Star Wars Blu-Ray

Before dusk, David Beck leaned onto the doorway of the projection booth, staring out onto the grounds of the Blue Moonlight Drive-In Theater as he listened to the 1950s tune “Earth Angel” — his favorite song. Invoking a nostalgic feel, oldies tunes intertwine with the summer air as they play on FM radio from 7 p.m. to dusk, when it is dark enough to start the double feature. In the projection booth, Beck surrounds himself with hanging film strips, metal containers and huge silver disks for reels as he works the old-fashioned camera and film. Beck, who said he can rebuild a diesel engine with no problem after being a mechanic for 27 years, never imagined himself running a camera for a drive-in theater. “It’s not rocket science. any average person can learn to do this. It’s not tough, it’s a lot of remembering,” Beck said. Remembering is rooted in the drive-in experience for those old enough to recall the days when it had ushers to park cars and speakers to hook onto windows. When relating their memories of the drive-in, Beck and owner Ron Carlson, who graduated from high school together in 1975, reminisce about the cars they used to pull into the theater. a ’64 Chevy Nova for Beck — his first car — and a ’70 Mustang muscle car for Carlson. “Just the memory of it. Oh, my gosh, get the car all cleaned up and basically come in here and show it off and then watch a movie,” Beck said. After the first drive-in was invented in 1933, Galesburg’s drive-in, formerly called the Galesburg Drive-in Theater, opened in 1948. “back then it was just so much different. When you wanted to see a movie, you had to go to the theater and see it. you couldn’t wait for it to come out on DVD,” Beck said. After the popularity of drive-ins peaked in the late 1950s and early 1960s, drive-ins across the country were closing, to the dismay of many. “I grew up coming to this place as a kid and when it closed, I hated it,” said Ray Quinn, who works admissions and concessions. “Star Wars: the Empire Strikes Back” was the last movie shown at the Galesburg Drive-in Theater, and after closing in 1980, the grounds were still for decades. “there was nothing in here,” Beck said of the projection booth. “the roof was rotted, and just collapsed. the concession stand the same. Weeds were growing up, you could hardly see these buildings.” Years passed until Carlson and his wife decided to get the Galesburg drive-in running again after going to numerous drive-ins during their honeymoon in Indiana. the restoration included re-roofing the buildings, painting and pulling out the defunct speaker poles. After reopening in 2005 as the Blue Moonlight Drive-in Theater, it is the second oldest out of only 12 drive-in theaters in the state, according to drive-ins.com. throughout its years, the drive-in has seen a variety of vehicles — from semi-trailers, motor homes and school buses — parked under the stars and in front of its 103-foot by 80-foot cinder-block screen. “you don’t get something that crisp and clear going to the moviehouses,” Quinn said. while sitting in a chair beside her car in the dark, Brandy Stowe of Dahinda said she used to frequent her hometown’s drive-in before it closed. She said she spoke to many people who did not know Galesburg’s drive-in was still open and decided to take her children to the Blue Moonlight Drive-in because they had not been to one before. Stowe said, “some of my best memories as a child was at the drive-in. I can even remember seeing ‘Empire of the Ants.’ ” “What’s that?” her daughter, Kassee said while lying on a blanket beside her — to which her mother promptly explained the 1977 sci-fi film. “To me, a drive-in is more family-oriented … People come more as a family than as an individual,” Stowe said. As the restored drive-in connects timelines and bloodlines, Quinn spoke of how Carlson treats all of them like family at the Blue Moonlight Drive-in Theater. while concessions wrapped up the final minutes on a recent night at the drive-in, Quinn said, “you feel heartfelt because people can get together and enjoy themselves. I don’t ever want to see it close.” If you go … • What: Blue Moonlight Drive-In • Where: 2875 W. Main St., across from Farm King in Galesburg • Admission: $7 for adults, free for children 12 and younger • Contact: for information and show times call (309) 740-3350