Colonial House Supper Club. There were frog legs (yes, I know, technically not a fish) and perch and crab-stuffed mushrooms and so much more. I even ate some vegetables first so I could feel self-righteously healthy as I plowed through all the meats.

Where I Virtually Stayed: As Kris Kristofferson almost put it, Freedom’s just another word for nowhere left to stay. With no hotels in town, I drove nine miles to Kimberly for my first Hilton Garden Inn in a while. The price was particularly nice for an HGI, the amenities were their typically comfortable standard, and breakfast was free for me as a Hilton Gold member. Woohoo!

Only in Freedom: Just eight miles south of the Field of Scenes, you’ll find the authentic Dutch Little Chute Windmill. Authentic as in, it was built in the Netherlands from an 1850s design, then disassembled and shipped to its new home in Little Chute WI. A local nonprofit operates the windmill “as a tribute to Midwest’s Dutch heritage”.

Next stop: Chilton Twilight Drive-In Theater, Chilton WI.

June 15: Skyway Drive-In Theatre, Fish Creek WI

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It’s Day 166 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I took my first-ever trip up Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula, having driven from Shawano through Green Bay to the Skyway Drive-In Theatre northwest of Fish Creek and right across the highway from Peninsula State Park. The drive took less that two hours.

The Door County Pulse wrote that the Skyway first opened in July 1950, owned by Orville and Elton Voeks. (Elton sold his share to Orville in 1955.) According to the Pulse, “The screen was 46 x 50, the same as today. The Voeks showed foresight in building the screen to face the south, so a late-setting sun wouldn’t hit it. … The orange, yellow and pink marquee they built is still in use.”

Orville sold the Skway to Darrell “Wild Bill” and Eileen Jacobson in 1981. Their kids, Jeffrey and Dale Jacobson, took over in 1999.

The Skyway’s got a great history page on its web site. The site says that in times past, “prior to the movie, Orville or (Darrell) would drive up and down the rows in a 1955 Chevy, which was designed to release a mosquito-repelling fog.” That must have been a sight!

Speaking of old sights, I’ve embedded a 10-year-old YouTube video of a Door County “Explore the Door” travel show that celebrated the Skyway. The projector has changed, (digital was installed in 2013), but most of it’s still the same.

Honestly, Wonder Woman makes a very good movie to see at the drive-in. This marked the fifth time I’ve seen it in 10 days, including the second night in a row. That’s more than I would recommend.

Miles Today / Total:  105 / 21692 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Wonder Woman / 82

Nearby Restaurant: The White Gull Inn‘s cherry-stuffed French toast was a finalist in Good Morning America‘s Best Breakfast competition, so I was really glad the place also served breakfast at lunch. I had a half-order with some meat, because that really is a lot of French toast. Great stuff!

Where I Virtually Stayed: There’s a nice little place called Julie’s Park Cafe & Motel right across the street from the entrance to Peninsula State Park. There was good wifi and a fridge in my room.

Only in Fish Creek: Just six miles up Highway 42 from the Skyway is Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant, which has goats on its roof. It felt like deja vu because a few months ago I visited a place in Georgia called Goats on the Roof. Al Johnson’s doesn’t include them in the title, but you can watch them live on his Goat Cam.

Next stop: Field of Scenes, Freedom WI.