At one time, there were three drive-ins in my hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. The Acme, the Ramona and the Holiday. Now only the Holiday exists. It is the oldest one in this area and runs films years around. My family didn’t go to the drive-in since we did not have a car for the longest time, but when I started driving, I went a few times. Usually the movies started at dusk. There were often playgrounds where the kids could ride on swings, teeter totters, etc. Some folks bought their lawn chairs and sat out next to the speaker. I knew one girl who popped her own popcorn to save money. Usually by the second feature, the smaller kids (who were already in their p.j.s) were sleeping on blankets in the back where the seats folded down. Obviously this was for station wagons. Mike Newton
I lived in Concord from 1948 to 1953, on Washington Street. I started going to the Star Theater on Pleasant Street until it closed in 1951. By that time, I was going to the Concord because they always ran the Roy Rogers films. Sometimes they ran a double feature Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. The fights in line over who should be the King of the Cowboys were sometimes better than the ones on the screen. I came back to Concord for a visit in 1972 and saw John Wayne in “The Cowboys” there. One of the women were still there, in the ticket booth. I have visited Concord since then and have seen how the building has declined. The Star building of course is now a video store. Check my comments on that site. Mike Newton
Re: the two undated photos of the Hitching Post. Lost Memory is correct about the Bandit Trail film shown on the first photo. That was made in 1941. So was the Don Barry picture Apache Kid. The second photo showed Outlaws of the Rockies, a 1945 picture, playing the latest Tim Holt picture Indian Agent (1948). Theaters did that back then. That’s why they were second run theaters. We kids didn’t care just so long as the hero never ran out of bullets. The Hitching Post theater also played host to Monogram cowboy stars Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely, etc. I have a cassette tape of the Straight Arrow radio show which premiered on the stage of the Hitching Post in 1949. Howard Culver as Straight Arrow was there along with Johnny Mack Brown and Jimmy Wakely. Cottonseed Clark was the announcer and I believe Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage were also there. Too bad there were not more pictures taken of these occasions. They would be collectors' items today.
At one time, there were three drive-ins in my hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. The Acme, the Ramona and the Holiday. Now only the Holiday exists. It is the oldest one in this area and runs films years around. My family didn’t go to the drive-in since we did not have a car for the longest time, but when I started driving, I went a few times. Usually the movies started at dusk. There were often playgrounds where the kids could ride on swings, teeter totters, etc. Some folks bought their lawn chairs and sat out next to the speaker. I knew one girl who popped her own popcorn to save money. Usually by the second feature, the smaller kids (who were already in their p.j.s) were sleeping on blankets in the back where the seats folded down. Obviously this was for station wagons. Mike Newton
I lived in Concord from 1948 to 1953, on Washington Street. I started going to the Star Theater on Pleasant Street until it closed in 1951. By that time, I was going to the Concord because they always ran the Roy Rogers films. Sometimes they ran a double feature Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. The fights in line over who should be the King of the Cowboys were sometimes better than the ones on the screen. I came back to Concord for a visit in 1972 and saw John Wayne in “The Cowboys” there. One of the women were still there, in the ticket booth. I have visited Concord since then and have seen how the building has declined. The Star building of course is now a video store. Check my comments on that site. Mike Newton
Re: the two undated photos of the Hitching Post. Lost Memory is correct about the Bandit Trail film shown on the first photo. That was made in 1941. So was the Don Barry picture Apache Kid. The second photo showed Outlaws of the Rockies, a 1945 picture, playing the latest Tim Holt picture Indian Agent (1948). Theaters did that back then. That’s why they were second run theaters. We kids didn’t care just so long as the hero never ran out of bullets. The Hitching Post theater also played host to Monogram cowboy stars Johnny Mack Brown, Jimmy Wakely, etc. I have a cassette tape of the Straight Arrow radio show which premiered on the stage of the Hitching Post in 1949. Howard Culver as Straight Arrow was there along with Johnny Mack Brown and Jimmy Wakely. Cottonseed Clark was the announcer and I believe Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage were also there. Too bad there were not more pictures taken of these occasions. They would be collectors' items today.