PATRICIA ROMERO
Here is the true story of my Starlite Drive-In memory(ies) that I love to First, let me say I am very excited about the drive-in being reopened!! My favorite summer drive-in memory is from when I was about 5 or six years (around 1963 or so). My father had already passed away so it was a very rare treat for my four siblings and I to get to go to the movies at all!! I remember my mother was driving the “old gray Ford”. We stopped by Clarence’s corner to pick up popcorn and candy bars to take to the drive-in. After we arrived and found our parking space, Mom hooked up the old metal speaker on her window and then grabbed the Windex and rag and made sure the windshield was nice and clean. Having all five of us kids (ranging from 5 to 15) in the car was pretty cramped and so to keep us in order before the movie started, my oldest sister took my brother and me to the swings that were provided for the patrons! What fun we had playing on the swings in our pajamas!! Once the movie started, you could have heard a pin drop in our vehicle. Since I was pretty little, I would lay in the back window with my pillow, and usually fell asleep before the end of the movie. What a great time it was!! The Starlite drive in has a special place in my heart because it was where my husband took me on our first date almost 32 years ago. It was the month of July in the summer of 1977 and the weather was hot, so the drive-in was the perfect place to enjoy the outdoor air and watch a movie. He drove a Ford van, so we parked the van backwards in the Starlite parking lot and opened the back doors and sat in bean bag chairs and enjoyed the movie. I remember turning and looking into his face and I will never forget his perfect smile lit up by the glow of the movie screen. My heart did flip-flops then and still does now when he flashes me that smile! We will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary on June 13th and this summer will be the 32nd anniversary of our first date. Many wonderful memories through the years! I read your article on the renovations of the Starlite and I wish you much success. I loved going to the drive-in when I was younger. The one memory (I have several) but this one sticks in my mind. It was probably 1975 or 1976 (I am telling my age) and my boyfriend and I went to see the movie “Carrie” with Sissy Spacek. That movie scared me so much that I have not watched a scary movie since. The last scene was the scariest where the hand pops out of the ground. The whole drive back home I kept looking in the back seat to see if this hand was going to pop up. My boyfriend kept asking me what I was doing and I told him that I was checking to see if the hand was going to pop up. He thought I was being ridiculous. What A Scary Movie!! My older boys have enjoyed going to Starlite and are happy to hear that it will still be going. CUSS WORDS I cannot remember the year specifically but it must have been around 1978. Smokey And The Bandit came to the Starlite that summer. We had three boys ages 9,7 and 3. The drive-in was the only theatre we went to at that time. We packed up one evening and headed to the Starlite. All three boys got a big kick out of that movie. They watched every bit of it. The next day my youngest was playing in the house and I heard “You Sumbitch”. I was shocked. My little boy did not cuss! I asked him what he said and, of course, he said it again. I told him that was not a nice thing to say and I did not want to hear it again. “But, mom, that’s what the sheriff said last night.” He was right. I then had to explain it did not make it a good thing to say?! Oh, man!! My baby boy learned to cuss at the Starlite Theatre. AND, Can you believe this? - That movie is still his all time favorite movie!
share with my friends and family during the tough times after my son lost
his father when he was 12 years old...
Good Times
Sharing quality time with my 12 year old son Mario, was going to prove
difficult after the unexpected passing of his beloved father. First off,
we lived in a small rural town about 35 miles out of Sterling. Secondly, I
'd just received a promotion in my career and the job required working 2:00
p.m. - 10:00 p.m. on second shift. This left us little time together.
How to find a special way to spend shared moments with my son was not going
to be an easy feat. I don't do video games, he didn't appreciate yard work,
and we didn't have cable or a satellite dish. We had no family in town.
There's really not much left for the imagination in a small town. But we
did have a pet! A miniature white poodle my son named "M&M" after the
candy, or was it "Eminen" after the new up and coming rapper? I couldn't
say. The puppy was a gift from his father three months before he'd taken
ill.
Fortunately, there was the Sterling Starlite Drive-In. We could see a
movie...no, TWO movies in a night and even bring along the new puppy! And
then there was the food! We could bring in our own food, as much as we
liked, as much as we could eat. All my son's favorites - and the poodle's
too! I'd bring the windex and paper towels for the best viewing possible,
which embarrassed my son to no end, and plenty of pillows and blankets for
the cooler nights. We were set!
This worked out wonderfully for my son and myself and it was so much fun!
We would drive into Sterling on a weekend night early enough to stop by Taco
Bell or KFC (I would not recommend a bucket of chicken for two after this
one experience!), for some super engorging and load up on fast food which
was a rare treat for my son. Another time,we just let loose on Mc Donalds's
.99 cent cheeseburgers, french fries and 20 piece chicken McNuggets! We'd
pick up giant Slurpee's from 7-11 which would last us all night long between
the eating frenzy and the movie watching. After stuffing our selves silly
and the "Poo", which I affectionally call my son's dog, I could sleep when I
was no longer able stay up and get a nap in before the long drive home.
It still tickles me when I think back and remember those moments of our
times spent together at the Starlite Drive-In. Maybe, it means more to me
than it did for my son, but as an only parent it helped me to fulfill an
important part in my son's life. Time spent together. We live in Sterling
now, and my son is now 20 years old. We still make it to the Sterling
Starlite Drive-In once in a while, but not at all last year. Its good to
hear the Starlite Drive-In is in business again. We're talking about about
catching a drive-movie together sometime soon again, and I can't wait to
hear what he and M&M feel like pigging out on this time! Good times!
I have visited the drive-in every year since and my kids, now ages 16-22, really missed our “drive-in movie” nights last year! Thank you so much for re-opening the drive-in! I can’t wait to visit again and am very excited to see the renovations to the concession stand!!
BOBBIE ZEN
My memory of going to drive-in movies date back to when I was in high school in the sixties. In my hometown of Watertown, So. Dak., there were two drive-in movies. Often one or the other would offer "$1.00 per car" night and my friends and I would stuff as many bodies as we could into one car & off we would go to enjoy a night at the drive-in.
Marsha Konken
April 26, 2009
MY MOST MEMORABLE DRIVE-IN EXPERIENCE:
My late wife and I decided to go to watch a movie that we had heard so much
about. We arrived early so we could get our refreshments. When it got dark
enough, the movie began. There was a storm approaching from the west which
was behind us. It started to rain and the wind came up very fast. We had to
turn the car on and use the windshield wipers to see the screen. I am not a
fan of watching a movie with wipers moving back and forth. So, like many
others, we decided to leave, only to find out that about 30 minutes after we
left a big gust of wind, "some said it was a tornado", blew the movie screen
over. It only seemed fitting because the movie being shown that summer night
in Columbus, Nebraska in 1967 was GONE WITH THE WIND!!!!!!
Marv Conyers
My Favorite Drive-In Movie Memory:
I was a junior at Sterling High in 1956. I worked part time for Harold Whyman at the New Method Cleaners making 52 cents an hour. Times were tough back then and my money was spent on rent, gas and clothes. There wasn't much money left over for "fun" things. But once in awhile, my buddies; Dave Grams, Ralph Goram and Jack Kratzer and I would jump in my 1939 Chevy and go to the $2 a car load show at the Star Lite Drive-In ! One evening we pulled up to the ticket booth at the Star Lite Drive-In and I handed the attendent two one dollar bills. The attendent smiled and handed me back two dollars in change and our ticket. We had gotten in to the drive in movie for free !! That night in 1956, my buddies and I sat in my '39 Chevy at the Star Lite Drive-In movie in Sterling; talking, laughing, eating pop corn and drinking coke !! That is My Favorite Drive-In Memory !
Sincerely,
Lyle McBride
Thank you,
Kelly C. Barrett
summer!! I thought that we had lost a good thing forever!! Thank you so much!
This favorite Starlite Drive In memory is about 40 years old. Times were
different then, & people didn't worry so much about their young children being
snatched or coming in to harm's way then as they now. I loved to go to the
drive in! It was a regular summer treat! We'd make a big bag of popcorn, put
the kids in their pjs, & head out in the car. Before the show started there
was a small play area where we would go swing & play until the show started,
then we'd all go get back in the cars, & we always seemed to fall asleep
before the shows were over! I loved everything about the drive in from the
crackly speakers to the snack bar & the bugs, & the orange drink! Everytime we
went to the drive in my Mom would buy us each an orange drink that came in a
little plastic orange with a built in straw. So cool!! And the adults liked to
go because they'd sneak in their "adult drinks".
There is one really strong memory that still sticks with me now, & I regularly
chuckle about it when I go out to the drive in. It happened when I was about 5
yrs. old. I remember that the main movie feature was playing, & I had to use
the restroom. I think we must have been parked fairly close to the bathrooms,
& as I said earlier, it was a different time, people let their little kids go
off on their own when they were nearby. But no matter what the circumstances,
my Mom told me if I needed to go, that the bathrooms were right over there, so
just to go. I had to go really bad, so I set off on my own, I was brave, or
tried to be anyway! It wasn't so bad! I found the bathrooms ok on my own
because the movie was showing brighter scenes, but it wasn't that way by the
time I came out!! I remember coming out of the bathroom feeling totally lost!
Which way was the car? This way or that way?? Where was my Mommy?? I remember
it was really dark out & all the cars looked the same!! I must have wandered
around for just a short time, but it felt like forever! They left me there!!
Just took off & left me alone at the drive in! They had to have because I
couldn't find our car, it wasn't anywhere!! I was crying at this point & I
just stopped where I was at, I was never going to find them! "Mommy!!" I was
just standing there crying my eyes out!! I was feeling so lost & scared! Just
then the movie scene brightened up & I turned my head & looked, I was standing
right in front of our car & my crazy mother was about to die laughing!!! I ran
for the car door, safe at last! I got in the car & she was still laughing &
asking me if I thought they'd left me there! I still think about this when I
use the restroom at the drive in, & while it now makes me laugh, I was never
so scared in all my life!! From that point on when had to use the drive in's
restroom I make sure to remember where we're parked too, & I try to make it
to intermission when the lights come on!
PENNY VENABLE
Good morning. Just wanted to share a fun memory from the Starlite Drive-in Theatre
Before moving back to the Sterling area I was here visiting relatives in the late 1960's-early 1970's. All of my cousins and I decided to go see a movie at the drive in that evening. Well it turns out to be a Godzilla movie!!!!
Needless to say we decided to be "movie critics" all the way through the movie, just making comments on the movie...examples would be about the cardboard cities Godzilla is smashing, the zipper on his back, the wires holding the planes, helicopters etc; the toy tanks (of course) the bad photographic effects and of course the bad dialogue dubbing and the mouth action not matching the spoken dialogue!!!
Yes there were 5 of us in the car and we had very much fun. At times we were laughing so hard because of what we were commenting about the movie and everybody got their comment or one liner in. And we were not talking dirty at all, we just looked saw and said what we thought was funny.
Looking back now it seems we were doing then what the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 also did in the 1990's. I guess we had a great idea that someone else did later.
Thank you very much and so happy the drive-in is back. Let's hope the area supports it well like it always has before.
Dan Christner
From Kenny and Peggy Heintzelman, formly from Leavenworth, Kansas
My husband and I use to rent an apt across the hyway from your drive-in. We use to look out of the picture window and say we wished the drive-in was opened. We could walk across the hyway and sit in the seats next to the consession stand like in the old days and watch the show. We both were born and grew up in Leavenworth, Kansas, We moved to Sterling to watch our twin grandchildren grow up. I saw the ad in the paper about the questions you would like to have answered. Being a 64 yr old and husband 70 yr old, we have alot of memories from those "old" days.
#1. Favorite memory: My husband, Kenny, and I would always go to the drive-in on Sat. nights. Good movies and cheap date, for my husband as I lood back on it. He was with me so maybe not so cheap!! Sitting next to him with his arm around me, eatting popcorn and drinking coke, oh what a night!
#2, Good time you had: My best friend from 7th grade Pat Finneran Rettig (and still is best friend) would go to the drive-in and walk around to see who was there And what they were doing. Bad huh? but remember this was back in the early 60's. We would walk up to the cars of couples we knew and talk to them. One car was my brother and his girlfriend. What the conversation we had. I said I thought Kenny Heintzelman was so good looking, (and then the old saying) he could put his shoes under my bed anytime!! Boy my brother went off. You better not ever go with him, understand. Little did he know Kenny would be his brother-in-law. My brother and Kenny became fast friends. I can't remember who we came with but "when" we went back to the car, they would want to know where we had been.
#3: Great movie I remember: It has to be and still is, It's A Wide Wide World. I laughed so hard. I am still looking for that movie in DVD. They don't seem to make movies like that anymore.
#4: The time you and your friends snuck in: There were 4 of us. My friend Pat and 3 others. One drove her car the other sat beside her in the front seat. Pat and I were in the back seat on the floor board covered with a blanket. (Why would there be a blanket on the floor board?) The person took the money and peeked in the window to see if there were just 2 people in the car. Well with a long line behind us the person didn't take to look of a look. Thanks for us!!
#5: Again the first "good date" I remember the most was with my husband to be. I had went with several boys before that but never with a "man". Kenny is 6 yrs older then me. He was very experienced , I being only 17 at the time. I was afraid of him because he was 23 and I 17. All I could think of was God be with me. God was with me because Kenny was a gentleman. I well never forget the first drive-in with him!!
#6: The funny or interesting story you remember: Two guys we knew asked us to go to the drive-in that evening with them. So we met them at Pat's house and away we go to the drive-in. The guy that was my date was very nice. The other guy with Pat was a jerk from the word go. He thought he was the God from heaven and everyone should know that. We had been in the car maybe 30 minutes and he said, " You both know you are pick-ups?? " I said "Well you know you are a pick-up?" Nothing was said after that. He left at half time to go and get something to eat. An hour went by and he never came back. My friend Pat was very mad and went after him. She saw him talking to a group of his friends and she came back to the car. The guy I was with went after him but he wouldn't come back so we left. That was the end of the guy.
Boy did you after bring back memories. So many times I will remember about things of my past sitting there watching the movies and eatting popcorn and drinking that coke.
After our house is finished, I know my husband and I will be sitting there watching another movie and eatting the good popcorn and drinking that coke.
Kenny and Peggy Heintzelman
One of my "fondest" memories at the drive-in happened about 30 years ago. I don't recall the name of the movie - but I do remember that it was such a beautiful night out and my mom and I decided to go to the Starlight. We hadn't went to the show together for years - I was just out of High School. It was a time when just me and mom spent the evening together - bonding and talking, laughing and giggling - a "girl's night out." It was such a great evening and one that has stayed with me for all these years, because it was shortly after that that my mom got very sick and passed away in 1980. But that evening at the drive-in was such a memorable night and one that I'll never forget. It was a time when just me and mom enjoyed each other's company and for me, a time that I'll cherish forever.
Marsha Davis
SUSAN PRATT
Please enter this memory in the Win Big contest. I love the Starlight and am so glad that you are keeping it open. Thanks for the special memory of my special friend. I keep it and her close to my heart forever.
STARLIGHT MEMORY OF A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP
When we were in high school, my best friend and I heard all the hype about the movie "Jaws". We saved our tips from our waitress jobs and on a warm, Friday night we headed out to the Starlight. We boasted to each other that no movie with a fake shark could possibly scare us!
When we arrived at the drive in we climbed out of the car, sat on the front hood and leaned backward on the windshield. We turned the speaker up as loud as it would go, since we were so very brave!
Once or twice as the movie ran, my friend reached over and grabed my arm, but quickly pulled back. After all, it wasn't a real shark.
As the movie neared it's end, and the shark was attacking the boat, the dumb, dumb...dumb, dumb...dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb dumb.. got louder and louder! Just as the shark opened it's mouth to bite the boat and the man I heard a loud thud. My "fearless" friend had leaned over so far to get away from the bite that she had fallen off the car and was laying on the ground. We laughed so hard we missed the end of the movie.
My friend has since passed, and I miss her terribly. However, I have a once in a lifetime memory about her that makeds me feel warm and happy every time I think back on this experience. Thanks to the Starlight Drive-Inn, my special friend is just a memory away.
barbara wardan
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I moved to Sterling my junior year of high school. That summer I remember going to the Starlite Drive In. It was the only drive in that I had ever seen that had two movies playing at the same time. My dad had a customized Dodge Maxi van. We would have two people in the front of the van, that's all that it sat. There would be eight to ten people hiding in the back of the van. We thought we were really pulling the wool over someone's eyes. I know that they had to have seen the van moving when we stopped. Once in we would pull the van in side ways, taking up two parking spaces and open the side doors. We spent many summer nights at the drive in, so many memories, good and bad....
Bill Dolan
AAAAAHHHHH!!! The Starlite. Growing up in the 50's in Sterling meant the Starlite was part of my life. One thing I rememeber was that one night a week was dollar night at the Starlite. My sisters and I would swing on our swing set at our home singing, "Daddy come home, daddy come home." This was in hopes our dad would come home from the field in time to eat supper and head to the Starlite Drive-In. We made it to the Starlite once a week , for sure on dollar night. Since we didn't go many places in the 50's the Starlite was always a treat. The 3-D movies were interesting because it seemed we could never get enough glasses for everyone in our car to have a pair. We had to pass them back and forth. Going to the Starlite was definately our family's fun outing. Marilyn (Kloberdanz) Luft When I was a little kid, my mom and dad would put our pajamas and our shoes on us. There were six of us kids, we would pile into the car and go to the Starlite Drive-In theater. There was a playground off to the west of the big white screen and we would play there until the picture started. There were swings, a merry-go-round, teeter-totters and a slipper slide. There were also many goathead stickers, and cocklecurrs, that was why we had to wear our shoes. When it got dark the picture show would start with previews of coming pictures. Then there would be a cartoon or two. Then the main attraction would start and one by one all of us kids would fall asleep. We would wake up in our beds the next morning thinking what a good time we had at the picture show. Sometimes my mom would pop popcorn and make Kool-Aid for us to take with us to the theater. Those were some of the best time in my life and I dearly love our drive in theater. Later on as I grew up, many of my dates were at the drive-in theater. And later still I got a job working in the concession stand! So the Starlite Drive-In Theater has been a big part of my whole life. I am so glad and happy to see our drive in stay open. You can be sure I will spend many happy hours at the drive in still. Thank you so much to the lovely people who keep it going. A loyal fan of our Starlite Drive-In, Peggy Windscheffel Growing up in the quiet little town of Sterling, Colorado n the 1950's was a great experience. Summers were especailly fun - kids palyed outside all day and into the evening with the other neighborhood kids. All the families knew each other and looked out for each others youngsters. No one had much money, so a night at the drive-in movies was always a treat! Being a child, I don't remember all the particulars, but I do remember that once in a while the owners of the Starlite would have what they called Dollar Night. You could pile as many people in a car as possible and all get in for the price of one crisp dollar bill! Dad worked a lot in the evenings, so we were home with Mom. This was when most families owned one vehicle, and since Dad was working, he used the car. A young, married family lived next door to us. "Carl" was a trucker and was away from home for days at a time. His wife, "Mary" had an old clunker to drive. She would invite Mom and my sister and me to accompany her and her three toddlers to the dollar night movies. Mom would pop some corn on top of the stove (no microwaves back then) and make a jug of Kool-Aid. We'd put on our "jammies," take a blanket and some pillows and stow everything in the old car for the night's adventure. Mom and Mary always sat up front with the baby in between them. After paying the admission fee, we would hunt for just the right spot to park - close enough to see well, and far enough away from other movie-goers so us kids could make a little noise without bothering others around us. We usually got to the drive-in a little early. The blanket and pillows were spread on the ground just outside the car. We kids played on the blanket, laying down and watching for shooting stars in the sky. By the time it was dark enough to start the movie, it was time to get back in the car. The stars were not the only thing to come out at night. The "skeeters" were always a menace back then, as there were no weekly spraying programs to keep them under control. My sister and I sat in the back with Mary's two little ones. They never sat still - always climbing across our laps, into the front seat and back, and behind the back seat where they would lay on the "shelf" behind the seat. They would spill their Kool-aid on themselves and us, and popcorn would be from one end of the car to the other. There was crying and fighting and laughing and talking until finally the little ones would poop out and fall asleep! Now we could watch the movie! By the end of the movie, we, too, were getting sleepy. Time to go home and slip into bed. We would have sweet dreams of the night at the drive-in. In a couple of weeks we might just do it again! Lana Tramp |