Memory Monday #49

     The summer between my Sophomore and Junior years in high school a drive-in theater was built...kind of out in the country.  The guy who had it built was also the owner of the two theaters in my home town...I'm sure the decision of location had to do with placement between two towns of similar size.

      Previously the closest drive-in was about 30 miles away...the Clark Drive-In was about 15 miles..so as you can imagine..it became a popular hang out; for dates and just carloads of kids pulling in.  There was night a week that was called Dollar night...no matter how many people were in the car, it was One dollar!  Back in the '50's, there were no seat belts; no limit to the number of people you could have in a car, so we really packed 'em in!!  And of course, the teenage hormones were raging so the place became known as the "Passion Pit"!!  

     And obviously, this picture is not from the '50s as you can tell from the movie advertised on the marquee!

     This was also the period of time when most of my classmates turned 16 thus could get drivers' licenses!  So along with the drive in theater, cruising the "strip" in our home town was also a popular activity.  Very few of us had our own cars, but we were able to take turns getting a parent car.  Many of the boys had their own cars, especially if they lived in the country and played sports or had an after school job...they needed their own transportation, but I can't think of any girls who owned their own car.

      I was pretty fortunate in getting a car from the family...my older sister was older than I, so by the time I was 16, she was away at college..and my little brother wasn't old enough to drive yet. And my parents trusted my driving more than some of my friends therefore, I could get the car pretty often.  Gas was about .25 cents a gallon, so we could all chip in .50 cents, and get three-four dollars worth which would be enough to nearly fill the tank!