Hello, The Los Angeles Metropolitan area was so loaded with drive in theaters that it was very easy to go to one in most neighborhoods from the North County down South to Orange County. We happen to live near an area that had at least 4, just in our own section of this huge So Cal area. There are plenty of stories that are associated with drive in theaters. We had plenty as it was almost a weekly event when we started driving. When a fast getaway is necessary at the drive in movies, one must remember to unhook the wired speaker or odd results will happen. This remaining 1959 speaker came from the Los Altos Drive-In Theater in Lakewood, CA. a long time ago. The statute of limitations ran out a long time ago... It accidentally got torn away from the speaker pole when leaving the angled, drive-in parking spot. The speaker was in the door jam and not in the glass window. Yes, the preferred spot was above the rolled up glass window, but somehow, after intermission, it got stuck in the door jam, but still broadcast well, in the car. When it made a loud snap as we drove away, our neighbors laughed so loudly that we could hear them inside of our car. My date said that there is a “metal something” in the foot well of the rear seats. I did not have time to stop and look, so I kept driving to the exit. When we got to the youth canteen dance place, I looked into the rear foot well and out popped a clean Pacific Brand Drive-In Speaker. For fear of being charged for destruction, I kept it all of these years. It did not harm the 58 Impala doors or quarter panel. Jnaki Being low on cash for real speakers, my brother walked in with another metal speaker housing and a similar story…ha! These two metal speakers made a homemade “early 1960 stereo” effect in our backyard garage workshop on those cold build nights. Sadly, I only have one left being used as a bookend in our office. It still works. But now, I can afford some better speakers and an amp, for my MP3 music collection in our current garage. from the old days... Note: Later on to prevent accidental damages to the posts, cars, and speakers, the drive in theaters began to get smart with a stereo hi fi sound paired up to your car’s radio. What to do with a car without a radio? Bring your portable hand held radio with an antenna or a boombox. The early versions had wires clipped on to the antenna. Later on, the pairing of the car speakers/radio channel with the drive in music station, worked… No more mishaps...YRMV
I really enjoy your posts, but I have one issue. I am not sure if it's because I am old, tired, or dumber than a box of hood ornaments, but... what the hell is YRMV?
Hey SS, Thanks for enjoying my stories... I do a lot of research and they are backed up with facts that I have written down or a memory or two that pop up on a subject... In reading some of texts from our granddaughter and her folks, abbreviations are used for some reason. We are of the old group that learned to type slowly and accurately in High School. So, our information is usually spelled correctly and no abbreviations were around at the time. Term papers and research papers were drilled into us and... Old habits die hard... Because of all of the ways to look at stuff/hot rods/ideas/philosophy/etc... everyone has an opinion and facts supporting those ideas are relevant to the topic at hand. The facts come from history in our lives and research over the years. My stories are inspired by research and some are blank until an idea or two from my "old" family history comes to light. Some look at the stories and don't care...but that is why "Your Results May Vary..." Jnaki I guess, we are not just old school, but "very old school" as modern times will allow. Things are hard to decipher with age. We are approaching the big 80 soon and life is clear as day. But, the old body needs some pushing to move along as faster than turtle speed at times... Hot rods still play a part of our lives. My wife is becoming a sharp visual spotter when we are driving around enjoying our slow, but fun lifestyle. It has been going on since we met in 1966. We decided that we do need a nice hot rod sitting in our garage, but time is moving faster than we are, these days... Ha!
The Jalopy Journal
