[March 19, 2024] Who said the “old days” weren’t wonderful? Back in those old days when outside drive-in theaters were all the rage, our family saw plenty of movies on a giant outdoor screen, usually on a Saturday evening. Hundreds of cars – or it seemed like hundreds – were parked next to a short metal pole with a voice box attached. Unlatch it and place the box on the driver’s window, partially rolled up. A drive-in was a pretty neat idea. You would sit back in the comfortable seats of your car and watch a movie. Of course, the backseat was not ideal, as those in the front partially blocked your view. Who sat in the back seat voluntarily anyway, other than teenage couples with other interests? Us kids liked it anyway and were frequently there with our parents or later with anyone who could drive.
I often quickly lost interest in these movies and could name only one I “saw.” We would get fidgety and then a bit rowdy, and then Dad would tell us to “quiet down” and give us some quarters to go buy Coke – meaning soda pop – and candy at the snake bar, which was also the same small building that housed the movie projector. I caught on to that game quickly. But I never liked going there because the ground was sticky at the window where many sodas had met their demise in the uncoordinated hands of little kids. But my brother Philip and I would never disobey, so off we went guiltily to the snack bar. Both of us could eat one entire candy bar before we returned. Dad always gave us a quizzical look, saying with his eyes that he knew we were skimming some candy off the top. Guilty as charged.
The weather conditions had to be just right to make viewing comfortable. Too cold, too hot, too windy, or worse, too many flying insects made this a miserable adventure. Convertibles were the best type of car to watch, and they were easier on those in the backseat. But who wanted peering eyes to see you picking your nose or gulping down multiple Musketeers chocolate bars? Convertibles were only driven by lucky out-of-town rich kids, but humidity, bugs, and rain didn’t care how much money you had. Occasionally, a fast rain shower would pass by, catching you off guard. This was before any accurate weather forecast was possible. There was no weather app on your iPhone to look up. There is no iPhone. More specifically, no phone at all. You just looked at the sky and took your chances.
I liked to walk the line – or row – of cars at the drive-in near where my Dad parked the car. Walk slow and see if I could catch teenagers necking. It was crude entertainment, but things could heat up fast if the young man decided to adjust our attitude for looking. That’s where my running ability came into play as I could achieve escape terminal velocity. Of course, we found all sorts of lost items on the ground, including wallets, car keys, watches, and other small miscellaneous stuff like pencils, discarded spark plugs, and tire irons lying around in the dark. We dutifully turned it all in at the snake bar. Dad made us do it. They must have had a vast collection.
Did I say there was one price per car and a dollar per person to enter? Yep, unless you were an unrelated adult, you got an extra charge. Some of my friends tried hiding their friends in the automobile trunk to avoid the extra dollar admission fee, but the businesses soon caught on and started random trunk inspections. But either way, the drive-in was cheaper than indoor theaters and more convenient. You could bring your own picnic basket, and my Mom fixed ours up expertly. And the kids could come in their pajamas. It was cheap entertainment for a family of four or more, and then we were sent straight to bed after returning home.
When not at the drive-in, while Dad drove around with us in the back, we could see the giant projection screens from a long way off, especially at night. Us kids would start bugging our parents about going out to a movie whenever we saw one in the distance. We were like bugs attracted to a bright flame. Our love affair began to dwindle when my parents bought a color television set in the late 1960s. We stayed home more often, and by then, we got three good channels offering some great shows. You could find out what was playing by reading the local newspaper in the entertainment section or, if you had money, you could buy a TV Guide for 10 cents.
One movie I remembered at the Bastrop drive-in theater was “The Time Machine.” I was eight or nine at the time of the showing. It was scientific fiction, something new to me. Us kids were young, perhaps a little too young for that specific movie. Well, let’s just say there was some serious screaming in the backseat of our car when the cannibalistic Morlocs came to snatch the clueless surface folks. It made a fearful impression on me.
It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that I could see that movie again. This time, the Morlocs were funny not scary at all to me. They looked so fake, with glowing eyes and green skin, and they were walking so slow that it was hard to imagine them catching anything, much less an ordinary surface human. Since then, I’ve seen it a dozen or more times, and each time, I think of myself as a scared little kid peeking over the backseat in my Dad’s 1949 Chevrolet at the local drive-in.
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NOTE: See all my letters here: https://www.theleadermaker.com/granddaughter-letters/
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Please read my books:
Great letter, Gen. Doug Satterfield.
Did I say there was one price per car and a dollar per person to enter? Yep, unless you were an unrelated adult, you got an extra charge. Some of my friends tried hiding their friends in the automobile trunk to avoid the extra dollar admission fee, but the businesses soon caught on and started random trunk inspections. But either way, the drive-in was cheaper than indoor theaters and more convenient. You could bring your own picnic basket, and my Mom fixed ours up expertly. And the kids could come in their pajamas. It was cheap entertainment for a family of four or more, and then we were sent straight to bed after returning home.
My friend Gen Douglas. I remember those good old days drive in. We as you did hide in the truck of yhr car as teenagers. In NC you got your driver’s license at 16. I enjoy the king Kong vs golliza movies
The long walk to the snack bar. We parked in the rear slots to not get caught letting people out of the trunk. We sneeze uo to cars scar people cuddling .
The insects were bad. The popcorn was 10 cent. The speakers so time didn’t work
We had to find another spot if available
Overall we didn’t mind we just wanted to get out of town.
The good old days were great.
Gen. Satterfield, I know that many have written you to say thanks for these letters, but I want to also say thank you for giving me the same idea others have written about occasionally. I’m going to write letters for my kids and grandkids (if I have any) so that they can “see” what made me who I am. If nothing else, there is some entertainment value. We all can learn from others and your letters are an inspiration.
Just great letters .. a must read.
Katie, you got that right. This is the culmination of many letters to Gen. Satterfield’s granddaughter, but also to all his grandchildren. He is trying to give them some background on what made him a successful father, grandfather, military man, soldier, Christian, and successful writer. What is behind this? Just read these letters.
“Catching teenagers necking,” what a great comment.
Beautiful letter. Thank you and I look forward to reading #62. What will it be?
The answer is, of course, what Gen. Satterfield wants. He wants us to anticipate. That is part of the build up to the letter and makes for a better emotional read. But I love the letters anyway and only wish that I would get started on my letters to my children and then future grandkids too.
Pastor John
You can do it. The grands will love the letter.
It doesn’t have to be that long at first. You can do all things through Christ that strength 💪 you.
Sir, another wonderfully written letter to your granddaughter. I know that you might not want to publish these in a book but I will say I hope so. What a beautiful way to tell the story of you growing up in the Deep South and while there was nothing horrific that happened, these are still wonderful stories that can make your relatives AND all of us smile each time we read one. I’ve been a regular reader and commentator for many years now so I hope you will do us all a favor and publish your letters.
Yusaf, thank you for the compliment. But I have not yet made a decision on this. At the moment I’m undecided but are inclined not to publish them. Although I don’t mind putting them out for my regular readers, showing these letters to the world is another matter. They are private letters that are for all my grandchildren, not really just for my granddaughter. I will keep all of you informed whether I publish a book or not. But I do have a surprise announcement coming out in a few days that I think you will appreciate.
My goodness, Gen. Satterfield. Thank you for your comment and I too look forward to your surprise announcement.
I agree, and Yusaf is right about it. We ALL would love to read these in book form.
🙏 Gen. Satterfield, thank you sir. 🙏
My friend Gen Douglas, I strongly agree with you on not publishing the letters. It’s personal people who don’t know you just reading the book will be ineffective. I will be just another kid’s book to them. If you do what I suggest is for the family only.
My sister in law mom was an excellent cook. She gave specific instructions to her children not to make a cook book nor give out the recipes. It’s not for the public.
Let’s hope gen. Satterfield publishes these letters. 👏👏👏👏
God Bless General Satterfield.
This is how Gen. S. begins with Letter No. 61 on drive-in movie theaters. It is a great letter. Read it. Highly recommended. “[March 19, 2024] Who said the “old days” weren’t wonderful? Back in those old days when outside drive-in theaters were all the rage, our family saw plenty of movies on a giant outdoor screen, usually on a Saturday evening. Hundreds of cars – or it seemed like hundreds – were parked next to a short metal pole with a voice box attached. Unlatch it and place the box on the driver’s window, partially rolled up. A drive-in was a pretty neat idea. You would sit back in the comfortable seats of your car and watch a movie. Of course, the backseat was not ideal, as those in the front partially blocked your view. Who sat in the back seat voluntarily anyway, other than teenage couples with other interests? Us kids liked it anyway and were frequently there with our parents or later with anyone who could drive.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield ❤
Thanks Veronica. Got it. Yes, great letters of fun about an awkward kid growing up in the 1950s and 60s.
Great letters, well done. I am starting to collect these letters for myself and write letters for my children so that when they get older, they can read about what I was thinking.
Gen. Satterfield, please keep this series alive. ❤ Every letter is precious.
Indeed, and it is hard to believe we are already up to letter #61 … Drive-In Theaters. My dog even loves your letters because I always laugh.
Gen. Doug Satterfield making it seem like we are there with him as a little kid. “I liked to walk the line – or row – of cars at the drive-in near where my Dad parked the car. Walk slow and see if I could catch teenagers necking. It was crude entertainment, but things could heat up fast if the young man decided to adjust our attitude for looking. That’s where my running ability came into play as I could achieve escape terminal velocity. Of course, we found all sorts of lost items on the ground, including wallets, car keys, watches, and other small miscellaneous stuff like pencils, discarded spark plugs, and tire irons lying around in the dark. We dutifully turned it all in at the snake bar. Dad made us do it. They must have had a vast collection.” This is why I love this series. I just hope his granddaughter loves the series too.
Gen. Satterfield, you made my day. I find your letters to your granddaughter funny so I LOL (did I get that right?) or ROFL … what ever. Just my duty to say thank you and to note that altho I never went to a drive in movie theater, my parents used to talk about them to me. that is where they had their first date and for the life of me, they could not remember the name of the movie either. LOL.
Hmmmm, when were you born? Maybe you were a sparkle in their eyes at the drive in.
Good catch Joe. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤦♀️ Nothing like a little humor, huh? 🤦♀️
Well, slap me upside the head. I never!
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Best Seat in the House: A Drive-In Movie Survival Guide
https://tinybeans.com/take-a-summer-adventure-to-the-drive-in-movie-theater/
“Back in the 1950’s at their peak, there were over 4000 drive-in theaters operating in the United States. Currently, there are about 330 Drive-in Movie Theaters still operating in the United States. There are many more that are permanently closed but still remain standing and could potentially be re-opened at some point in the future. In fact, there have been several drive-in theaters that have been re-opened the past couple of years after sitting dark for 20 and even 30 years. ”
https://www.driveinmovie.com/united-states
A resurgence…. now I see the draw.
Got it, thank you Gen. Satterfield for transporting me back in time to the early 1960s and my childhood watching movies on these huge screens with cars all around. Those were the times. 😊
I’m about the same age as Gen. Satterfield, so we might have been in the car next to you. ha ha ha ha ha ha…. that is a great story that Gen. S gave us today.
WOW, WOW, WOW again, No. 61 Drive-In Theaters.