61 Drive-In Theatre

2001 Photo from The Evil Sam Graham collection.

Highway 61 S Maquoketa IA 52060 (319) 652-3535

Information for this tour was contributed by The Evil Sam Graham.

Dennis Voy is a showman. His voice, seasoned by 43 years of broadcasting at Voy-owned KMAQ, reminds one of Robert W. Morgan. His presence is larger than life. He has a warm friendly greeting for everybody and you see that any time he approaches a customer at his 61 Drive-In. He knows the regulars and thanks them for returning. The customers know who he is and are visibly impressed when he expresses his appreciation to them for coming. Dennis is like a campaigning politician, except that Dennis comes off as genuine. Dennis just knows how to make people smile.

Dennis is not the only family member making you feel welcome. Son Dave at the ticket booth was eager to say hello and discuss the photo shoot. Granddaughter Sara, carrying an armful of pizzas, saw me coming and said "Are you Evil Sam?" and introduced herself immediately, "He's (Dennis) not here yet, but come on in and let me know if you need anything!" Other family members pop in and out though the evening. Dennis's youngest granddaughter runs around the lot with her Glow-Pop in hand.

Dennis threaded the film up and did his own pre-show presentation over the FM radio system, talking about the new season, what was new at the snack bar, and impromptu snack bar specials (on this particular night, the snack bar had a "hot Ham and Cheese sandwich special" thanks to leftovers from a promotion at the radio station earlier in the week). Dennis even acknowledged the single-feature (the 61 only occasionally does double-features), and awarding prizes of free admission and free snack bar items from coupons he has laid out on the top platter.

From a patron standpoint, the 61 is immaculate, looking like it could have been built recently. And in many ways, it is new. The fence and screen are new from the past couple of years due to tornado damage and some changes required for the "new" Highway 61, now a four-lane interstate-grade highway. Locals feared the highway would be the end of the drive-in, but everything worked out wonderfully. The 61 has excellent visibility from the highway and, being just off a main exit with a brand new access road, easy access. Customers come from nearby Dubuque, Clinton, and the Davenport-Quad Cities area. With the Hillcrest now gone in Cedar Falls, the 61 may even now pull displaced customers who were driving there from Cedar Rapids.

The snack bar/projection booth is the classic standard of any small-town drive-in. The snack bar is brightly painted and as good as new. Projection comes from a Century projector, a 1200-watt lamphouse, and a Christie platter. Dennis feels he needs to brighten the picture, but the existing brightness is on par with most drive-ins I attend, likely thanks to the fact that the only ambient light competing with the projection is that of the moon. Sound is FM radio driven and is excellent.

The lot is a beautiful grass landscape on a sloping hill (no speaker poles). "I used to gravel the driving lanes" says Dennis, "and there's a lot of gravel embedded under that grass as a result, so even after a hard rain, the lot stays pretty firm."

"Our yard has NEVER looked this good" mumbled my wife.

At the end of the night, Dennis says to me what I have heard him say to every patron he's talked to throughout the night, "You have to come back." He wants you to know you're welcome back again and again, and he wants you to feel that way. Because he knows something so many of us seem to have forgotten...If you feel welcome, you will be back.

2001 photos from The Evil Sam Graham collection.

22 KB · 450x353 The screen and marqu...	30 KB · 450x347 The entrance with th...	21 KB · 450x292 The screen with kids...	14 KB · 450x274 Lying under the scre...	20 KB · 450x261 From the back of the...
14 KB · 450x306 Cars arrive at sunse...	22 KB · 450x345 Your ticket sellers.	18 KB · 450x324 The snack bar entran...	26 KB · 450x279 Inside the snack bar...	26 KB · 450x371 Snack bar employees ...
32 KB · 450x406 The Christie platter...	27 KB · 450x324 Lamphouse with eveni...	29 KB · 311x450 Projector and lampho...	30 KB · 329x450 Dennis Voy threads u...	26 KB · 450x328 Dennis does his pre-...
29 KB · 450x311 Prize winners pick u...	11 KB · 450x318 Photographic evidenc...	12 KB · 450x271 The previews are run...	13 KB · 450x354 On with the show.	25 KB · 450x298 Thanks for coming!
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Last featured 2002-12-27. Last edited 7/9/2023.