HI Classmates; take a few minutes out of this day, God knows you have certainly earned them. Now grab a cup of jo, sit back, take a deep breath and relax.  It’s Saturday night, and the words Drive- In have been on your mind all week long.  After 6 days of anticipation, you make that turn, off good old hwy 30 and onto “Drive- In Lane” with your sweetie by your side. You are now just minutes away from yummy hotdogs, hot buttered popcorn, cold drinks, a great movie and, whatever!  Now that we re-visited your Drive-In evening, let’s read about Patty Gould Duff’s D.I. experience. 

For your entertainment, allow me to introduce;  

THE GOOD OLD DAYS! By Patty Gould Duff

There are so many memories from my days at MHS, I could write a book!  We ALL could write books!  I think they would be best sellers too!

Anyone who knew me and the GANG I hung out with knows we weren’t exactly wild and the predicaments we occasionally got ourselves into, seemed a little hairy back then, but quite laughable now as we look back!

I think the Drive-In contributes to, MANY of the stories we hold dear to our hearts!  One incident that came to mind was when Theone Linsenmeyer finally got to use the family car.  We all piled in, I think it was Lynette Lathrop, Susan Berg, Alice Bernard, Theone and me.  If there was anyone else in that car, please come forward!  We get to the drive-in and after several attempts to find a good spot, we park and everyone piles out.  Theone was just stepping out of the car when someone noticed the car was rolling.  Now, we had put the speaker inside the car and we were headed to the concession stand!  Theone jumped back in the car but was so excited she didn’t know what to do and the car just picked up speed.  By the time she got the car stopped the post for the speaker was pulled out of the ground and the cord to the speaker broken off.  We had a dilemma!  I don’t know how this always happens to me but THEY all took a vote and I was the one that had to take the speaker to the concession stand and try and explain what happened.  Do you know the guy that owned the place was at least 7 ft. tall?!!  He looked that tall when I had to go stand in front of him and try and explain why I was handing him a speaker with the cord dangling off it!  To my surprise, he was so nice and told me he just appreciated we brought him the speaker because people steel them!  Wow, that was easy!

We had fun that night and we had a memory for life!

Greetings Patty,

     Great story! An example of events that probably happened all too often at the Drive-In. And you were rewarded for your honesty about the torn speaker by the manager's response. I'm sure they lost many due to less-than-honest patrons.

     The one thing that stands out for me was the "tinniness" of those old, clumsy speakers. Having turned amateur audiophile in my HS days, building my first stereo set & custom radio, I was appalled at their lack of fidelity! But of course, we rarely went there for fidelity of sound! Whether dressed in our pajamas, as our parents took us out on a Friday night treat, or out with some friends to blow off steam, usually "fun" was the order for the ocassion.

     Thanks, Joe, for keeping these stories alive & well!

Because of His abounding grace,

Terry & Pat Lampel