Osawatomie ? As the floodlights dim for showtime at the Midway Drive-In Theater in Osawatomie, a cannon-like boom signals the beginning of “Spiderman 2.”

But as anyone familiar with the timeworn outdoor theater could guess, this particular explosion is far too resonant to emanate from the theater’s tinny, time-addled, car-side speakers.

“That came from the back row — just about the middle,” blurts a fuzzy voice on Tina Bowker’s walkie-talkie. She pauses, makes change for a $5.75 double-feature ticket and puts her finely-tuned intuition to work: “Somebody shot off a roman candle,” she concludes.

The disturbance is just a minor nuisance in the scheme of things. Heck, at least the kids aren’t smoking dope or smuggling in kegs. Owner Bruce Bowker or one of his half-dozen hired hands will simply encourage the culprits to keep the fireworks out of harm’s way and let them return to their teenage fraternization. At least they’ve been considerate enough to park in the back row — away from the families up front and the preteens at the concession stand.

As the screen’s dull glow replaces the sunset’s last gasp, the 300-plus paid customers settle into their pickup trucks, minivans, lawn chairs and blankets to watch the show. The concession stand hurries out cartons of popcorn — small $1.80, large $2.70 — and cheeseburgers to hungry parents and toddlers. There’s no big rush, though — this is the Midway, one of only eight theaters in Kansas where you can watch the movie from the concession stand or on your way to the bathroom (or, for the less inhibited, WHILE you’re going to the bathroom).

But don’t be fooled by the soft-focus nostalgia of PBS specials or Broadway musicals on drive-in theaters: You better come prepared for a night at the Midway. Mosquito repellent, lawn chairs, flashlights, sweatshirts — all can be easily overlooked by the novice. Better to listen to the sages who have come before.

“If you don’t get there like an hour ahead of time, the first row’s all sucked up by soccer moms,” advises Randy Walker, a Lawrence resident who frequently makes the hour-long drive to Midway on weekends. “I’ve got this bed that I put in the back of my pickup. … It beats the hell out of going to the bars and spending all your money.”

Field of dreams

With its rural charm, modest technology and second-run film selection, the Midway could be considered a fossil in a dinosaur industry. The 240-car-capacity venue — located “midway” between Paola and Osawatomie, about an hour southeast of Lawrence — opened in 1952 and has survived while more than a hundred other Kansas drive-ins shut down (1958 is typically identified as the peak year, with 125 in the state).

The theater’s survival rests largely upon the shoulders of Bruce Bowker, a retired Paola police chief who bought the theater in 1988. Through floods and ice storms, Bowker has kept the theater open, hampered only by the occasional broken projector, slanted pole or missing speaker.

“They just cut ’em loose and steal ’em,” grumbles Bowker, who estimates he loses about 30 speakers a year. “Orneriness I suppose.”

Bowker’s steadfast dedication to the theater is even more amazing given his fragile health. He has endured eight angioplasties, seven stents, quadruple bypass surgery and a severe heart attack.

His family has proven to be his saving grace: His mother, Rosalie, and wife, Tina, work the ticket booth, his son-in-law, John, helps with maintenance and his sons, Tony and Scott, patrol the grounds during shows to make sure no one’s sneaking in or stirring up trouble.

“I can always tell when somebody tries to sneak in a keg — there’ll be 30 people around that car,” Bruce says. “I’ll go back and say, ‘You either leave with it, or I’m going to haul it off to the ditch and you can pick it up on the way out.'”

For all of his efforts to maintain an orderly and wholesome environment, however, Bowker is no iron-fisted ruler. He allows alcohol on the grounds so long as people keep it in the vicinity of their cars, and he doesn’t make a fuss if people bring their own popcorn or snacks.

“We enjoy the idea that it’s going to be here every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for people to come out,” he says. “I don’t need the money … I’m here to try and keep it open.”

The Midway Drive-In's full-service concession stand offers everything from the standard large popcorn and large soda to double cheeseburgers.

Scraping by

Though the theater draws healthy crowds during peak summer months, the reality is that the Midway probably wouldn’t exist were it not for Bowker’s monthly disability checks and his wife’s second income. Many drive-ins operating today exist solely through the charity of their owners, and the ones that do make money typically reinvest much of it into the upkeep of their facilities.

According to The United Drive-In Theatre Owners Assn., the decline of drive-in theaters — from 4,063 in 1958 to 403 today — can be attributed to a number of factors: increasing property values that made selling for redevelopment attractive, aging owners who wished to retire, difficulty obtaining first-run product and increasing entertainment options (video, multiplexes and other activities).

But recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in drive-ins. Nationwide 24 new theaters have been built since 1990, and more than 50 have reopened in that time.

The three key ingredients to any drive-in’s success are families, good weather and a loyal patronage, says Randy Loy, executive director of United Drive-In Theatre Owners Assn.

“Attending a drive-in is an event,” he says. “People get there early to find their favorite spot. They eat supper at the full-service concession stands.

They meet up with their friends. The kids play on the playgrounds.”

This tradition is clearly in play hours before showtime at the Midway, when dozens of glow stick-toting cherubs swarm the playground in front of the screen and parents socialize on blankets.

“They get to run around and get some energy burned off,” says Michelle Diediker, a mother of four from Osawatomie. “The younger ones make it through the first movie and crash on the second.”

The theater also attracts its share of curiosity seekers. Some, like Lawrence couple Jeremy and Sorcha Sidener, are more than happy to make the trip and soak up the country vibes.

The marquee at the Midway Drive-In alerts visitors to what's playing on the outdoor screen. The Midway is one of only eight surviving drive-ins in a state that once supported more than 100 such theaters.

“If the weather’s accommodating, it’s a really good place to be just sitting under the stars — literally under the stars because you’re so away from the city,” says Jeremy, who plays bass for local groups Arthur Dodge and the Horsefeathers and The Danny Pound Band.

“We very rarely find out what movie’s playing — we just go.”

Dirty dancing

Maintaining a steady audience at a drive-in can be a tricky endeavor. Bowker must walk a fine line between selecting films that will draw good crowds but also satisfy the largely family-centered audience.

“I don’t play any hard-R’s here. There’s no wild sex,” he says. “There are some scenes and things in there that you or I have no control over … yet those movies want to be seen by a lot of people.”

Bowker’s toughest critic may be his 83-year-old mother, Rosalie, who once chastised him for showing a Patrick Swayze movie that revealed Swayze’s naked buttocks.

“She came over from the box office really upset,” Bowker recalls. “I told her, ‘From now on, I will screen these movies, and I will let you know when you need to be knitting or reading a book.'”

Though the Midway was able to cut a special deal to screen “Spiderman 2” on opening weekend (the only time the theater has opened a movie during Bowker’s tenure), it usually relies on cheaper second-run films. This year’s roster has included “50 First Dates,” “Hidalgo,” “The Miracle,” “Scooby Doo 2,” “Starsky and Hutch,” “Hellboy,” “Van Helsing” and “Shrek 2.”

“After a couple weeks something’s got to be done with the extra prints from the megaplexes, and we move them over to places like the drive-ins,” says Brad Bills of Independent Films Services in Leawood, who books for 185 screens across the country, including the Midway. “Your drive-in customer is not as much into, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got to see it on the first week of release.'”

The affordability of second-run movies also allows the theater to screen different pictures each weekend — necessary for theaters with limited customer bases.

“Especially in a market like that, a very high percentage are repeat customers,” Bills said. “You show the same program to them two weeks in a row, by the third week you’re going to lose your audience.”

Into the sunset

While the Midway has solidified its reputation as a beacon of old-time Americana, its surroundings have changed with the times. The nearby Miami County Airport has built a new runway. On this particular Friday night, a plane seems to take off every 10 minutes.

“They’re probably training somebody for nighttime landing and takeoffs,” Bruce reasons, adding that trains are typically a bigger distraction.

The Midway has been lucky in that no theaters have opened in Paola or Osawatomie. Its two nearest competitors — indoor theaters in Ottawa and Olathe — are both more than 20 miles away.

Inevitably, Bowker will have to sell the theater to mitigate its toll on his heart problems. He’s already had offers, but he has one very strict rule: He won’t sell it to anyone who doesn’t plan on keeping it open as a drive-in.

“If they can swing it, then we’ll work a deal with them,” he says. “It’s not going to bother me one way or the other. I’m having such a good season that I like the money that’s coming in. They’re the ones that are missing out.”