Child of the 1980's - The Drive-In Theater

                Drive-In movies were a huge part of the lives of children and young adults during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  Though drive-ins technically existed prior to World War I the first true patented drive-in opened in Camden, New Jersey in 1933.  Even after that they did not become a true part of culture until the 1950’s.  The growing popularity of drive-ins was evident at this time.  In 1948 the United States had less than 1,000 drive-ins compared to 17,000 indoor theaters.  By 1958 the numbers were changing with roughly 4,600 drive-ins opened in the country and approximately 12,000 indoor theaters.

                Drive-ins were a welcome change from what could be crowded indoor theaters.  First off one could sit in their own vehicle and watch a movie.  In fact the largest drive-in theater for a long time was located in Dearborn, Michigan and used to hold 3,000 cars.  It was eventually surpassed by the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop.  When the 1980’s began the drive-in was still going strong with approximately 3,500 screens located across the country.  However this decade would end quite differently.

                Growing up on Cape Cod I remember vividly going to the Yarmouth Drive-In located along Parker’s River.  There were also screens located in Hyannis, Dennis, East Falmouth, and Wellfleet.  During this time in the early 1980’s I got to see movies such as Return of the Jedi, E.T., Flash Gordon, and even Friday the 13^th Part III at the Yarmouth Drive-In.  It was such a thrill as a child barely in kindergarten to be able to lay down under a blanket with pillows and snacks and watch a movie on a screen that was between 90-100-feet wide.  Shows started at dusk and were double-features.  The first movie was usually the more family friendly since it was likely that the kids would be wide awake and wired for the show.  The second movie was usually a little looser, probably not R-rated, but likely a solid PG, or PG-13.  It felt like an adventure, a unique experience, being outside yet feeling like you were in your own living room.

Dennis Drive-In courtesy of Cinema Treasures

               
      The 1980’s began with five drive-ins on Cape Cod, and 3,500 nationwide.  By 1990 that number was below 1,000, and there was only one survivor on the Cape and that was in Wellfleet.  What caused the downfall?  Causes range from the rise of cable television to the wider availability of VCR’s.  Drive-Ins did not totally vanish, and still haven’t, but today they are more of a niche, something neat to experience once during the summer if possible, not a weekly ritual like in its heyday.

So for Cape Cod children of the 1980’s wondering what happened to the other four, here are the answers.  In East Falmouth the Cod Drive-In was first to go as it closed in 1980.  Today it is the site of J.R. Brody’s and Falmouth Lumber, a concrete slab likely where the tickets or refreshments were sold is still there.  The Dennis Drive-In on Hokum Rock Road closed shortly thereafter.  In its heyday it had room for nearly 1,000 cars and even had small planes landing and rolling up to watch movies.  Today it is an overgrown field near an industrial park.  If you walk around you can see old pavement, concrete slabs, and an occasional speaker or speaker pole.  The Yarmouth Drive-In I frequented as a child closed next in 1985.  Today it is an open field across from Capt. Parker’s Restaurant on Rt. 28.  The last Cape drive-in to close was the Hyannis Drive-In which shuttered in 1987.  Today it is a shopping center anchored by Toys R Us, Home Goods and Shaws.

Wellfleet Drive-In today courtesy of Wellfleet Cinemas

The Wellfleet Drive-In is still hanging on and has now found a second life as children of the 1980’s wish to recreate that old drive-in magic with their children.  Today there are only 336 drive-ins left in the country, that’s about 7% when compared to the prime of the late 1950’s. 

What movies do you remember seeing in the 1980’s at the drive-in?  Do you get the chance to go today?  For a trip down memory lane check out Drive-In Theater.com, and stay tuned for more buttery and sugary treats 1980’s style!

Click here for my last Child of the 1980's blog about Mascot Mania!

Chasing Sunsets

            I never grow tired of a good sunset, even in the dead of winter.  I am sure that I am not the only one who feels the same.  The colors can turn a terrible day around.  I often use the sunset, and the time leading up to and immediately afterward, as a sort of meditation.  It is quite easy to get lost in thought when watching a sunset.  Whether from the warmth of a car during winter, or perched on a breakwater during summer, as long as there’s a sunset it doesn’t matter how you view it.  You can enjoy it with the sounds of surrounding nature, or with a favorite song playing in headphones, I do both quite often.  I even have made a Sunset Mix of music on my IPod for those times.

            I try to take at least one day each week in winter, and several during summer, to take the time to enjoy a sunset. It is a natural stress reliever.  Being from Cape Cod I have been privileged to see thousands of sunsets backdropped against the ocean.  I have several favorite spots from Bound Brook Island in Wellfleet to Monk’s Park in Monument Beach, yet any beach will do as long as there’s a sunset to be witnessed.  You really don’t even need a beach; just a few free moments to look toward the horizon.  The colors created as dusk approaches makes anything and everything take on a greater beauty.  If you are a photographer this is a prime time to break the camera out; you can even use a smart phone now. 

These are not complicated thoughts here obviously; I am not trying to make some profound statement here.  I think enjoying a beautiful sunset is about as simple a pleasure as there is in the world.  I think that this was just an excuse to share some sunset photos and perhaps influence a few of you to take a drive to a favorite spot, or even just stick your head out the window to enjoy a moment of meditation watching the next sunset. Cheers!

Where are your favorite sunset spots?  What about favorite sunset driving songs? 

Railroad Bridge on Cape Cod Canal

Monks Park, Monument Beach, MA

Summit of Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park

Delray Beach, FL

           

           

40 - 3/3/11 - Marconi Site

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

40 – 3/3/11

Marconi Site - Walking on History 

            When I was in college I did a research paper all about the effects that erosion had been having on Cape Cod throughout history.  I wrote about Stellwagen Bank located just north of Provincetown and how it used to be dry land where mammoths used to roam.  I wrote about Billingsgate Island, now known as Billingsgate Shoal.  Located at the end of Jeremy’s Point a mile off of Wellfleet’s coast there once was a thriving community spanning sixty acres.  Erosion tore through the unprotected island forcing the families onto the mainland; it was gone by the early 1940’s.  Only at low tide are the remnants of the island visible, you can even see the remains of the base of Billingsgate Lighthouse.

            I also wrote about the Marconi Wireless Station in Wellfleet as well.  It was here that the first wireless transmission took place in 1903 between President Theodore Roosevelt and England’s King Edward VII.  Guglielmo Marconi’s station, a precursor to RCA, once had four 210-foot tall wooden towers.  It was here that the first distress signals from the Titanic came but the signal was intermittent at best. 

            Erosion claimed much of the station, it was shut down in 1920 and the towers taken down as the two closest to the ocean were only fifteen feet from the cliff at the time they were removed.  The station was moved down to Chatham, there are still concrete pillars located behind Forest Street Beach that once held the radio tower up.

            The Marconi Site was always a fun place to visit with the White Cedar Swamp close by.  It was neat to look at the model of what the station looked like while it was in use and look out toward the ocean and imagine what used to be.  It was something to be imagined but never seen or touched.  That was until a few weeks ago.

            After another major storm ripped through the area the remains of the base of one of the towers resurfaced as the sand was washed away.  Sure, every winter parts of the towers may be seen but it was never like this as far as I remember.  For me, after all of the research I did in college and all of the childhood and adulthood memories, having a chance to touch a piece of the Marconi Station was something I could not pass up.

            I parked at Marconi Beach on Wednesday and walked the mile and a half to where the remains of the tower sat.  It was extremely windy with sand blowing everywhere but once the concrete, wood, and steel came into view I knew it was worth it.  I came up at low tide which meant I was able to walk around the three separate collections of debris and keep my feet dry.  There were some collections of bricks, some wooden pieces still bolted to the steel, and big chunks of concrete. 

            I was in awe of the whole scene realizing what I was seeing and standing on.  The silence surrounding me, only broken by the lapping waves, only added to the surreal scene.  After snapping a ton of photos I stopped, put the camera away, and stood in the middle of the largest section of the resurfaced tower.  Never had I imagined I’d be doing what I was doing on that day.  I wanted to enjoy it a bit more but ominous rain clouds began to move in and with a mile and half walk in the sand still to go I took one last look and left the remains of the Marconi Site in the rearview.  It was a great afternoon, one that I would recommend to anybody who likes history, or hikes, or both.  Make sure it’s low tide though or you won’t see too much.  Cheers! 

Photos: 

How it used to look.

11 - June 20, 2010

Initial Impressions

Christopher Setterlund

June 20, 2010

1.      So I spent nearly 72 hours without television in my new place, tried everything possible to get the cable to work.  Turns out that I had the TV hooked into a cable outlet that had no power, that made me feel really smart.

2.      I find it humorous that a 50-something man from Haiti who speaks almost no English, and a 50-something man from Brazil who speaks almost no English can somehow carry on hours of conversation.  What the hell do they say?  No. Yes. Busy. No good.  Stimulating.

3.      Am starting to believe that mosquitoes plan their days around when I will be getting in and out of my car at my new place.  They come out of nowhere when I hit the car, maybe there are alarms going off at their nests with me on a big screen.

4.      Today I was trying to get the Italy/New Zealand World Cup game on TV at work.  Messed around with the remote but got no picture on the screen.  Finally figured it out and got a picture, it was the On Demand porn section.  Being guys of course we checked out all the titles, but I stopped short of ordering when I realized even though they agreed the guys would point the finger at me as the trigger man.

5.      It is incredible that we have reached the point where all of the 80’s movies and television are being remade. Transformers, A-Team, Karate Kid, Smurfs, Fraggle Rock, Thundercats, GI Joe, and now Pac Man.  Feel like I am 8 years old again, but the Mannequin remake, uh we can do without that.

6.      Which would you rather have to deal with pollen or humidity?  Man I’d settle for 60 degrees and pollen rather than clear air 85 and sticky.

7.      You need to exercise great patience and be willing to wait for something you really want.

8.      I know that the beaches become free again sometime after 5, but when do these gate keepers arrive in the morning?  I mean if I got there before them there’s nothing they could do, right?  I am going to go to the beach at 6am and see who’s there.

9.      So I woke up after the disappointing end to the Celtics Game 7 and suddenly realized the Red Sox have the 3^rd best record in baseball.  Guess the stories of them being dead and buried were false.

10.  Heard Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ today, just have to wonder how you follow up a song that ends up being one of the most famous ever?  Should you just retire, or make inferior music and damage your rep?

11.  Wishing a Happy Father’s Day to my Dad, Jack, my Grampa, Sully, and my stepdad, Serpa. 

Maui Quote of the Day: - being asked if he wanted some Italian bread for a sub – “Do I look Italian? F*ck the French!”

Song of the Day: Take Me There – Rascal Flatts  buy the mp3 here

Do You Remember?:  Odd 1980’s Cereals – OJ’s Cereal, Rocky Road Cereal, Circus Fun, Ice Cream Cones, Nintendo Cereal

Photo of the Day: Wellfleet Harbor