My mother was a big fan of the local parks and recreation activities. When we moved from South Philly to Washington Township, New Jersey, she went activity crazy. I did gymnastics, twirled the baton, took piano lessons, swimming lessons, tennis lessons, played basketball (quite poorly) and soccer, was a Girl Scout, and belonged to the local lake and swim club. Summer mornings (when we weren't at our house at the Jersey shore in Wildwood) we went to our tennis lesson, then I headed to gymnastics camp, followed by either the lake, playing with the neighborhood kids or went to the day camp at the local elementary school. They were busy days filled with childhood fun. When we moved to Minnesota my mother went in search of the Cottage Grove and Saint Paul Park recreation opportunities.
The first one I remember was an overnight camping trip. It was a memorable evening. I was the only girl, which was really less fun than it sounds. Even better, one of the boys tried to show us this awesome trick he knew. He said that he could spray his pants legs with lighter fluid, and set his jeans on fire without getting burned, while he was wearing them. Since the adult supervision was not currently supervising us, he grabbed a can of lighter fluid, coated his pants and lit a match. I don't know if he did it wrong, and I'm pretty sure this wasn't a trick that actually works. His night camping ended with a ride in the back of an ambulance, sirens blazing.
After the ambulance left, we were supervised much more closely and spent the rest of the time before being sent to our tents sitting on a hill, watching the screen at the Cottage View Drive-In. We couldn't hear anything, but after all the excitement earlier, it was enough entertainment for us.
That was my first experience with the Cottage View Drive-In, but certainly not my last. Star Wars came out that summer. We were 10 and 11 and my mom had the genius idea that if we went to the movies bathed and in our pajamas, it would be easier to carry us in and plunk us into bed after we fell asleep in the car. We usually set up sleeping bags on the roof, or in the back of the car. Going out in your pajamas meant that we pretty much had to stay in the car. So, it was the A&W Drive-In for dinner before the movie and then you just had to hope that no one you knew was at the movie, so you could hang at the playground waiting for the sun to go down and the movie to start.
Star Wars was also memorable. My mother was not exactly a Science Fiction fan, but she was an awesome woman, mother and human being. She was smart and kind and funny. It took us years to convince her that his name was Darth Vader and not Dark Invader. However, when The Empire Strikes Back came around , she was very nonplussed, since she had already figured out that Dark Invader was Luke's father. I'm not sure if she had the whole Luke and Leia are actually twins, but I wouldn't be surprised!
For the last few years the Cottage View Drive-In has been threatened. It looks like the man who owns the land and leases it to the Mann Theaters company has been leaning toward selling the property to Walmart. They have a Facebook page where they track the fate of the theater. So far, it's still there and open and as far as I know the Mann people have no intention of closing it, for as long as that decision is in their hands. Of course, even if I wanted to help the Cottage View by giving them my business, it would be a bit difficult, considering I've been back in New Jersey for 30 years. I just have to hope that any old friends still in Washington County, Minnesota will make new memories for their families at the old drive-in.
A search of drive-in theaters in New Jersey culminated in the discovery that of the 57 we used to have in the state, there is only one left, the Delsea Drive-In in Vineland, New Jersey. They are open from Wednesday through Sunday and have two screens. I think it's time to make some new Drive-in memories. I may even go in my jammies.
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