Ranch Drive-In

Great Find Kennerado.

moviejs1944’s excellent newspaper finds (from Columbus' Colorado County Citizen) indicate that the Ono was where we thought it was. (BTW, its opening article also mentions that “Sitting Bull” was the opening feature.)

In reviewing more issues of the Citizen, I found a blurry note in the June 27, 1957 edition: “W. A. Straus, who recently purchased the drive-in theatre on Hwy. 71 south of Columbus from Mr. and Mrs. Lester Miller, has announced he is changing the name of the theatre from Ono to Ranch Drive-In. Mr. Straus has been a rancher his entire life and says he thinks the name “Ranch Drive-In” suggests one of the main businesses of this entire area.“ Indeed, ads for the Ranch persisted into 1961.

Which means that Motion Picture Exhibitor’s story from Dec. 13, 1961 was a bit wrong: “W A. Straus is retiring from the theatre business after 30 years in Columbis (sic), Tex. … and will devote his time to ranching. … He also built the Ranch Drive-In just south of Columbus and closed it after it suffered heavy damages in Hurricane Carla.” Which tells us when the Ono/Ranch closed – by September 1961, when Carla hit.

Google Maps likes the address of 4218 TX-71, Columbus, TX. Although it looks like nothing’s left, the small building in the middle of the field is where the Ono’s concession stand used to be.

From the Sept. 17, 1955 issue of Billboard:

“The new Ono Drive-In Theater has been opened at Columbus, Tex., by Lester Miller. It is the only drive-in within a 20 mile area.”