Down Memory Lane At The Drive-In

“It’s such a groovy place to talk and maybe watch a show…down at the drive-in. ”

The Beach Boys knew and so did the rest of us who grew with drive-ins as the go-to place for a date, and years later, the place you took the kids for an easy, affordable, family-friendly night out.

It’s the 79th anniversary of the first drive-in movie theater today, and while yes, there are still a few around (my grandchildren get their fix at the Wellfleet Drive-In each year in Cape Cod) I rarely drive by Plainville Commons shopping complex without remembering the days when the Plainville Drive-In anchored the spot, and trips there were always part of summer.
 

In 1995 there was push to document those drive-in days…not sure what ever happened to Lounder and his project…

 ”Do you remember when families would load kids, pillows and snacks into the car and head to the local drive-in for a Saturday night double feature?
    Have you always wanted to be part of a movie production?
    If so, you could be the kind of person David B. Lounder is looking for to help with a documentary he is planning on drive-in theaters.
    Lounder, a drive-in enthusiast, wants to produce a documentary on the heyday and demise of the once popular form of warm-weather entertainment. He recently opened his own production company, called Drive-In Pictures.
    “The main reason I’m making the film is to try to save the drive-ins that are left,” said Lounder, who has named the film “The Ct. Drive-In; A Blast From The Past.”
    “It’s a unique experience, just not like sitting at home and watching a video or going to a movie complex,” Lounder said.
    A disc jockey and actor who worked at some area drive-ins, Lounder envisions a one-hour film that would include information and stories from drive-in history experts, previous and current drive-in owners, employees and customers. The documentary could include on-camera interviews, old footage, still photographs, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia related to outdoor movie theaters.
    “I want to bring some awareness to drive-ins,” Lounder said.
    The state once had 35 drive-ins. Now there are just four working ones left, in Newington, Southington, Barkhamsted and Mansfield, he said.
    Margaret Chase, a Meriden resident who still visits the Southington Drive-In each summer, said it is unfortunate that there is a need for a documentary about the decline of drive-ins.
    “It’s sad to think that this is another form of entertainment that everyone could enjoy that is becoming extinct,” Chase said.
    Donald Tinty, whose father, Joseph, owned the land where the former Plainville Drive-In was located, lamented that the drive-in has become “a dinosaur.”
    “I think it’s sad that it died along the way,” said Tinty, recalling family outings with his parents and sisters. “There are a lot of good memories.”
    Lounder, 31, has worked at two area radio stations and a local television station and was trained as an actor in New York, he said.
    He has a small budget for the picture and has not set a date for the start of production. In addition to subjects, he is seeking volunteers to help in research, clerical tasks and technical production. Anyone assisting with the project would be mentioned in the film’s closing credits, he said.
    John C. Cutler, Lounder’s cousin and a Bristol musician, will write a score for the documentary.
    “I’m not quite as much a drive-in buff as my cousin,” Cutler said. “But I have a lot of great memories of the drive-in from my teen years. It was a social place. I think the movie has some real opportunities.”
    Lounder has set up a “Drive-In Pictures Hot Line,” 747-2996, for interested volunteers or anyone who might have some drive-in materials or information that could be used in the production.
    Anyone interested in the project may also contact Lounder by mail at Drive-In Pictures, c/o David Brian Lounder, 1247 Queen St., Southington, CT 06489-1237.” 

Memories anyone?