Before VCRs, DVD players and cable television, there were drive-in movie theaters. Now, in these days of homes with flat screen televisions and private screening rooms, drive-in theaters seem quaint.

However, 70 years ago, drive-ins were the only place one could watch a double-feature, eat, drink, and talk about movies with one’s family or friends without bothering anyone. For Ann Sullivan, drive-in theaters have a special place in her heart. At them she spent time watching movies for over three decades with her children and grandchildren. This is her story.

“The first drive-in opened on June 6, 1933, in Camden, New Jersey, and showed the movie ‘Wife Beware.’ I remember that date vividly because it is my birthday,” said a cheerful Sullivan. “My first time at a drive-in was in 1951, when I was 18 years old and dating my husband Howard. My mother let me go to the drive-in with Howard and my friend Betty and her boyfriend. The movies we saw were ‘Yellow Sky’ with Gregory Peck and Anne Baxter, and ‘My Little Chickadee’ with Mae West and W.C. Fields.”

Sullivan, who has a good knowledge of drive-in theaters’ history, further explained that after World War II, drive-ins started hosting “open houses” during the day to acquaint people with where to park, how sound systems worked and what food was available. By the 1950s, the drive-in boom was underway, with numbers of theaters growing from less than 1,000 in 1948 to close to 5,000 by 1958. Some theaters could accommodate up to 3,000 cars, and larger theaters added miniature trains, pony rides, boat rides, miniature golf and even talent shows. The gates would open as much as three hours before the movie started.

“It was the ideal, safe, convenient and reasonable place to go on a Friday or Saturday night with your friends and family. I remember back in the 1960’s and early 70s the parking lots were filled with station wagons. Howard and I would bring our three children Mark, Jeffrey and Kate to the see a movie at least twice a month. It was quality time spent with our children during the warm weather. The movies that were playing were all top notch productions with great storylines and terrific actors and actresses,” added Sullivan. “Even the horror flicks were scary but done in good taste with performers like Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloft and Christopher Lee.”

The Sullivan children enjoyed the Walt Disney films and they would laugh and sometimes sing along with the music. Sullivan liked the love stories like “Casablanca” or “Gone with the Wind,” while her husband liked westerns and adventure films. During intermission, the Sullivans would stretch their legs by taking a walk to the bathroom and concession stands. Sometimes the children would stop at the playground and converse with friends from school, who also attended with their families.

“We always met people we knew either from our neighborhood, work or church and we made new friends with people who attended on a regular basis like we did,” Sullivan recalled. “One of my fond memories is sitting in the car with the windows down and a slight cool breeze blowing through the car on a warm summer night. Mark, Jeffrey and Kate would be snuggled in the back of the station wagon with their blankets and pillows and Kate always brought her stuffed animals with her. There was never a movie we saw that we didn’t like.”

After Sullivan’s children were married and had families of their own, they would bring their kids to Branford and West Haven’s drive-in theaters. Sometimes, after movies, they would walk across the street and play miniature golf and have a hamburger at McDonald’s next door. At drive-in theaters Friday and Saturday evenings were family fun night. Sullivan and her husband accompanied their children and grandchildren from time to time, but on many occasions they would stay home and watch classics from the 1930s and 40s — their favorites.

By the 1980s, however, drive-ins were becoming relics. Video stores became popular and land theaters occupied was often too valuable to be used only at night. Soon, shopping malls and multiplex cinemas replaced them. Today, there are few drive-in movie theaters in existence, as compared to the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, and going to one is more a novelty than a commonplace experience.

“Drive-in movie theaters have become relics of the past but I read somewhere that some are making a comeback, such as the Fiesta in Carlsbad, New Mexico,” said Sullivan. “I really enjoyed those days watching wonderful movies with the people I love very much — my husband, children and grandchildren. It was time well spent and still has a special place in my heart and mind many years later. I hope that they will make a comeback so that future generations can experience what my family and I did.”

Life will fade, people will come and go, good times will not last forever and hard times will try our spirits, but memories remain. For Ann Sullivan, memories of going to drive-in movie theaters with her friends, family and husband remind her of spending leisurely and quality time with people who are very special to her. Moreover, doing so was a family tradition shared with two generations. Let your heart, as well as your mind, cherish the memories of yesterday, for they bring comfort and hope for today and tomorrow, so while we can, we should remember when.