Published: Monday, January 25, 2010
Saying goodbye to the drive-in
Comments on the closing of Puget Park Drive-In:
Kelly Sanford, Everett:
“To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I have been going to Puget Park since my kids were young (they are now 19 and 27) where they would play on the playground equipment and we would hang the speakers on the windows.
Fast forward to present and I'm 46 years old and still loving the whole drive-in experience as I always have.
To be honest the kids (and my husband as well probably) have never really understood my fascination with the drive-in. Every year I wait anxiously for it to open, perusing the paper, calling the automated number, just waiting.
Finally the opening weekend comes and it really doesn't matter what's playing – I'm going to the drive-in!
I wait for the sky to get to that perfect “dusk,” zero in on the radio station (I miss the speakers on the windows), settle in and, yes, it is time for it to start! You can't wipe the grin off my face or the smile off my heart – I'm at the drive-in, baby! I will miss it dearly but will have some great memories.”
Alan Rice, Mukilteo:
“In 1973 as a 14-year-old, I got a job at the drive-in — a mild-mannered pizza-maker by night and a booth set-up guy by day. I discovered that arriving early for work afforded me the joy of taking apart and fixing all the damaged speakers that cars had inadvertently ripped from their posts the night before as they drove away.
As I became an adult with a family of my own I continued the tradition of weekend outings to the swap meet. Admittedly, our attendance to the movies progressively waned with each decade that passed — no doubt becoming part of the demise of our monument to a long-past era.
The less than all-white movie screen tells a weather-worn story of this long-lived theater that has outlasted them all. But even these rusted panels can't tarnish the ever-so-fond memories this Mukilteo grandpa has of his childhood playground.
So long old friend... You will be missed but not forgotten.”
Cherl Redenius, Arlington:
“I am sad to hear of the demise of the last drive-in movie theater in our county. Drive-ins were an event, a fun diversion from the day-to-day life, and it's sad that they have become outdated and relegated to our history books.
However, my best memories were of the swap meet that went on during the weekend summer days. It was fantastic, like a giant garage sale, with everything from records to tools, household goods to clothing. Deals could be had, and as a young person with not much money to burn, it was a shopping paradise!
I understand why the time has come and gone for the drive-in, but it will be missed ... It seems like Puget Park is being swept away without a proper funeral.”
Kelly Sanford, Everett:
“To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I have been going to Puget Park since my kids were young (they are now 19 and 27) where they would play on the playground equipment and we would hang the speakers on the windows.
Fast forward to present and I'm 46 years old and still loving the whole drive-in experience as I always have.
To be honest the kids (and my husband as well probably) have never really understood my fascination with the drive-in. Every year I wait anxiously for it to open, perusing the paper, calling the automated number, just waiting.
Finally the opening weekend comes and it really doesn't matter what's playing – I'm going to the drive-in!
I wait for the sky to get to that perfect “dusk,” zero in on the radio station (I miss the speakers on the windows), settle in and, yes, it is time for it to start! You can't wipe the grin off my face or the smile off my heart – I'm at the drive-in, baby! I will miss it dearly but will have some great memories.”
Alan Rice, Mukilteo:
“In 1973 as a 14-year-old, I got a job at the drive-in — a mild-mannered pizza-maker by night and a booth set-up guy by day. I discovered that arriving early for work afforded me the joy of taking apart and fixing all the damaged speakers that cars had inadvertently ripped from their posts the night before as they drove away.
As I became an adult with a family of my own I continued the tradition of weekend outings to the swap meet. Admittedly, our attendance to the movies progressively waned with each decade that passed — no doubt becoming part of the demise of our monument to a long-past era.
The less than all-white movie screen tells a weather-worn story of this long-lived theater that has outlasted them all. But even these rusted panels can't tarnish the ever-so-fond memories this Mukilteo grandpa has of his childhood playground.
So long old friend... You will be missed but not forgotten.”
Cherl Redenius, Arlington:
“I am sad to hear of the demise of the last drive-in movie theater in our county. Drive-ins were an event, a fun diversion from the day-to-day life, and it's sad that they have become outdated and relegated to our history books.
However, my best memories were of the swap meet that went on during the weekend summer days. It was fantastic, like a giant garage sale, with everything from records to tools, household goods to clothing. Deals could be had, and as a young person with not much money to burn, it was a shopping paradise!
I understand why the time has come and gone for the drive-in, but it will be missed ... It seems like Puget Park is being swept away without a proper funeral.”
Related
Comments
(
