Drive In Theater

I think we are missing out now a days.  Remember the old Drive In Theaters?  The one in Park Rapids has given way to a housing development.

As teenagers It used to be great fun sneaking a bunch of kids in.  One time Far Guy and John were driving and Rhonda and I hid under a blanket on the floor of the back seat.  All of a sudden the guys took off hollering “You will never catch us” as the tires spun gravel into the air. WELL…the Drive In was closed and they were just fooling us. Rhonda and I laughed so hard we almost peed our pants.

There is a remnant of a Drive In Theater over at Wadena.

 

We stopped to take photos last summer.

The “Snack Shack/Projection Building/Bathroom” building could still be seen.

I recall as a youngster playing on the swings and teetertotters at some Drive Ins before the movie started and the bugs got bad.

Later as a young couple it was an affordable night out.  We would dress the girls in their pajamas and grab their pillows and blankets.  Taking a paper bag of popcorn from home and koolaid in a jar….a date night where we didn’t need a babysitter.

Wistful Wednesday : 1958-1959

Recently one of my husbands classmates shared this old photo.  It was the third grade class in 1958-1959 at the Osage School.  Mrs. Stearns was the teacher.  She was also my third grade teacher.  ( I was in second grade when this photo was taken.)

We have identified all but two or three of the students.  I dated Bobby ( loud plaid shirt) in the back row, he died in 1972 from injuries sustained in a snowmobile accident. Ken died in 2005 he is next to Bobby.   Rhonda is in the front row, third from the left with the scarf, she died in 2009 from MRSA and complications from MS, gosh I miss her.  Johnnie fourth from the right in the front row died in 2005 from sleep apnea.  In the middle row is Diane (white blouse) who died of cancer in 1995.

Several of us…including Bill in the back row second from the right commented on Gary the ladies man (plaid shirt front row) being between Rhonda and Gloria.   Far Guys cousin Alaska Guy is on the left end of the front row.

A few days after seeing this photo Gary with the plaid shirt in the front row died.  He was awaiting a lung transplant.  He had some kind of hereditary lung disease.   We  visited with Barb (Gary’s wife) just two days before his death, she was getting her ducks in a row to head to Mayo, she said Gary was sick and had been up all night coughing…the next day she took him into the ER.  

Gary and Barb got married right after Gary turned 18 in February 1967.  They were both Juniors in High School at the time.  They were madly in love and got married in the church across from the High School.  They were married 47 years. 

Back in 1967 you could not be married and be in High School.  You could be pregnant and a tutor was assigned to you but if you were married and not pregnant you were not allowed to attend.  ( Perhaps being married and having sex would rub off on other students…)

I remember when it was announced that the school officials found out about the marriage and kicked them out of school. (I believe we were in Biology class when they came and got Barb and she came back crying saying she was kicked out of school.)   None of us thought it was fair.  After that there were a few more marriages…but secret ones…announced right after the graduation ceremony…the school officials couldn’t do a thing about it then.

Students should have the right to learn and attend a high school …married or not.  I think it was a form of discrimination which is probably no longer acceptable. 

 

Reunion Weekend

It was Far Guy's 40th class reunion. Now this was no small event for Far Guy, should he go? Who would he know? Last night he almost skipped out, but I knew he would be fine! Last night was an informal get together. Today was the more formal, reading of the names, 156 people were in his class and about 35 showed up. Most of them were hard to recognize, only a few stayed the same. All are older and more grey, many are retired or looking to retire in the next four years. Twelve are deceased.

I am not quite sure, why these type of reunions, must take place in dimly lit areas. Maybe it's because our flaws are less noticeable. Maybe we look younger and thinner. Late this afternoon the party switched to a Sports Bar in Park Rapids. The mood got louder and more boisterous as the evening wore on. Since Far Guy or I drink only occasionally, we found the noise and inebriation a bit annoying and came home early.

The highlight of the day, was when Rhonda arrived, her sister busted her out of the Nursing home to spend the afternoon with us. She was a trooper, and recognized everyone, but I noticed not everyone was comfortable talking to someone who was confined to a wheelchair. It must be hard to accept that a Cheerleader and one of the most popular girls in your class now lives in a Nursing Home and in a wheelchair. What they missed is that she is as funny and friendly as she ever was:)