MOUNT VERNON — I was browsing the Knox Time collection on Facebook when I discovered this nice aerial photo of the Knox Auto Theater what sat on the south side of Mount Vernon from the 1950s through the 1970s on Ohio 13.
Today, this field is the location of the Jeld-Wen factory, but for many years it was a popular place for young adults to go. Once in a while, they may even have watched the movie playing.
Whether real or joking, several commenters claimed that one way to save money on ticket prices was to sneak friends into the venue in the trunk of their car. Rebecca Thompson claimed the record with eight in the trunk, while Tom Byrne said he never got more than seven.
B. Tupper Upham talked about sitting on top of a boxcar at nearby Wenco, straining to hear the dialogue in The Exorcist, then walking down Winland Road “scared s—less.” Angela Miller-Stulka’s grandmother lived in the adjacent house, and sometimes helped out at the concession stand. Angela said that she sometimes helped her grandmother, and on other occasions climbed into the tree to watch the movie.
Parthenia Brokaw remembered watching Friday the 13th with Tamara Lee Smith. They were sitting on the ground eating popcorn when a moment in the movie caught them by surprise, resulting in the girls sending the box of popcorn flying as they screamed and grabbed each other.
Others don’t remember the movies much.
“Went to many movies there,” Rick Clutter said, “hardly ever actually watched very many.”
“A lot of necking went on at this place,” Michael Lahmon added.
What are your memories of this or other drive-ins?
