Drive-Ins

According to the Drive-Ins.com, there are still 22 open drive-in theaters in Indiana. That number, if it's accurate, has gone down by one now that the Clermont Drive-In has closed. I could be wrong, but I don't believe we ever took our kids to a drive-in. It's hard to believe that something that was such a part of summer life when we were growing up has nearly disappeared. The Bluffton Drive-In was such a wonderful place to hang out, don't you think? Sitting on the hood of your car, leaning back on the windshield . . . or backing your truck in and sitting on lawn chairs in the bed. So what if the movies were hard to see and were, for the most part forgettable. It was the company and the atmosphere of freedom that drew us in.

How many theaters were there? The East 30 out on the way to New Haven, the Hillcrest out by Southtown Mall, The Ft. Wayne Drive-In right there on Bluffton Road near Waynedale, the LincolnDale Drive-In on Goshen Road out by the Zoo. Were there more? I remember one in Decatur and one in Huntington that were open long after those in Ft. Wayne had closed.

I miss them all.