June 6: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA

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It’s Day 157 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Thanks to I-90, it took me just a little over an hour to drive from Luverne MN to the Superior 71 Drive-In Theater just south of the border in Spirit Lake IA.

The Superior 71 is a single-screen (55 by 90 feet), 21st century drive-in with a capacity of about 360 cars. It might accommodate another couple hundred in nearby grassy areas when they’re dry.

As described by a fine video from KARE, Minneapolis’ News Leader, Gaylord Kemp built the place in 2008 after he pried 10 acres of farmland away from a corn grower, convinced local officials to change the zoning, and found an intact screen eight miles away at a drive-in shuttered for nearly 40 years.

“We began looking for land in 2005,” Kemp told the Sioux City Journal this week. He found this 10-acre cornfield in Superior Township just before land prices went up. He found his screen practically next door on Highway 9, where the old Chief Drive-In stood, abandonded, west of Estherville. Kemp built a two-story projection, concessions and restrooms building.

“It’s a perfect retirement business,” Kemp said. “The drive-in creates an atmosphere everyone enjoys. What kind of job can you work at where people come in and they’re all happy because they can relax and watch a movie?”

I was really happy to find a Tuesday night drive-in movie, and it’s great to be making progress towards my goal of 200 live nights this year. This was my fifth active night in a row, the first time that’s happened since February. More than all that, I was happy to finally get a chance to see the Wonder Woman movie that has been getting so much buzz. It’s a really good movie, especially for drive-ins.

Miles Today / Total:  76 / 20247 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Wonder Woman / 73

Nearby Restaurant: I love finding comfort food, and even the name Family Diner just, well it doesn’t scream, but it quietly assures you of comfort food. Where else can you get a good hot beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy except at a true diner? And don’t get me started on the huge slices of meringue pie!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Another small town, another Super 8 motel. I guess I’m racking up a lot of virtual Wyndham Rewards points so I can stay at even more Super 8s for free when I’m done with this odyssey. Anyway, the Spirit Lake Super 8 had freshly remodeled rooms with mini-fridges, microwaves, and solid wifi, plus there’s that carb-packing Super 8 continental breakfast (with biscuits and gravy!) to get me on the road in the morning.

Only in Spirit Lake: Just a little south of the drive-in is Arnolds Park Amusement Park, which has been in operation in one form or another since 1889, when Wesley Arnold built a 60-foot tall tobaggan-style waterslide. It includes the Legend roller coaster, built in 1930 and one of the oldest wooden coasters still in operation.

Next stop: Valle Drive in, Newton IA.

LA Weekly Shows How, Where To Enjoy SoCal Drive-Ins

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Happy National Drive-In Movie Day, as we celebrate the anniversary of Richard Hollingshead’s 1933 opening day! In an article in today’s edition of LA Weekly, April Wolfe provides one of the better primers for rookie drive-in patrons. In the process, she also adds a bit of history as she points out some of the drive-ins that aren’t that far away from the Los Angeles area.

Start by planning to arrive an hour before the first feature. “Pack as if you’re going to a picnic in the park.” That includes bringing “folding lawn chairs; a blanket; a battery-powered boombox with FM radio; and” (drive-in owners, skip to the next paragraph) “a picnic basket filled with La Croix, hummus, pitas, olives, multiple cheeses, fruit and baguette.” Wolfe also definitely advises buying food and drinks from the concession stand, but I know some readers are triggered by the mention of outside food.

Wolfe clearly knows from experience. “You’ll want to find a spot about four rows back from the screen and dead center,” she writes. Douse your interior lights before trying anything tricky, and check that they stayed dark before you annoy others during a movie. If the concession stand serves flea market food during the day, ask whether any of those entrees are available for purchase.

Then she ticks through the available drive-ins, starting with her primary example, the Mission Tiki Drive-in Theatre in Montclair. Other drive-ins with notes include:

Skyline Drive-in Theater, Barstow. “The Skyline gets a fair amount of wind, which interrupts screenings, so check the weather before heading out.”

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Theater, Twentynine Palms. “This drive-in has a history dating back to the 1920s.” (You need to read the whole thing.)

Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre and Van Buren Drive-In Theatre, Riverside. “Rubidoux opened in 1948 to entertain postwar suburbanites, and Van Buren opened in 1964 on what was once a sprawling orange grove.”

Santa Barbara Drive-In, Goleta. “(S)o close to the coast that you can feel and smell that beach air blowing through your car windows.”

I don’t know why the author left out the Paramount Drive-In Theatres or the Vineland Drive-In, both in the LA region, but at a time of year when my eyes glaze at yet another local paper’s article noticing that the local drive-in is open again, this LA Weekly article is a breath of fresh beach air. You know you really need to go read it!

June 5: Verne Drive In Theatre, Luverne MN

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Verne Drive-In marquee

photo from the Verne Drive-In web site

It’s Day 156 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. My virtual odometer rolled over 20,000 just south of the Missouri River as I drove three hours from Neligh NE to the Verne Drive In Theatre in Luverne in the southwest corner of Minnesota.

The Verne was definitely built by Ken Sargent and opened before 1955. One source lists the opening date as 1954, but Walt Deutsch, who bought the place in 1966, told The Globe of Worthington MN that he “thought the first owners had the theater for 17 years before he took it over,” which would make the start date around 1949. The drive-in has always been a single screen with a capacity of almost 300 cars.

Deutsch, who had built a house next door, sold the Verne in the 1980s, and it closed some time after that. Glenn Burmeister bought the Verne and reopened it in 2000 after building new ticket and concession buildings and removing the old speaker poles. According to a great video by Pioneer Public Broadcasting, Deutsch and Burmeister are friends, and Deutsch still comes over to help sell tickets when the line gets too long.

I’m always happy to be at a drive-in that’s showing movies on a Monday night, even when that movie is latest Pirates of the Caribbean installment for my second night in a row. Snacking on honey drummies and pork shanks, I was able to make it through the movie’s two and a quarter hours one more time.

Miles Today / Total:  195 / 20171 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales / 72

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to the Verne, and possibly the best, is The Bluestem. The atmosphere is casual, but the menu is a bit upscale, or at least ambitious. Nothing beats a good filet mignon, and it was great to find someone who offers it. I added some breaded cheese balls and a slice of peanut butter devil’s food cake. I’ll eat healthier tomorrow.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The GrandStay Hotel & Suites was a regional chain I hadn’t run into before. Looks like it’s mostly around Minnesota and Wisconsin. At any rate, it was pretty nice. My room had a microwave, mini-fridge, a coffee maker, and good wifi. The hot breakfast was the best hotel breakfast I’d had in at least a few days. I’ll be looking for more of these GrandStays as I roam this region over the next week or two.

Only in Luverne: The Wayside Chapel just north of Luverne has more stained glass windows than seats, 6-3. (A photo from a story in The Globe from Worthington MN shows there’s also room for a standing preacher or two.) Parishioners of the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne dedicated the tiny chapel in 1963. The Rev. Bert Den Herder told The Globe, “It’s open 24 hours a day, every day of the year.”

Next stop: Superior 71 Drive-In Theater, Spirit Lake IA.