Aug. 24: Midland Drive-In, Midland ON

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Aerial view of the Midland Drive-In at sunset

Photo from the Midland Drive-In Facebook page

It’s Day 236 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my 11th in Ontario. It took two hours to drive the narrow coastline highways from the Owen Sound Drive-In, which is in Owen Sound of course, to the Midland Drive-In, which is in Midland of course.

This is the section of my virtual visit where I normally tell of the history of this drive-in theatre. When it comes to the Midland, I’ve found very little to talk about. The 1953-54 Motion Picture Almanac lists it with a capacity of 300 cars and owned by “Theatre Amuse.” The same owner was there in 1959, and in 1963 was listed as Regional. The car capacity bumped up to 404 by 1972. That very specific number suggests it’s a speaker count; I’ll bet the Midland added another row.

Most of the rest of my knowledge of the Midland’s history comes from a Midland Mirror story from 2008 (retrieved via the Internet Archive). The article said the Babcock family had owned and operated the drive-in since 1982. That’s when brothers Dave and Paul Babcock bought the drive-in along with the town’s indoor theater. When Paul and Dave passed away (in 2005 and 2006 respectively), the drive-in went to their wives, who asked Dave’s children and their spouses to take over.

“The Midland Drive-In has never needed a park playground,” the Mirror wrote. “(P)eople bring Frisbees, footballs, baseballs and mitts, bubbles and sparklers for between shows.” The owners were proud of their freshly upgraded FM sound, although the speaker poles persist to this day.

Movie-Theatre.org says that the Midland “was taken over by Ontario Drive-Ins in 2010.” And that’s about the end of what I know. You can see by the difference in this 2003 Cinema Tour photo and an October 2016 Google Street View that management added a second moveable-type sign to the back of the screen tower between then and now.

The Midland snack bar features “The Indecisive Special – A Combo For Those Who Can’t Decide”. It includes onion rings, deep-fried pickles, and French fries, which can be upgraded to poutine.

Movies show here on Fridays through Sundays, then the following Thursday, which is why I picked a Carload Thursday to visit. My movie, for the third time, was Girls Trip. It’s really not that bad, especially when I’m eating indecisively.

Miles Today / Total: 77 / 27873 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Girls Trip / 150

Nearby Restaurant: When in search of comfort food, could any name be more alluring than Mom’s Restaurant? I enjoyed the chicken and ribs special of the day, complete with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, in a comfortable, relaxed setting.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Once again I got lucky with a mom and pop hotel with a very reasonable price. The Kings Inn looks pretty humble, but my queen bed room had solid wifi, a mini-fridge and a microwave. The money I saved worked great at the breakfast joints within walking distance.

Only in Midland: Every June, Midland hosts the Butter Tart Festival. This year, the one-day festival attracted 50,000 visitors and sold over 163,000 butter tarts, so it must be okay to go back for seconds. Although the best in show was a pecan tart, the All-Ontario champ was a maple rhubarb apple tart. Sure wish I could find one of those.

Next stop: Muskoka Drive-In, Gravenhurst ON.

Aug. 23: Owen Sound Drive-In, Owen Sound ON

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It’s Day 235 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my tenth in Ontario. It took just 45 minutes to drive from the Hanover Drive-In Theatre, which is in Hanover of course, to the Owen Sound Drive-In, which is in Owen Sound of course.

The Owen Sound apparently opened in 1950; a TripAdvisor photo shows “Since 1950” written on one of the walls there. At that point, it had a single, old-fashioned screen tower, later widened to accommodate widescreen movies. The Motion Picture Almanac says that it could hold 300 cars, and from at least 1953-63, the drive-in’s owner was Waite & Warwick Ltd.

There’s a second screen at the drive-in these days. Movie-Theatre.org believes it was added around 1980. In February 2012, the Owen Sound Sun Times reported that the drive-in was sold to a neighbor, Pickard Construction, who was mainly interested in an adjacent piece of land. That story said that Maurice Pickard planned to lease the drive-in section to its former owner to continue normal operations. “I have had lots of people say, you can’t do anything with the drive-in. It’s historical,” said Pickard. “Even people at the office, they take their kids to it.”

Some time between the close of the 2013 season (as seen in this blog post) and 2016 (as seen in the YouTube video embedded above), management improved the marquee. It looks much nicer now. You’ll also note that this is one of the drive-ins to place the playground behind the concession / projection building. I think that’s a smart move to keep the kids close to the sodas and snacks that they’ll want to buy.

I was again deeply grateful for the second screen, which spared me another round of The Emoji Movie. Instead I watched Kidnap for the second time.

Miles Today / Total: 35 / 27796 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: Kidnap / 149

Nearby Restaurant: For the kind of retro experience I hope to find near every venerable old drive-in theater, the best place in town is Elsie’s Diner. Black and white tiled floor. Red vinyl on every seating surface. And serving a nice old-fashioned gravy-covered roast beef sandwich with a true malted milkshake.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The Best Western Inn On The Bay is indeed right on the shoreline of Georgian Bay with spectacular views. My queen bed room had a mini-fridge and solid wifi, which are really all I need. Breakfast would have been nice too; at least it’s available for a few toonies more.

Only in Owen Sound: The impractical furniture theme continues just east of town in Meaford, home of the world’s largest porch swing. The Owen Sound Sun Times documented the efforts of sculptor Rob Mahy to turn hundreds of pieces of wind-blown cedar, 5,000 screws, and two cases of industrial glue into a 36-foot bench and the frame needed to swing it. Roadside America reports that Mahy succeeded.

Next stop: Midland Drive-In, Midland ON.

Aug. 22: Hanover Drive-In Theatre, Hanover ON

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It’s Day 234 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey, and my ninth in Ontario. It took an hour to drive from Guelph to the Hanover Drive-In Theatre, in Hanover of course.

The early years of the Hanover haven’t left many traces on the internet or most of the other places I look. Most of what I know comes from a single 2013 article in The Post, which I covered in brief when it came out. That’s the source for the year the drive-in opened, 1953. The Motion Picture Almanac that year listed H. Fisher as the owner; in 1959 it listed Bert Fisher, so maybe his full name was Herbert. In 1963, the almanac said the owner was B. Wiggins. A caption fragment of a since-moved photo at the Grey Roots Museum and Archives was “Hanover, Drive-In, Theatre, Bert Fisher, Beverley Wiggins” so maybe that was the B Wiggins who later owned the Hanover.

Flash forward to 2013, when the Hanover’s owners, JD Lyons and Lyle Schaus, installed a digital projector. “The choice to go to digital was one you didn’t have a choice in,” Lyons said. “Film is quickly going to be disappearing.”

That Post article said that the benefit to the community was a big reason why the partners invested in digital. “We sort of had to pay, convert, or become history,” Lyons said. ” We decided, after dwelling on that for some time, that we would make the move and go to digital.”

And that’s about it. That gorgeous old-fashioned screen tower (better photo here) looks like it could be the original. The theatre only takes cash, TripAdvisor visitors love it, and it’s open weekends plus Tuesdays, which is why I scheduled a Tuesday visit.

Update: A very helpful researcher at Grey Roots Museum and Archives followed up by sending me a copy of that scrapbook page that had moved. At the top of the page was the note “By: Mr. Harvey Schmitt – 1964”. The photo was dated September 1960, and its caption read, “The Hanover Drive-In Theatre was built by Mr. Bert Fisher of Listowel in 1953. It is presently owned and operated by Mr. Beverley Wiggins of Durham.”

I knew this day would come. One screen, no choice in the movie I see, and that movie is The Nut Job 2. On first viewing, it seemed relatively inoffensive to grown-ups but best suited for small children.

Miles Today / Total: 66 / 27761 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: The Nut Job 2 / 148

Nearby Restaurant: I had a good time in the afternoon betting the horses via simulcast and having a late lunch at The Coach House at Hanover Raceway. I looked out over the track, empty that day, and enjoyed a sandwich and a beer as I looked over my opportunities to lose more Canadian currency.

Where I Virtually Stayed: If you want a hotel in Hanover, your choice is probably going to be the Travellers Inn Hanover. It’s a small place with rooms that have the full set of modern amenities despite a very nice price. There’s coffee available and plenty of cash left in my pocket for breakfast.

Only in Hanover: On the way between Guelph and Hanover, just north of Varney, is the world’s largest Adirondack chair, according to Roadside America. For much of its life, it was painted white, but the most recent report is that it was painted red with white Canadian maple leaves.

Next stop: Owen Sound Drive-In, Owen Sound ON.