'It was a rite of passage': Sask. group comes together to save a nostalgic drive-in theatre
CTV
One of Saskatchewan’s last remaining drive-in movie theatres will be opening this season after months of uncertainty.
One of Saskatchewan’s last remaining drive-in movie theatres will be opening this season after months of uncertainty. The threat of losing the nostalgic gem at Manitou Beach sparked a movement in the community to save it.
Burt Crawford holds an original concession sign, which displays the price of a hamburger at 30 cents, a hot dog for 20 cents and coffee or hot chocolate for 10 cents.
The sign is a throwback to the early 1950s when his dad ran the drive-in at Manitou Beach. His dad also owned the movie theatre on Main Street in Watrous at the time.
“He didn’t want to open a drive in, but he said I sure don’t want anyone else to,” Crawford told CTV News.
Crawford, now almost 89-years-old, put long hours into the family business in his youth, while going to university studying to be a geological engineer. He remembers a project he was responsible for where he had to install all the wires linking up the speaker boxes. Something that doesn’t exist any longer as audio is delivered through an AM/FM transmitter to each vehicle.
“I dug in all the underground lines to go to the speaker posts with a pick,” he remembers.
He moved back from Alberta with his wife when his dad suggested he was selling the drive-in in the late 1950s. He had a good job but wanted to try the family business.
