Passion Row

At the Trail Drive-In Theater during my adolescent years, the back row of that complex was called by many names, some of which are not suitable for printing within this story. For today’s column I will use the simple pseudonym Passion Row!

Now that we are approaching the longest day of the year, we are in full summertime mode. On warm summer nights in the era we boomers simply refer to with some degree of reverence as “the ‘60s,” drive-in movie theaters could be found in practically every small town and city in America.

Families and teenagers in that era attended these now almost defunct complexes (there are still a few to be found … Lamar still had one recently, but I am not sure if it is still in operation). Sadly, the thousands of theaters like the Trail Drive-In across America are now only memories to be cherished by those of us who loved the ambiance they presented.

My first memories of the drive-in date back to my early childhood. We still lived on our farm down on DD Highway. My parents would drive to town for a double feature on a Saturday night. They were quite frugal in those days. My mother would pop a large grocery sack about a third full of popcorn (we actually raised our own). She would bring a cooler with ice, along with some sodas and cups.

The Trail Drive-In was located just over half a mile east of the 54 Café on Highway 54. The highway in that area follows a route that is slightly tilted a bit to the northeast from due east until it straightens just past the airport. When you faced the large outdoor screen it was in the northwest horizon, which in the summer was directly in line with the sundown. It was often close to or after 9 p.m. before it was dark enough for the movie to be shown (that was in pre-daylight savings time).

In front of the screen there was a playground with swings and a merry-go-round. Before the movies started and during the mid-feature intermission kids enjoyed playing there.

When I was really young, I rarely managed to remain awake long enough to see the end of any of the movies. Luckily for me, one of my favorite offerings each night was the cartoon they showed at the beginning. I can still remember hearing loud laughs floating in the air above all the parked cars when the Road Runner or Foghorn Leghorn were the feature cartoons.

I know there is a business located upon the grounds where the Trail used to be, but I wonder if those familiar elevated dirt ramps have been removed? As we ran from the playground back to our folks’ cars, we loved to run up and down those ramps.

In those legendary ‘60s, our generation spent much of our leisure time in our cars. Cruising was for us just as much fun as today’s kids appear to have with their smartphones. We knew what almost every other kid drove even if it was their family car. When you passed each other on the cruise route in Nevada, your were expected to wave and honk at your acquaintances.

That same recognition factor was also a part of the routine at the drive-in. Most of us tried to arrive early. It gave us time to get our favorite parking spot, and to watch the parade of cars as they arrived.

Although the outdoor screen was very large the best views of the movies were from the middle of the parking areas near the concession building forward. A close view was not a top priority for the teenagers in the Nevada of the ‘60s.

Our preferred parking spots were along the far back two rows. There we were distant from the many families with small kids, and we were also far from Mr. Fryer’s view. He was the owner of both the Fox Theater in town and the Trail Drive-In.

This remoteness allowed us several enhancements. Once the back two rows began to fill, it became somewhat of a social setting. You greeted your friends and discovered some news like who was there on perhaps a first date.

Alcohol was also easier to sneak in and consume along these back rows. Many a teenager of the ‘60s obtained their first illegal drink at the drive-in. It was another perk of the back rows however that headed our list of reasons for being there.

“Passion Row” was as its name suggests a place for romance. Many a young teen of that era got their first kiss at the drive-in. Besides the safety the back rows provided from adult views the darkness allowed some sense of privacy.

Our cars back then were huge compared to today’s. Many had large back and front seats, which made for close romantic encounters. It was almost considered a rite of passage for both boys and girls of that era, to experience some level of what we referred to as making out at the drive-in. For the most part that was as far as the tomfoolery went. This was in the era before the pill was available, so passionate kissing and groping were as far as many teens were willing to go.

There was only one drawback to these practices on “Passion Row.” The double features usually presented the feature movie as the second offering of the evening. This scheduling often interfered with our making out time.

More than one teenager missed a good part the second movie as they spent most of that feature in the back seat of their car kissing and fondling. No one that I can remember had any regrets at this loss because there were few experiences more enjoyable than the pleasures of the Trail Drive-In’s “Passion Row!”