[52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History, Week 12: Movies]
When I was growing up, going to the movies was the cheapest entertainment money could buy. We had several movie theaters in the area. But, the one we love the most as kids was the drive in.
I’m pretty sure that my parents took my younger brother and I a few times. Then when my oldest sister was old enough to drive, she took us all. The drive in near my house was a great deal–especially for a teenager treating her siblings. $1.50 a car load for two movies!
This was a late night adventure for me. Whenever there was a kid’s double feature, we were there! My brother and I would hope in the back seat with our pillows. Sometimes I’d be in my pajamas. We’d get their early so we could get the speaker that worked. Then my sister or her boyfriend would go get the goodies from the snack bar and we’d wait for the movie to start. We’d be piled under blankets in the Winter and enjoying the warm evenings in the Summer.
It was so hard staying up that late (10 pm!) to see both movies. You had to sit through that little reel in the middle, “It’s intermission, it’s intermission!” We’d usually have to run back to the bathroom–and hope we’d remember where the car was when we headed back.
I can still remember when we saw “Island on the Top of the World”. I thought that was about the most amazing adventure I had ever seen. And, I think I believe for awhile that that world existed. It was when I fell in love with orcas.
I doubt that today’s generation would enjoy the drive-in as much as we did. No comfortable seats, air conditioning, or THX. It was you and your family and the garbled speaker. Where else but home could you lay down with your pillow and watch a couple of movies?
