How to Maximize the Parking Spaces at Shooster’s Drive-In Drawing by Herman Shooster. 1940-1950’s
Imagine the long hours. We were open until 1 AM on weekdays and 2-3 AM on weekends. By this time, my dad’s life settled into a nice routine. He would go to his men’s club on Monday and then after the meetings to the Boyd Theater to see a movie, alone. After the movie, by 11:15 pm. he would be at the stand to help close out the cash register. In the summer, my mother would see to it that Pop got away to Atlantic City for at least two weeks. He loved the beach and the sun. We had big decisions back then, like rais- ing the price of a cup of coffee. We pondered it for months, How to raise the price from 5 cents to 10 cents per cup? It took six months to finally make the change. Pricing is a deli- cate problem but, at some point, you have to just face it.
I thought this life would never change. We were all healthy and made a good living. When I went to war, I thought I’d come back to the same place. The world doesn’t stop turn- ing, and life took a dramatic change. My parents can be characterized by the popular saying, “Only in America.” Where else could dirt-poor immigrants raise them- selves out of poverty to ownership? They had their backs against the wall in a severely depressed economy, yet managed to somehow find a way forward. I can’t help but admire them for their tenacity.
134
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease