Pioneer Drive-In
Route 66 and E. 12th Street,
Shamrock,
TX
79079
Route 66 and E. 12th Street,
Shamrock,
TX
79079
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On June 8, 1950, the Shamrock Texan ran a front-page story on the opening of the Pioneer later that week. It said there was space for 285 cars pointed at the 47½-foot wide screen, and that the drive-in’s name was selected in a contest several months earlier. “Many improvements are contemplated for the future, including a playground for children which has already been started.”
Billboard, June 21, 1952: “Bill Rushing has reopened the Pioneer Drive-In at Shamrock, Tex.”
Boxoffice, Feb, 28, 1966: “The Texas Theatre and the Pioneer Drive-In, both units of Friendl Theatres, will be remodeled this year, it was announced by Jack Worley, wo took over management of the circuit and of the Shamrock Community TV System early this year. The properties are owned by Jack’s father, Mayor Seibert Worley, and his uncle, Judge Eugene Worley.”
Boxoffice, June 30, 1969: “Seibert Worley, owner of the Pioneer Drive-In on East Highway 66, completely refurbished the airer prior to opening it early this month for summer operation. New speakers were installed, a new white plexiglass attraction board with black letters was erected, playground improvements made and the entire area painted in a green and white color scheme.”
Boxoffice, Jan. 14, 1974: “Athel Boyter and Dan Wolfenbarger made a business trip to Shamrock, Tex., to become acquainted with their theatre employees in that town. Boyter and Wolfermbarger took over operation of the Shamrock Texas Theatre Tuesday (1) and will remodel the town’s Pioneer Drive-In and reopen it in the spring.”
Boxoffice, Feb. 11, 1974: “Seibert Worley … will lease the Pioneer Drive-In to (Boyter and Wolfenbarger) with an option to purchase within two years.”
Also opened with a two reel short(not named), and a coloured cartoon(not named).
From the Jan. 25, 1950 Pampa (TX) Daily News:
SHAMROCK – (Special) – Seibert Worley, manager of the Liberty and Texas theatres, has been in Dallas and Oklahoma City recently conferring with architects and equipment people about Shamrock’s new drive-in theatre.
Contracts on equipment are to be let soon in order that the spring completion date agreement of contractors can be met. Worley said the drive-in would be completed in 60 days after construction begins.
Three sites are under consideration.
The April 23, 1962 issue of BoxOffice reported, “J. S. Worley, who operates theatres in Shamrock, Tex., is expanding in the cable television field. He has a cable system in Shamrock and is constructing others in Beaver, Okla., and Dalhart and Clarendon, Tex. He closed the Texas Theatre in Shamrock, except for weekends, when he reopened his Pioneer Drive-In for the season, since there’s not enough midweek business for both. Despite his theatre and cable TV activities, Worley consented to have his name appear on the ticket for the recent mayoralty election on a write-in basis, although he was not a formal candidate. He has been twice mayor. In the April 3 voting, he barely missed being elected again.”
If that’s true, it was one of the few times in his adult life that Worley was not mayor of Shamrock. I’ve found references to Mayor Worley in 1956, 1958, 1966, 1972, 1975 (see below), and 1982. That last one was a UPI story that mentioned that Worley had “served as mayor six different times since 1956”.
A legal filing in 1982 wrote that, “The appellant had elicited from George Hooten, the chief of police of Shamrock, that during March, 1975, the mayor of Shamrock, Siebert Worley, had ordered Hooten to obtain the appellant’s ‘rap sheet.’”
The Pioneer first appeared in the Motion Picture Almanac in the 1951-52 edition.
The Amarillo Globe-Times wrote on April 30, 1956: “Seibert Worley, manager of the Shamrock theaters, has announced that work is progressing on a project of widening the screen at the Pioneer Drive-In Theater in order to equip it for (sic)Cinemescope.”
Motion Picture Almanac drive-in list mentions:
A closer address is Rte 66 & E. 12th Street, Shamrock, TX. The drive-in sat just to the east of the intersection on the south side of the road.
Today, the property is up for lease. However, you can still see some of the ramps.
https://tinyurl.com/yd7vbjxg