Drive-ins


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Stars and Stripes Forever The West Rome, Finger Lakes and Mid-


way drive-ins have all managed to dodge the grim reaper, so it’s nice to note that some- times a drive-in can even come back from the dead. The Black River Drive-In (773-8604; www.blackriverdrivein.com), about an 80- mile trip from Syracuse, is located on Route 3 in the town of LeRay, just a few miles away from Fort Drum. The theater stayed in business from 1950 to 1987, leaving behind a screen, a field of speaker posts and at least one local legend involving a car that was deliberately driven into the shuttered refresh- ment stand and sparked a damaging fire. Naturally, John Nagelschmidt wanted to own the property. So the Midway entrepreneur bought the


Black River from owners Girard and Kolinski in 1994, then had to wait a dozen more years until health codes concerning water and septic issues were addressed by the town of LeRay. Once these hurdles were passed, Nagelschmidt and his business partner Loren Knapp—that long-ago eighth-grader who started working at the Midway in the mid-1970s, eventually became its projectionist, and who still affec- tionately refers to the bearish Nagelschmidt as “the big boss”—started the daily process of rehabbing a lost ozoner in spring 2006. By day they toiled to strip down the old


movie screen, dig out huge boulders from the property’s gravel to lay the foundation for the new projection booth and refreshment stand, and knock down and rebuild the ticket stands. (Photos of their renovations are avail- able on the Black River’s website.) By night the weary souls would be back to run movies at the Midway. While constructing the new 37-by-74-foot screen before the rest of the property might have seemed bass ackward to some observers, Nagelschmidt believed that “putting up the screen first was the best advertising, a sign to tell the world that some- thing was gonna happen there.” The Black River reopened on Aug. 18, 2006, yet neither Nagelschmidt nor Knapp knew that it was the exact same date as the original 1950 opening. One couldn’t ask for a better omen than that. Now boasting a theater circuit of two,


Nagelschmidt can hope to obtain better book- ing deals with the studios. He might have slightly more clout this season, since Regal closed its Salmon Run Mall theaters at the end of July to begin construction on a new multiplex that won’t premiere until next


spring. And with the ground pretty much rock hard (mosquitoes aren’t a huge problem here), the Black River’s season, which usu- ally runs through mid-October, could get extended if the people keep coming and the weather doesn’t turn lousy. Knapp runs the Black River show, with


longtime North Country projectionist Bill Hulbert handling the double-lamphouse changeovers. (A big window has been added to the new booth, for the inevitable switch from 35mm reels to a single digital projec- tor.) The 15-row lot can hold up to 500 cars, which packed the place earlier this season for a showing of Shrek Forever After. The swanky concession stand still sparkles with newness, while the roomy restrooms are so clean, well- lit and inviting that you might be tempted to bring along the Sunday newspaper. Many of the Midway’s traits have carried


over to Black River, including the same 87.9 FM frequency, the “Hooray for Hollywood” movie introduction, the attendance awards program, the nightly pizza giveaway (Nagel- schmidt admits that Knapp came up with that successful idea), the admission tariffs and most of the menu’s items and prices. There’s no garlic-sauerkraut pizza special, yet not surprisingly, given her connections, the taste sensation known as Denise’s Texas hot has also migrated here. Given its proximity to Fort Drum, the


Black River hosts many of its troops, and they’re a cinch to spot with their cropped hair, ramrod postures and steely demeanor. Knapp says cleaning the property after a show is easy because his enlisted customers “know how to police their area.” Soldiers’ spouses and their young children are also reg- ulars, especially during the bookings of fam- ily films. It’s little wonder that the concession stand is painted in patriotic hues of red, white and blue, while one intermission trailer fea- tures panoramic visuals to accompany a spir- ited rendering of “America the Beautiful.” Another intermission trailer will be of nos-


talgic interest for Central New York’s drive-in die-hards. It’s the 10-minute countdown clock that was also used at the old DeWitt Drive-In, the one that featured last-minute come-ons such as this: “Four minutes to go to showtime! It’s time


to stretch and fetch! See what’s cookin’ at our refreshment counter. You’ll find your favorite foods and beverages plus many new good- ies to tempt your appetite and add to your evening’s pleasure. Everything’s the finest quality, so treat yourself now!” Knapp timed the 10-minute countdown and reports, “It only runs eight minutes!” o


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Best. Drive-In. Ever. M


idway Drive-In owner John Nagel- schmidt said it was the prettiest outdoor theater he’d ever seen, and


labeled it “the supreme drive-in of the state.” West Rome Drive-In entrepreneur Conrad Zurich stated, “Prepare to be blown away.” With that much admiration from those in the Central New York ozoner biz, one had to wonder whether the Silver Lake Twin Drive-In ((585) 237-3372; www.charcoalcorral.com)— located amid cow pastures and cornfields in Wyoming County’s teensy town of Perry, about 12 miles away from the SUNY Geneseo campus—would live up to the advance hype. Brother, does it ever!


In fact, you might not even notice the drive-


in operation at first. Out front is the Charcoal Corral complex, featuring a mass of dining options that include a grilled food restaurant, a pizzeria, an ice cream parlor and a swanky dining spot known as the Fiesta Grill, which has been used for wedding rehearsal dinners and parties. It’s hard to believe that in 1966 the space originally held only a single- screen drive-in, but owner Jake Stefanon, a sea- soned ex-veteran of the Blatt Broth- ers theater chain, had a vision that morphed the property to impossibly new levels. Son Rick Stefanon, a wiry, high-energy


fella who sort of looks like Al Pacino’s char- acter from the 1995 cop drama Heat, tosses around the statistics in a rapid-fire fashion but you quickly get the idea that things move fast around here. First came a hot dog stand that soon became the Charcoal Corral grill, then an adjacent dining room was created for the growing customer base, followed by the miniature golf sideline, which was ripped down a dozen years later for a newer fairway. Then came the ice cream shop, which quickly outgrew its space and eventually got relo- cated as well in order to make room for a pizza palace. Also on the grounds: a video arcade and an outdoor stage and dance floor that hosts country line hoedowns on Mondays and free concerts on Tuesdays. And cruise nights on Thursdays are popular get-togethers; the Super Cruise slated for Thursday, Aug. 19, is expected to lure 300 to 500 classy chassis, with between 2,000 to 3,000 visitors on the grounds. Stefanon lovingly recalls how his dad Jake,


who passed away in August 2009, got the idea to go against the grain: When the out- door screens were closing by the hundreds in the 1980s, it conversely made good busi- ness sense to own and promote a drive-in as an entertainment destination, especially with the add-on food and catering businesses and family-friendly options that mushroomed over the years. With plenty of traffic coming in from Rochester, Corning and Geneseo, as well as Ithaca and Buffalo, Jake’s business philosophy has certainly paid off. Rick keeps the operation going from St. Patrick’s Day to Columbus Day, then spends his off-season repainting, remodeling and thinking of more ways to expand and enhance.


Perfection in Perry: The Silver Lake Drive-In, owned by Rick Stefanon (center), is a must-see entertainment destination.


Stefanon is all over the place, too, glad-


handing patrons and overseeing his summer- time staff of nearly 100. He’s always got a walk- ie-talkie, which at one point crackles, “Rick, where are you?” “I’ll be right there,” he replies, then clambers onto his golf cart. He speeds off to the outdoor stage for a T-shirt giveaway, in which a co-worker prepares for the “shoot the bear” contest, then loads a stuffed animal into a bazooka-like contraption and fires it high over the heads of the gathered onlookers. With all the razzle-dazzle out front, you may


forget there’s a double-screen drive-in out back. The first screen, which measures a siz- able 56-by-95 feet, has room for 435 cars, with the second squeezing in about 200. Both have the option of FM radio sound (100.1 or 106.3) or in-car speakers, some emblazoned with the old Blatt Brothers logo. There are also several outdoor speakers planted in front of both screens’ greenspaces, where a blast from the past—playground equipment!—entices kids of all ages. On a weekend night, Stefanon says, those well-manicured lawns are covered by a sea of blankets and sleeping bags, espe- cially when a family-friendly flick is unspooling. Patrons often park their cars early in the


evening for a favored drive-in spot and go over to the Corral for dinner, or they can bring the food back to their vehicles. For more snack- oriented options, the main screen features a super-clean concession stand (Rick’s daugh- ter works here), with customers on the sec- ond screen free to amble between both sides for snacks or Corral chow. To the left of the back screen is fenced-in


farmland, where nearby cows can be seen chewing their cuds in thoughtful contempla- tion. Maybe the mooing mob is pondering the puzzles presented by the Leonardo DiCaprio mind-bender Inception, or else wondering what


new ideas Rick Stefanon has up his sleeve. —BILL DELAPP


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