 | Faye Graves, a native Wichitan, attended school at Friends and Wichita State, concluding at Midwestern Theological Seminary. He has been active in media for many years with Channel 12, KIRL, KFDI, KOOO AM & FM (Omaha), KFRM & KICT 95, as an owner, manager, producer, director and announcer. He has served as President of the Haysville Board of Education. He has also served on several national boards of the Southern Baptist Convention. Faye currently serves as Executive Pastor and Director of Administration and Education at Immanuel Baptist Church, 1415 S. Topeka, Wichita. You may contact Faye by e-mail fmgraves@amenibc.org, or by phone at (316) 262-1452. |
Nostalgia
2012-06-08 14:59:28
Remember...
A: Yes I do. I was talking with a friend of mine, Rev. Terry Fox. He told me that his son had gone into business by buying into a company that owns a drive- in theatre. His son Tyler is in the service and overseas so Terry is assisting in the operation. He mentioned that this drive- in theatre was the 2nd oldest to open in Kansas. It was first lit back in 1949 with a capacity for 300 cars. The location is on Haverhill Road in El Dorado, Kansas and is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 You should check it out.
The thought of drive- in theatres brought back many pleasant memories of my youth. Kansas was noted for having been one of the most enthusiastic of drive-in states during the drive-in boom years in the 50’s. There were 125 outdoor theatres in Kansas. Since the peak years, 92% of them have been demolished or gone dark . Presently only nine remain in operation.
Dodge City was the state’s oldest and was first lit in 1947. Wichita had a bunch. They were, the 81 at 6250 N. Broadway….the 54 at 7817 E. Kellogg…the 42 Sky Vue in the 4300 block of Southwest Blvd….the Airport at 3100 S. Oliver…the Terrace north of Wichita University at 2701 N.Hillside….and the Rainbow at Hydraulic and McArthur, which is the only one still open in Wichita, but renamed the Starlite Twin. It is one of the state’s largest with two screens and a capacity of 1300 cars. Then there was the Meadowlark Twin at 4445 E. Harry between Hillside and Oliver…the Pawnee drive in at 2400 S. Broadway…and the Westport at 401 S. West Street.
I have so many wonderful memories of these…taking your date, getting dinner, the greatest chili dogs ever, and since they charged by the number of people, a lot of the kids would load up the trunk and get in free. Remember getting the speaker off the pole and placing it on your window? Then you would tune in the sound on your car radio.
Drive- ins were a lot of fun and I would suggest you go sometime this summer and enjoy a great evening watching a movie outside in the car. I thought that some night soon it would be a real treat for my wife and me to go to either the Starlite on South Hydraulic, or to the one in El Dorado and have dinner with a chili dog, fries, and a drink, and watch a movie in the car. What a great evening it would be!
