
For 30 plus years, Wallace Allred entertained us. Albany Drive-In Theatre was owned by Wallace, my uncle, and Cecil Speck, my grandfather. I literally grew up there. Just like the radio station, the drive-in was a way of life for my family. For years, I guess I probably watched every single movie that played at the drive-in, many of them more than one once. Before I was old enough to drive, one of my aunts would park their car next to the concession stand and the younger generation of our family, me included, would sit in it and watch a movie. We did that a lot. Later, as I grew older, I would occasionally help out at the drive-in. I would accompany Wallaces' daughter, Pam, to Byrdstown, Livingston and Burkesville to pass out flyers of upcoming movies. Sometimes I would fill in for Wallace if he had to go see about one of his tractor-trailers. One summer, I popped the popcorn when Barney had to be out for surgery. It was also during that summer, that my brother, Mike, and I swept the field of all its trash 'and otherwise,' from the night before. For a while, we even cut the grass. I didn't mind helping out, but my favorite thing to do at the drive-in was to just sit in the car, with the speaker hanging on the door, and watch a movie. What a life!

The Clinton Theatre eventually closed and by the time the Ritz was destroyed by fire in 1962, Wallace and his partners were down to owning just the two outdoor drive-ins. Allred owned a 1940's model Harley-Davidson and it is a fact that, on many occasions, he would show the same movie on the same night at both drive-ins using just one set of reels - usually four per movie. He would start the show at Albany about a half-hour earlier than Livingston. As soon as one reel would be complete, he would hop on his motorcycle and take a new reel to Livingston. The distance between Albany and Livingston back in the days of the old Highway 111 with all the curves was about 35 minutes. It is legendary that Wallace made his motorcycle run to Livingston a lot sooner than 35 minutes.

A big trick for teenagers back then was to see if they could get by with sneaking into the drive-in. Former WANY disc jockey Art Pryor said, "Surely he knew us boys were sneaking in the drive-in!" Former WANY disc jockey Robin Halcomb said, "Wallace Allred was a gentleman!" Yes, and he was also a gentle man. My guess is that most of the time he did know when people were sneaking in.
The food at the drive-in was so much better than any place else. Maybe it had something to do with the atmosphere there, which was an experience unlike any other. There was just something about it that made it extra special for me. I can still smell Barney's popcorn and taste those delicious orange drinks! When Walking Tall part one came to town, the vehicles were lined up in both directions every night for several nights in a row. It was the biggest movie ever shown there. One of the funniest moments at the drive-in occured late one night when one of the Friday the 13th movies was showing. Just as a very intense moment in the film began to build, a cat found its way onto the lot. Right when the scene in the movie was reaching its climax, suddenly the cat jumped through the window and into the car. Instantly, the car doors were flung open and a boy and a girl emerged from the trans-am screaming for dear life.

Monday morning was a sad day for all of us, friends and family alike. As the last reel was played and the movie had ended, the credits scrolling on the screen read...'the part of Wallace Allred was played by a gentle man, who entertained us.' You knew him best as 'the guy who sat inside the ticket booth and sold tickets at Albany Drive-In Theatre.'
Here's a free ticket to Albany Drive-In Theatre. Click here.

When WANY celebrated its 50th anniversary last October, the biggest highlight was when Wallace Allred showed up to help us celebrate. He mixed and mingled with friends for a couple of hours and ended up being on the air with us. As the photo shows, he ha while before making his way back to the studio, where he joined us on the air for a nice walk down memory lane.

You may leave your thoughts and comments on Wallace Allred and/or the Albany Drive-In Theatre or Clinton Theatre by clicking on 'comments' below, or by sending me an e-mail.
Thank you so much for this article! Uncle Wallace was truly a gentleman and a gentle man. You captured his spirit perfectly. My other favorite memory of him was his love of chocolate chip cookies!! He will be greatly missed.
ReplyDeletei only got to know mr.allred near the end of his life but i could tell he had been a nice ,kind man always.several people have told me that they had sneaked people into the drive-in in the trunk and they were quite sure mr.allred knew but let them go on in anyways.
ReplyDeleteone woman told me when she was growing up she was from a large family and when her daddy could scrape together a few extra dollars he would sometimes take them to the drive-in and they would have 7 or 8 in the car but mr.allred would never charge them full price....she said he'd say "aww ,just me me 4 or 5 dollars".a man who puts people ahead of money is rare and there is one less of these men now.
As a child I spent many summers in Albany. I had an aunt and uncle that were custodians at the school near the drive-in and their house was between the drive-in and the school. I can remember many summer nights sitting in their yard watching a movie. I have not thought about that in many years. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite memory of Wallace is when he would build a big roaring fire in the stove and shut the den door. He'd prop up his feet in the lazy-boy recliner and catch a good nap. That room would be blazin' hot, but he liked it that way.
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