By TALIA SCHMIDT

Baker City Herald

Steve Swanson might be one of the few Oregonians with a passion so strong it turns a blind eye to record-high gas prices.

A passion so intense it’s taken him to seven states in a 900-mile radius of his home in Eugene.

Swanson’s even made quite the career out of it.

For eight years, Swanson’s traveled all over the Northwest visiting drive-in movie theaters and documenting his experiences through photographs and detailed accounts on his blog, andquot;Travels with Steve Swanson.andquot;

Swanson grew up in Roseburg, home of the former Starlite Drive-In Theatre, which closed in 1997 after its final production, a showing of the 1978 classic andquot;Grease.andquot;

andquot;I missed the final showing at the Starlite, something I later came to regret,andquot; Swanson said.

It was after his hometown theater closed that Swanson began to make up for the loss.

andquot;That’s when I started looking for other drive-ins, and in 2000 I started doing long-distance road trips,andquot; Swanson said.

On average, Swanson said he makes about 30 trips per year.

andquot;That’s 30 separate nights I’m visiting drive-ins,andquot; he said.

Swanson, who drives a Toyota Camry, has traveled to drive-ins in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah

andquot;I’ve also driven a Buick, a station wagon and a Honda Accord,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;I’ve put a lot of mileage on them, too.andquot;

He isn’t kidding.

Swanson said he drives an average of 12,000 miles a year just going to drive-ins.

andquot;The novelty of going to the drive-in theater has kind of worn off,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;But I’d still go every weekend if I could.andquot;

A great American pastime, the old-fashioned drive-in movie theater is slowly disappearing from the nation’s landscape.

Just four drive-ins remain in Oregon: the La Grande Drive-in, the Milton-Freewater Drive-in, the Motor Vu Drive-in in Dallas and the 99W Drive-in located in Newberg.

Baker City’s Old Trail Drive-in Theatre off Highway 30, just north of town, closed years ago.

More than a hobby

Jennifer Sherer Janisch, a co-founder of the Web site drive-ins.com based in Las Vegas, said the U.S. has seen a dramatic decline of drive-in movie theaters since the industry’s peak in the 1950s.

andquot;After the decline in the 1970s and 80s, the decline halted in the 90s,andquot; Sherer said. andquot;We saw a renewed interest when drive-ins disappeared, like people realized they’d be gone and stopped taking them for granted. So we’ve basically seen the numbers stabilize over the last decade. Each year we lose a few, which is common. But we gain a few each year, too.andquot;

Sherer explained that the new drive-ins tend to be built in particular regions of the country.

andquot;We’re seeing new ones or old ones renovated in certain regions of the country, not just everywhere,andquot; Sherer said. andquot;You might have a different view of drive-ins depending on where you live. We’ve seen a lot pop up in Texas and Alabama in the past two years. It has a lot to do with the cost of land.andquot;

Sherer, who co-founded the information-based Web site with her brother, Kipp Sherer, said she originally planned to open a drive-in theater. The siblings grew up in Brewster, Ohio, and went into business together in an effort to open their own theater.

andquot;We were working on plans to open ours and we realized there wasn’t much information on how to open your own drive-in,andquot; Sherer said. andquot;The research was hard to find. So we built the Web site so we could share with people all around the world. The Web site just took on a life of its own.andquot;

Sherer said in its peak year of 1958, the U.S. had 5,000 drive-in movie theaters. Now, the number is down to an approximately 400.

Although she said she doesn’t think the country will see another heyday as in the 1950s, she remains optimistic.

Swanson agrees, adding that every few years, the activity regains its momentary trendiness.

andquot;I’m not sure drive-ins are ever going be back in their prime like they used to be,andquot; Swanson said. But every few generations, people take notice of the good old family fun it offers, he said.

Staying in business

Among the many perks to hunkering down in a big open field waiting for a family-friendly classic to illuminate the big screen is the delicious food available only at outdoor theaters, Swanson said.

andquot;Most of them have their own snack bars from hamburgers to hot dogs to pretzels to cotton candy,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;That’s the great thing about going to the drive-in. It can be a social atmosphere.andquot;

Sherer said concession stands are the sole way for a drive-in to turn a profit.

andquot;A lot of people don’t realize drive-ins don’t make money on ticket sales, only on food,andquot; said Sherer.

Losing the weather war

The Jan. 4, 2008, windstorm that swept through Eastern Oregon left the La Grande and Milton-Freewater drive-ins in bad shape.

Swanson said community support helped rebuild the MF drive-in, which he visited this month.

andquot;They have a brand new screen which they rebuilt and painted it green,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;I was very surprised to see the end results.andquot;

Edna Henderson, the La-Grande Drive-in manager, said the theater suffered immensely from the storm seven months ago.

andquot;We rebuilt three-fourths of it,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;MF had to rebuild from the ground up.andquot;

Henderson said the rebuilding process took about four weeks because workers had to work around the weather.

andquot;We went to great lengths to make sure we still had it and it’d be ready for drive-in season.andquot;

Booming business or lack thereof?

Henderson said the La Grande drive-in gets an average of 225 cars per weekend. The drive-in charges $16 a carload for up to six people per car.

andquot;The price has risen about every other year,andquot; Henderson said of the 10 years she’s been manager.

This year, they raised the price by 50 cents due to rising gas prices.

Henderson also said when her suppliers raise their prices, it’s hard to make profits.

andquot;Popcorn oil has raised $15 a barrel in the last two months,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;And we use coconut oil. I don’t know if they’re experimenting with it or what but a $15 jump in the last two months is a lot.andquot;

Henderson buys the oil in a 50-pound pail, and she goes through one every two weekends.

The La Grande Drive-in opens for business in mid April to early May, depending on the weather. It closes after Labor Day weekend.

For the grand finale this year, the Drive-in will show a triple feature andquot;Wall-E,andquot; andquot;Hancockandquot; and andquot;Iron Man.andquot;

andquot;We don’t run first-run movies because it’s too expensive,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;We will once in awhile, but most of the drive-ins are second-run. They’re usually not very late after they’ve opened, it’s just not opening weekend.andquot;

Henderson said whether there’s something specific happening in town plays a major role in attendance numbers at the drive-in.

andquot;That makes a difference,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;It’s family films that bring the people in.andquot;

But not as many families have been coming this year.

Last year, the La Grande Drive-in saw 20 to 30 more cars per day, or an average of 270 cars per weekend.

andquot;Last summer, there was a lot more traffic,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;But now with the prices of gas so high, it’s cut into the entertainment dollar.andquot;

Henderson said she and her employees try to be lenient with admission prices. If she sees a family of more than six people, she tends to keep the price to the standard $16 per family.

Cruising down memory lane

After researching promotions at other drive-ins, Henderson said she might consider adding theme nights, such as pajama night or classic car night.

andquot;It’s a nostalgic experience,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;You get the biggest bang for your buck, as far as I’m concerned.andquot;

andquot;The goal of the family owners is to entertain,andquot; Henderson said of the three Greulich brothers who own the La Grande drive-in.

andquot;Their father owned it first and when he passed away, they purchased it from his business partner,andquot; Henderson said. andquot;They’ve maintained it in the family ever since.andquot;

Henderson, who grew up in La Grande, said during the summer as a teen, she frequented the drive-in with her friends.

Still going strong

Swanson managed to persuade the owner to give him a job at the 99W Drive-In theater in Newberg. He’s worked there since 2003.

On the weekends, Swanson commutes to work in Newberg about twice a month.

He also works for KVAL-TV in Eugene, where he completed a documentary series called andquot;21st Century Drive-Ins.andquot; The final product for cable access featured a 12-part series, each 30 minutes, with interviews from countless drive-in owners.

andquot;I’m passionate and just fully obsessed,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;I mean, I went 1,200 miles in two days. I would say I’m the most well-rounded drive-in person on the west coast with all the extensive traveling that I do.andquot;

Very much a weather-based activity, drive-in theaters often heat up in popularity later into the summer.

andquot;It takes awhile to sell out. June has more rain than July or August,andquot; Swanson said of the Newberg Drive-In where he works. andquot;Rain or thunderstorms will kill our audience. But usually after July 4 we sell out every weekend.andquot;

Swanson said he’s noticed fewer regular movie-goers at the Newberg drive-in this year.

andquot;We’re getting a lot of what we call newbies,andquot; Swanson said. andquot;A lot of regulars stayed away. I’m not sure why that is. It could be because of gas prices. But the people that did come out are glad we’re open. They’re glad to take their kids and grandkids to see a movie for the first time. We have a lot of first-timers.andquot;

Eltrym reports steady numbers

Eltrym Movie Theatre employee Alex Robertson, 20, said while last summer was a big season for movies andquot;Transformersandquot; and andquot;Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixandquot; it isn’t quite the case this summer.

In fact, andquot;The Dark Knight,andquot; the box office’s second biggest movie of all time, drew crowds to the Eltrym, but still not as large as last year’s.

andquot;This year hasn’t been a big year for movies,andquot; Robertson said.

In four years of working at the theater, Robertson has watched the ticket prices increase by only 50 cents.

Terry McQuisten, the Eltrym’s general manager, said attendance has been rather steady in the past year.

andquot;No ups, no downs,andquot; McQuisten said. andquot;But with the Eltrym it’s hard to tell because it was closed for nine months from (August) 2006 to (May) 2007.andquot;

McQuisten, who bought the theater in March with her husband, said she tries to keep the first-run theater showing the top five films nationwide.

In the slower season, fall and spring, it can be a little more difficult because fewer movies are released.

andquot;Drive-ins are pretty cool, though,andquot; McQuisten said. andquot;And there’s not a whole lot of them left.andquot;