The reason they called this drive-in the Derby was revealed in a March 6, 1952 “explanation” on the front page of the McLean News. Howard Horne convinced the McLean Jaycees that the town needed a memorable (he didn’t use the word) gimmick.
“(I)f everyone in McLean, or at least a large number of local citizens, wore derbies - not for just a short-timie fad, but from now on - the derby would become the identification mark for someone from McLean, regardless of where that person might be.” The idea was that tourists would stop in town, “ask questions (and) spend a little money.”
I don’t believe McLean became “the Derby City” for long; a search in the McLean News found that phrase used only in that edition. But it stayed a topic just long enough for the civic-minded theater owner to adopt it as the name of his new little drive-in.
Missing a few words, but still interesting to me - part of the Lone Star became part of the Derby Drive-In.
McLean News, June 26, 1952: “For the past couple of weeks, there’s been a big brick-cleaning project going on in McLean. Amos and Joe Page have been clearing away the rubbish from the old Lone Star Theatre, which burned two or three years ago. The bricks are being cleaned by boys, and will be used in the construction of the drive-in theater planned xxx. The old wall on the west xxx, part of which is still standing, will be torn down, Amos Page said. The front part of the building will be left intact.”
McLean (TX) News, May 8, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. Amos Page and their two children have been making their home in Matador for the past several months and have been operating the Rogue Theater there. However, the Rogue has been sold to Clayton Ham of Quitaque, and the Pages plan to return to McLean at the close of school.”
Another date hint. Variety, Nov. 3, 1954: “Pioneer Drive-In opened between Cross Plains and Rising Star by Bob Vaught and Hugh Millingion. The ozoner is C’Scope-equipped.”
Variety, June 24, 1964: “Richard L. Davis … manages the Pioneer Drive-In Theater … (which) is being remodeled at this time, with 200 speakers being added.”
Variety, Aug. 1, 1951: “F. L. Anderson sold his Pioneer Drive-In at Denver City to J. C. Capps. New owner expects to modernize the ozoner and build a snack bar.”
Billboard, Aug. 15, 1953: “J. C. Capps, owner-operator of Mustang Drive-In, Denver City, Tex., has increased the theater’s capacity by 50 cars. He has also installed new sound and projection equipment.”
(Thanks to the work of the Oklahoma Historical Society)
Beckham County Democrat, May 29, 1952: “The new Bearcat Drive-In Theatre, which is located just north of Erick on Highway 20, will open June 16th, according to Mr. Lamar Guthrie, owner. Their opening picture will be “Carson City,” starring Randolph Scott … The new theatre’s capacity is 106 cars, with individual speakers for each car.”
After advertising regularly in early 1964, the Bearcat’s ads abruptly ceased after the June 11 issue of the Democrat. That ad included movies through Monday, June 15. That might be its final show - it matches the Boxoffice note later that said it had been closed “a few months” before being dismantled in October/November.
Boxoffice, April 9, 1973: “in Hollis, it was our pleasure to visit … Lamar Guthrie, who has retired after running the Rogue Theatre in Erick for many years.”
When did Elk City’s 66 close? We know that it was still intact in February 1984. We know that Martin Theatres bought Video Independent, then sort of changed its name to Cinemark. The Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit lists were more accurate than its drive-in lists. In the 1986 edition, Cinemark included Elk City’s 66 Drive-In in its circuit entry. In the 1987 edition, Cinemark no longer claimed the 66.
My current guess is that the drive-in lasted through the 1985 season before it was replaced by a Wal-Mart (now a Tractor Supply store). I look forward to hearing more concrete details from someone with access to the local newspapers from back then.
Clinton Daily News, Feb. 18, 1954: “Sale of the Ritz Theater equipment to Video Independent Theaters, Inc., operators of the Redland, Del Rio and Clinton Drive-In Theaters, was announced today by Mrs. Myrtle Guthrie. Mrs. Guthrie will retain ownership of the Ritz Theater building and will lease it to the Video company. Effective date of the transfer will be March 1, but Mrs. Guthrie has agreed to continue for a few weeks as manager of the theater. All employes of the Ritz will retain their positions. Mrs. Guthrie and her late husband, C. W. Guthrie, operated the Ritz between 1925 and 1937. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Guthrie has been the sole owner and manager.”
The Clinton Herald published a long article on the Clinton Drive-In on April 11, 2014. It said that the drive-in opened June 15, 1949 and closed Sept. 1, 1991.
I’d like to hear more details about who ran the 66 Twin in the late 2000s. The last reference that I’ve seen so far was a mention in the Okmulgee Daily Times in June 2007 as an active drive-in in the state. And then there was a reported arrest in August 2007. (I have no idea how that case came out, and any arrestee should be considered innocent until proven guilty.) Co-owner Cecil George, who retired in 2006, passed away in his home in 2011, per this obituary.
In December 1944, Motion Picture Herald included two movie reviews from Blanche Gibson, owner of the Max in Cherokee. “The Impatient Years” was exceptionally good, “but did not draw as it should. Jean Arthur is never very strong here.” About “The Hitler Gang,” she wrote, “it is not entertainment. Business terrible.”
Harper County Journal, June 14, 1945: “V. E. Jackson, Buffalo, became manager of the New Buffalo theater Friday (8), replacing Miss Blanche Gibson, who returned to Cherokee to be associated with theaters there. Jackson will also operate the projector … Mrs. Jackson will be cashier and supervise the ushers. The theater is owned by W. (Walter) P. Shuttee, Cherokee, and W. F. McDowell, Caldwell, Kan.”
This photo appeared in the April 2, 1950 edition of the Florence Morning News. It might be copyrighted, but it’s more likely to be in the public domain.
The Palmetto Drive-In was north of Florence on US 52, aka the “Florence-Darlington highway” per a 1953 ad in the Florence Morning News. I’d guess that it was the drive-in at 1711 W Lucas St., where a car dealer sits today.
The Bright Leaf Drive-In was on “US 76 - West” per the Morning News. So that must be the one that was at 3360 W Palmetto St.
I was going to ask how we knew the King Avenue drive-in was the Circle, but thanks to these bits of newspaper ad description, I think we’ve got it worked out by elimination. Confirmation comes from hints in this “story” in the April 2, 1950 Morning News:
“The Circle Drive-In Theatre, located at Five Points, will celebrate its first birthday this week … On an eight-acre uncultivated area of broom sage and weeds at the West Evans Street extension, the Circle Drive-In Theatre was built. It is locally owned and operated with T. S. Roe at the head … Space had been provided for over three hundred cars … If you do not care to leave your car, the roving Snack Cart will serve you where you are parked … The grounds area spacious and most apt for many daytime outdoor sports … During the winter, auto owners were given a gallon of gas that the might keep motors running when the thermometer neared the freezing point. This happened but three times during the entire winter.”
Let’s see, if 1950 was the first birthday, then the Grand Opening must have been …
Martin Theatres acquired Video Independent Theatres in May 1983. The Motion Picture Almanac circuit listings, typically more reliable that its drive-in list, showed that Martin included the Squaw in its holdings in its entry in the 1984 and 1985 editions.
By the 1986 edition, Martin had completed its name change to Carmike Cinemas. The circuit listing that year showed Carmike with several old Video drive-ins in Oklahoma, but not the Squaw.
My guess is that El Reno’s drive-in closed after the 1984 season. I wish I could get someone to check that.
Boxoffice, March 21, 1966: “WACO, TEX. - Interstate Theatres, through its Texas Consolidated division, has purchased the local Lake Air Drive-In from J. C. Mitchell of Waco, Leroy Mitchell of Ennis and Roy Nelson of Kaufman. Interstate assumed operation of the theatre in February.”
In the first edition of “Drive-Ins of Route 66,” I wrote that Video Independent Theatres renamed the drive-in when it took it over. I was wrong.
El Reno Daily Tribune, Feb. 18, 1952: “Mrs. Opal Gray, theater operator at Chickasha for the past 11 years, today purchased the El Reno Drive-In theater from Walter B. Shuttee. Mrs. Gray said she plans to reopen the theater here about April 1, after completion of remodeling work at the site west of the city.”
The drive-in was running teaser ads as the Squaw by March 2, and opened for the 1952 season on April 11. Looking for a justification for the name change, I saw that the El Reno High School had a decades-old pep club called the Squaws. That doesn’t make it much better.
The Exhibitor, March 25, 1953: “Mrs. Opal Gray, Esquire, Chickasha, Okla., is no longer associated with the Squaw Drive-In, El Reno, Okla., which has been taken over by Video Independent Theatres.”
Local guy E. R. “Red” Slocum was a partner with Video, and he retained a share of the El Reno theaters until he passed away in 1965. Then Video assumed full control, and presumably ownership.
Boxoffice, May 1, 1948: “The neighborhood Cove Theatre in western Tulsa has been purchased from Joe B. Noble by John and Opal Gray, operators of the Pix in Chickasha and Star in Sand Springs. The change in management took place April 1. Operations at the Cove and the Star are being handled by John Gray. Mrs. Gray is managing the Pix and other business interests in Chickasha.”
Showmen’s Trade Review, Aug. 7, 1948: (under New Theatres) “Recently opened were drive-ins on Highway 18 at Cherokee, Okla., and on U. S. 60 just west of Bartlesville, Okla.”
This March 2004 photo by David Plowden is part of Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which says that Plowden retains its copyright.
Neat! Here’s a link to the Google Street View of the Starlight sign, still intact in 2018: https://goo.gl/maps/yFsf5dLtiqPJA8Mi8
The reason they called this drive-in the Derby was revealed in a March 6, 1952 “explanation” on the front page of the McLean News. Howard Horne convinced the McLean Jaycees that the town needed a memorable (he didn’t use the word) gimmick.
“(I)f everyone in McLean, or at least a large number of local citizens, wore derbies - not for just a short-timie fad, but from now on - the derby would become the identification mark for someone from McLean, regardless of where that person might be.” The idea was that tourists would stop in town, “ask questions (and) spend a little money.”
I don’t believe McLean became “the Derby City” for long; a search in the McLean News found that phrase used only in that edition. But it stayed a topic just long enough for the civic-minded theater owner to adopt it as the name of his new little drive-in.
Missing a few words, but still interesting to me - part of the Lone Star became part of the Derby Drive-In.
McLean News, June 26, 1952: “For the past couple of weeks, there’s been a big brick-cleaning project going on in McLean. Amos and Joe Page have been clearing away the rubbish from the old Lone Star Theatre, which burned two or three years ago. The bricks are being cleaned by boys, and will be used in the construction of the drive-in theater planned xxx. The old wall on the west xxx, part of which is still standing, will be torn down, Amos Page said. The front part of the building will be left intact.”
McLean (TX) News, May 8, 1952: “Mr. and Mrs. Amos Page and their two children have been making their home in Matador for the past several months and have been operating the Rogue Theater there. However, the Rogue has been sold to Clayton Ham of Quitaque, and the Pages plan to return to McLean at the close of school.”
Another date hint. Variety, Nov. 3, 1954: “Pioneer Drive-In opened between Cross Plains and Rising Star by Bob Vaught and Hugh Millingion. The ozoner is C’Scope-equipped.”
Variety, June 24, 1964: “Richard L. Davis … manages the Pioneer Drive-In Theater … (which) is being remodeled at this time, with 200 speakers being added.”
Variety, Aug. 1, 1951: “F. L. Anderson sold his Pioneer Drive-In at Denver City to J. C. Capps. New owner expects to modernize the ozoner and build a snack bar.”
Billboard, Aug. 15, 1953: “J. C. Capps, owner-operator of Mustang Drive-In, Denver City, Tex., has increased the theater’s capacity by 50 cars. He has also installed new sound and projection equipment.”
(Thanks to the work of the Oklahoma Historical Society)
Beckham County Democrat, May 29, 1952: “The new Bearcat Drive-In Theatre, which is located just north of Erick on Highway 20, will open June 16th, according to Mr. Lamar Guthrie, owner. Their opening picture will be “Carson City,” starring Randolph Scott … The new theatre’s capacity is 106 cars, with individual speakers for each car.”
After advertising regularly in early 1964, the Bearcat’s ads abruptly ceased after the June 11 issue of the Democrat. That ad included movies through Monday, June 15. That might be its final show - it matches the Boxoffice note later that said it had been closed “a few months” before being dismantled in October/November.
Boxoffice, April 9, 1973: “in Hollis, it was our pleasure to visit … Lamar Guthrie, who has retired after running the Rogue Theatre in Erick for many years.”
When did Elk City’s 66 close? We know that it was still intact in February 1984. We know that Martin Theatres bought Video Independent, then sort of changed its name to Cinemark. The Motion Picture Almanac’s circuit lists were more accurate than its drive-in lists. In the 1986 edition, Cinemark included Elk City’s 66 Drive-In in its circuit entry. In the 1987 edition, Cinemark no longer claimed the 66.
My current guess is that the drive-in lasted through the 1985 season before it was replaced by a Wal-Mart (now a Tractor Supply store). I look forward to hearing more concrete details from someone with access to the local newspapers from back then.
Clinton Daily News, Feb. 18, 1954: “Sale of the Ritz Theater equipment to Video Independent Theaters, Inc., operators of the Redland, Del Rio and Clinton Drive-In Theaters, was announced today by Mrs. Myrtle Guthrie. Mrs. Guthrie will retain ownership of the Ritz Theater building and will lease it to the Video company. Effective date of the transfer will be March 1, but Mrs. Guthrie has agreed to continue for a few weeks as manager of the theater. All employes of the Ritz will retain their positions. Mrs. Guthrie and her late husband, C. W. Guthrie, operated the Ritz between 1925 and 1937. Since the death of her husband, Mrs. Guthrie has been the sole owner and manager.”
That drawing ran as an “artists' conception” (plural?) in the April 10, 1949 Clinton Daily News.
The Clinton Herald published a long article on the Clinton Drive-In on April 11, 2014. It said that the drive-in opened June 15, 1949 and closed Sept. 1, 1991.
I’d like to hear more details about who ran the 66 Twin in the late 2000s. The last reference that I’ve seen so far was a mention in the Okmulgee Daily Times in June 2007 as an active drive-in in the state. And then there was a reported arrest in August 2007. (I have no idea how that case came out, and any arrestee should be considered innocent until proven guilty.) Co-owner Cecil George, who retired in 2006, passed away in his home in 2011, per this obituary.
In December 1944, Motion Picture Herald included two movie reviews from Blanche Gibson, owner of the Max in Cherokee. “The Impatient Years” was exceptionally good, “but did not draw as it should. Jean Arthur is never very strong here.” About “The Hitler Gang,” she wrote, “it is not entertainment. Business terrible.”
Harper County Journal, June 14, 1945: “V. E. Jackson, Buffalo, became manager of the New Buffalo theater Friday (8), replacing Miss Blanche Gibson, who returned to Cherokee to be associated with theaters there. Jackson will also operate the projector … Mrs. Jackson will be cashier and supervise the ushers. The theater is owned by W. (Walter) P. Shuttee, Cherokee, and W. F. McDowell, Caldwell, Kan.”
This photo appeared in the April 2, 1950 edition of the Florence Morning News. It might be copyrighted, but it’s more likely to be in the public domain.
This photo appeared in the April 2, 1950 edition of the Florence Morning News. It may be copyrighted, but it’s more likely to be in the public domain.
The Palmetto Drive-In was north of Florence on US 52, aka the “Florence-Darlington highway” per a 1953 ad in the Florence Morning News. I’d guess that it was the drive-in at 1711 W Lucas St., where a car dealer sits today.
The Bright Leaf Drive-In was on “US 76 - West” per the Morning News. So that must be the one that was at 3360 W Palmetto St.
I was going to ask how we knew the King Avenue drive-in was the Circle, but thanks to these bits of newspaper ad description, I think we’ve got it worked out by elimination. Confirmation comes from hints in this “story” in the April 2, 1950 Morning News:
“The Circle Drive-In Theatre, located at Five Points, will celebrate its first birthday this week … On an eight-acre uncultivated area of broom sage and weeds at the West Evans Street extension, the Circle Drive-In Theatre was built. It is locally owned and operated with T. S. Roe at the head … Space had been provided for over three hundred cars … If you do not care to leave your car, the roving Snack Cart will serve you where you are parked … The grounds area spacious and most apt for many daytime outdoor sports … During the winter, auto owners were given a gallon of gas that the might keep motors running when the thermometer neared the freezing point. This happened but three times during the entire winter.”
Let’s see, if 1950 was the first birthday, then the Grand Opening must have been …
Martin Theatres acquired Video Independent Theatres in May 1983. The Motion Picture Almanac circuit listings, typically more reliable that its drive-in list, showed that Martin included the Squaw in its holdings in its entry in the 1984 and 1985 editions.
By the 1986 edition, Martin had completed its name change to Carmike Cinemas. The circuit listing that year showed Carmike with several old Video drive-ins in Oklahoma, but not the Squaw.
My guess is that El Reno’s drive-in closed after the 1984 season. I wish I could get someone to check that.
Boxoffice, March 21, 1966: “WACO, TEX. - Interstate Theatres, through its Texas Consolidated division, has purchased the local Lake Air Drive-In from J. C. Mitchell of Waco, Leroy Mitchell of Ennis and Roy Nelson of Kaufman. Interstate assumed operation of the theatre in February.”
In the first edition of “Drive-Ins of Route 66,” I wrote that Video Independent Theatres renamed the drive-in when it took it over. I was wrong.
El Reno Daily Tribune, Feb. 18, 1952: “Mrs. Opal Gray, theater operator at Chickasha for the past 11 years, today purchased the El Reno Drive-In theater from Walter B. Shuttee. Mrs. Gray said she plans to reopen the theater here about April 1, after completion of remodeling work at the site west of the city.”
The drive-in was running teaser ads as the Squaw by March 2, and opened for the 1952 season on April 11. Looking for a justification for the name change, I saw that the El Reno High School had a decades-old pep club called the Squaws. That doesn’t make it much better.
The Exhibitor, March 25, 1953: “Mrs. Opal Gray, Esquire, Chickasha, Okla., is no longer associated with the Squaw Drive-In, El Reno, Okla., which has been taken over by Video Independent Theatres.”
Local guy E. R. “Red” Slocum was a partner with Video, and he retained a share of the El Reno theaters until he passed away in 1965. Then Video assumed full control, and presumably ownership.
Boxoffice, May 1, 1948: “The neighborhood Cove Theatre in western Tulsa has been purchased from Joe B. Noble by John and Opal Gray, operators of the Pix in Chickasha and Star in Sand Springs. The change in management took place April 1. Operations at the Cove and the Star are being handled by John Gray. Mrs. Gray is managing the Pix and other business interests in Chickasha.”
Showmen’s Trade Review, Aug. 7, 1948: (under New Theatres) “Recently opened were drive-ins on Highway 18 at Cherokee, Okla., and on U. S. 60 just west of Bartlesville, Okla.”