Memories of Mayberry: Tailgating at the Drive-In With Old Yeller

Family Fun in a '55 Chevy Bel Air Station Wagon

Memories of Mayberry is a collection of stories about growing up during the 50s & 60s in Walterboro, a small town nestled deep in the heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

Saturday Night at the Walterboro Drive-in: Artwork by Thomas Fulton, Walterboro, SC

Although Drive-in theaters have been around since the early 1930s, the late 1950s to mid-1970s was considered the heyday of popularity.

Almost every small to mid-size town had at least one. Larger cities had multiple outdoor theaters. Charleston, the closest big city to Walterboro, was home to five: The Magnolia, Gateway, Port, Flamingo, and the North 52.

My first recollection of the marvel of outdoor theaters was when I was five or six years old. Dad piled us into the back of our 1955 blue & white Chevy Belair station wagon to see Old Yeller at the Walterboro Drive-in.

1955 Chevy Bel Air Wagon: Photo Courtesy of Pinterest

It was not uncommon in those days to see station wagons parked with the back of the car facing the screen.

With the tailgate open, a blanket was spread on the ground beneath with a picnic-style supper. The kids would either lay in the back of the car facing the screen or sit on the blanket to watch. Dad would arrange the speaker so we could all hear it while Mom would fix our plates.

Often we would see our friends and their families there as well. Sometimes, the shows were geared more toward the older folks (there was still no need for age ratings in that era), so we would find some of our friends and play while our parents watched the show.

But not this night.

By the time Old Yeller made its way to our small town, it had already been made popular by all the Disney advertisements we would see on the Walt Disney program each Sunday night. Back then, Disney produced wholesome 100% family-oriented entertainment.

The Storyline

Travis Coates has been working to take care of his family ranch in the late 1860s in the fictional town of Salt Licks, Texas, with his mother and younger brother Arliss, while his father goes off on a cattle drive. A "dingy yellow" dog comes to the family and Travis reluctantly takes it in; they name him Old Yeller. The name has a double meaning: the fur color yellow pronounced as "yeller", and the fact that its bark sounds more like a human yell.

Travis initially loathes the "rascal" and at first tries to get rid of it, but the dog eventually proves his worth, saving the family on several occasions: rescuing Arliss from a bear, Travis from a bunch of wild hogs, and Mama and their friend Lisbeth from a wolf. Travis grows to love Old Yeller, and they become great friends. The rightful owner of Yeller shows up looking for his dog. He recognizes that the family has become attached to Yeller, so he trades the dog to Arliss for a horned toad and a home-cooked meal prepared by Travis' mother.

Old Yeller is bitten while saving his family from a rabid wolf. Travis cannot risk Old Yeller becoming rabid and turning on the family, and has to kill the dog. Old Yeller had puppies, and one of them helps Travis get over Old Yeller's death. They take in the new dog and try to make a fresh start.

Wikipedia

Old Yeller was a wholesome drama with adventure, danger, and a hero dog - everything that thrilled the kids of my generation.

Our family was a regular at the Walterboro Drive-in, but for some reason, Old Yeller is the one that has stayed with me after all these years.

Interestingly, I don’t remember much more about going to drive-in theaters until my dating years in the early 70s.

That’s a different story that is better left untold …

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