Back in my younger days there was virtually no such thing as a drive-in restaurant. As a matter of fact, in rural America there just weren’t too many eating establishments of any nature. Folks ate at home or joined together at family or church functions.
The first drive-in I recall was a downtown spot in Des Moines where my brother Bob would occasionally pull in and pick up a sack of 10 hamburgers for $1. Yes, just a buck for 10 burgers — and they were edible. Drive-ups generally had no seating available.
When we moved to our small acreage north of Newton in 1947 my dad would often stop at Guthrie’s north across the street from the Newton Manufacturing Company on First Avenue East for a few sacks of chicken or livestock feed. There was a small building about 10 feet square in the same parking lot painted bright orange and black with a pitched roof. It sported a large A&W Root Beer sign where you could get a cool 5- or 10-cent mug of the frosty refreshment. One of their specialties was a “black cow” for 15 cents, which was merely a mug of root beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They were only open during the summer months.
In the spring of 1948 the John Chevalier family moved to Newton, and they opened the first Dairy Queen in the area. The spiffy new drive-in was located west across the street from Newton Manufacturing Company, where I eventually spent 41 years. Their specialty was nickel and dime cones with their own formula of soft, pure white ice cream with a curl on top. This was sort of a special trademark, and gosh, was it ever popular. It was really the first honest-to-goodness drive-in ice cream establishment in our county — again, with no seating.
When we headed back to Hammer Country School No. 6 that fall, I remember Dave Hagedorn’s sage advice to all of us: “When you go to the Dairy Queen, don’t buy a dime cone — order two nickle ones because you get more.” And you know, he was right! Many of us tried it.
Later on, the A&W folks put up a big, new, modern building right east of the Mid-Iowa Motel. It had a long extended roof so cars could pull right underneath from both sides, pick up a portable microphone from a double fitted post and place an order. Wow, what a modern idea. Their menu was expanded to hamburgers, french fries, onion rings, malted milks, you name it. Uniformed couriers brought out each order on a large tray that neatly fit right on the car door with the window rolled down. Enjoy your treat right from the convenience of your own car in a casual atmosphere.
Back in our early married life, my wife and I still didn’t eat out too often. But on a hot summer evening without air conditioning in the home or car, it was a treat to head out to A&W and enjoy a refreshing root beer. Nickel mugs were plenty big for the kids, and the dime size was fine for Mom and Dad. How many silver haired folks in my age category remember summer evenings like this? If you don’t it’s rather unusual.
Well before McDonald’s showed up in Newton we had Henry’s at the corner of East 14th Street and First Avenue. Their menu was patterned after the McDonald’s drive-thrus in Des Moines with 15-cent burgers, 12-cent french fries and a beverage for a dime. With an investment of just 37 cents each, you could feed a whole family for less than a couple of bucks.
Not too many years later the Big Mac arrived in Newton, followed by Burger King. The local fast food scene changed a lot in a short time. Before long, breakfast menus also began to show up. And the beat goes on!
Olden Days appears on Wednesdays in the Daily News. Contact the writer at mcneer@pcpartner.net.