#Ford drive in theatre movie#

“Everyone I met as I did the research for this book had a story about canoodling at a drive-in somewhere. And a few people have said they’re buying the book just because of that word!. “Being a nice girl from Bad Axe – and hoping my mother would still talk to me after its publication – I came up with “canoodling.” No one hesitated or questioned it. And there had to be sex.įord-Wyoming visitors can use pole-mounted speakers that stretch to hang inside vehicles. “I knew the book’s subhead had to mention some of the basics of ‘ozoners,’ or outdoor movies. It’s the focus of an evocative December 2013 blog post by Kristen Gallerneaux, curator of communication and information technology at The Henry Ford in Dearborn.Īs for the catchy subtitle, Dybis explains with the pride of an admitted “word geek” how she came up with “Cars, Candy and Canoodling in the Motor City:” 3 on a Fodor’s Travel list posted in May. It’s second on a “10 best drive-in theaters” list in USA Today this month. She started a Pinterest page about the landmark, which also earns this attention: “I tried to get there throughout its day as well – watching them set up, seeing a movie, late at night.” “I knew it would be impossible to grasp the largess of the site without going there multiple times,” says Dybis, whose book has more than five dozen photos. Small heaters are available during cold months.įilms now showing include four summer releases - “Get on Up,” 'Tammy,' “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Lucy.” Patrons hear films via car radios or traditional pole-mounted speakers that stretch to hang inside vehicles. In June 2010, it was renamed Ford Drive-In, which now has room for 3,000 vehicles in its five sections over 30 acres – America’s largest drive-in capacity. The 30-acre theater has five screens and 3,000 parking spots – America’s largest drive-in capacity. he’s as current on Detroit as any newspaper reporter could ever hope to be.” “He doesn’t go to the theater nightly like he used to because of his health,” she adds in the email interview. Schafer, the current owner, ”is still kicking” at age 93, says the writer, who describes him as “a delight. In a personal blog post, Dybis calls it “a long love letter to this Dearborn institution.”ĭybis, a 41-year-old University of Michigan graduate (’95) who lives in Grosse Pointe Woods, spoke with relatives of James, Clyde and Harold Clark – the now-deceased brothers who ran the Ford-Wyoming until Charlie Schafer bought it in 1981. Visiting and learning about the Ford-Wyoming reframes it as “a national treasure” – a phrase used by an admirer the author interviewed. I saw that as a nostalgic part of my childhood. “Like most people, I had neglected drive-in theaters.

#Ford drive in theatre movie#

“Sadly, the first time I went to go see a movie there was because I knew I was writing the book,” she tells Deadline Detroit in her first interview about the project. Her 128-page paperback reflects nine months of interviews and other research, including six film viewings at the suburban showplace opened in May 1950 by Clyde Clark Sr. 26 from the History Press, a South Carolina publisher.ĭybis, a freelance journalist and blogger for Detroit Unspun, dreamed of being an author since childhood in Bad Axe, Mich. Local writer Karen Dybis explores the landmark’s nostalgic lure, remarkable longevity and historic niche in her first book, “ The Ford-Wyoming: Cars, Candy and Canoodling in the Motor City.” It comes out Aug. Cover portion from the book coming out in three weeks.