by RITA-LYN SANDERS Gazette-Times reporter
September 16, 1998
Midway Theatre Sign Saved
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by RITA-LYN SANDERS Gazette-Times reporter September 16, 1998 Midway Theatre Sign Saved |
 | Linda Modrell, who used to watch movies at the Midway Theatre drive-in, helped to find a new home for the Midway Theatre sign. Photo by Jeremy F. Harrison/Gazette-Times |
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Corvallis Gazette-Times, Corvallis, OR While most drive-ins collected by the carload, the fabled theater on U.S. Highway 20 between Corvallis and Albany charged for each person who came to catch a flick on its giant screen. The individual charge prompted many people to try and sneak in, said Gary Feuerstein of Corvallis. "Kids and adults," Feuerstein said. "People packed in trunks, hid under blankets in the back seat and some stopped before the entrance so they could run to a panel they'd loosened earlier in the day." Feuerstein, who co-owns Endex Engineering, worked at the Midway Drive-In for three years in the early 1970s while he attended classes at Oregon State University. Mostly he sold tickets, but Feuerstein also worked in the concessions booth and patrolled the grounds to watch for people trying to sneak in for a free movie. "Working at the drive-in when you're going to college - it doesn't get much better than that," Feuerstein said. He enjoyed the hub of activity. Some nights the drive-in drew 200 cars. Because of the great time he had there, Feuerstein delighted in helping to restore and find a home for the Midway Theatre sign - the only visible confirmation that a drive-in once existed in Benton County. The sign will be unveiled Friday at its new location, the side of the building that houses Great Harvest Bread Co. at 134 S.W. First St. The celebration will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and feature free popcorn, old cars, speeches and music. Anyone with memories of the drive-in has been invited to share them at the reception by the sign's three restorers and new owners. When Feuerstein heard the sign had to be moved from its original site, he contacted the city and requested a permit to put the sign on one of the buildings he owns with his business partner, David Livingston. Meanwhile, Livingston restored the antique. Livingston, who once painted signs for a living, sandblasted and scraped his way to the original paint job hidden beneath years of wear. When the sign is unveiled it will tote its original colors, red with orange letters outlined by blue-green neon. "The original colors are more vivid so they're a better choice," Feuerstein said. The Whiteside family opened the Midway Drive-In Theatre in April 1949. It closed in the late 1980s. A pumpkin seed processing company later built a plant on the property, but left the sign announcing the drive-in. Howard and Judy Ropp wanted to keep the sign on Highway 20 between Albany and Corvallis because it had become a landmark to many people, but the Oregon Department of Transportation told them they weren't a drive-in theater and couldn't have it there. They tried to auction it off in exchange for a donation to Santiam Christian School, but no one bought it. Then Linda Modrell, a candidate for Benton County commissioner, called Howard Ropp to ask if she could put a campaign sign on the landmark display. She explained how much the sign meant to her and he said she could have it. From there Modrell flew eagerly to her friends at Endex Engineering, who selected a new home for the sign. Modrell also has fond memories of the drive-in. As a young girl, it was at the drive-in Modrell realized she never wanted to be seen in public again with her family. Her parents and three younger siblings loaded in the car with their own popcorn and drinks and headed to the movies. "This was very embarrassing to me to be out there with my family in the midst of all these cool people," Modrell said. At the same drive-in, she couldn't find her way back to her boyfriend's car after a trip to the snack bar and wound up in an unfamiliar front seat with a stranger Return to GF Homepage GF News Corvallis, Oregon Homepage |