Firefly’s, Drive-Ins and Amusement parks

     I’ve noticed a few things missing that used to be prevalent in my youth.  Sitting around talking with friends the other night we commented how we never see Firefly’s or lightening bugs, as we used to call them.  It seemed like lightening bugs were all around my city neighborhood in the summer months but I haven’t seen them in ages.  I don’t even remember when I stopped seeing them, it must have been many years but recently we saw some while at a bond fire at my cousin Bob’s house in O’Fallon.  His house backs up to a creek and he has lots of trees by the creek, which apparently attracts Firefly’s.  The thing is our subdivision has a lot of trees but no creek just a swimming pool but we don’t have lightening bugs at all just mosquitos, If I could choose I’d rather have lightening bugs. 

     As kids we would run around catching them and put them in jars, some we would pull the light off and put it on our finger as a ring.  Not a really nice thing to do to these interesting bugs that lite up the sky but sometimes kids don’t think about that stuff.  After you caught a half a dozen you hands would smell like the Firefly’s which was a very distinctive smell but not really pleasant.  When it was time to go in for the night we would open the jars and the lucky Firefly’s that did not become jewelry were released. 

     Why did we have Firefly’s then and not now?  What’s different?  Is it all the fertilizer on the lawns? Nobody ever fertilized their lawns when I was growing up it just caused the grass to grow and who wanted that.  Too bad Firefly’s were awesome, now you only see them in commercials for Country Time lemonade.

     Drive-in movies are another thing that have disappeared from the landscape although their disappearance is not as puzzling.  Indoor theaters especially the mega theaters caused their demise.  There are still a few around but when I grew up there were many.  There are some remnants of their past when a shopping mall took their place but left the Drive-In entrance sign, I think there is a shopping mall in St. Ann’s that still has St. Ann Drive-In sign.  Kudos to them.  That is a cool way to preserve a memory.

     I remember going to the drive-in with my parents, it was always a fun evening.  The concession stand was in the building with the projector and you would go get snacks before the movie or at intermission.   The speakers hung on a pole at each parking space.  They were on a cord and you could hang them on you window so they would be inside the car for cold nights.  People were constantly banging their doors on the pole when they opened the door even after being warned about the pole.  The sound was pretty bad, you had to listen really close to understand what was being said but if the movie was boring you could always watch people in the other cars, that could be entertaining as well.  Some drive-ins even had small playgrounds up near the screen for really small kids that got bored but I don’t know how often the playgrounds were used.

     As I got older we would go to the drive-in with a bunch of friends, which wasn’t always about the movie as much as socializing with others at the drive-in.  Sometimes people would hide in the trunk until they got in, then you would see all these trunks popping open and kids jumping out, all to save a couple of bucks.  Of course if you had a date the drive-in was always a great place to go. 

     As a teenager I no longer noticed Firefly’s but I suspect I would have seen them at the drive-in as well, if I was paying attention.  Nowadays you can find a movie in the park on some weekends which maybe the replacement for drive-ins of the past.  That's a fun idea and no charge for the mosquitos.

     Amusement parks were always a fun activity to start the summer off.  Every year we would have a school picnic at a local amusement park. We went to Holiday Hill a few times but most of my memories were from Chain of Rocks Amusement park, both of which are gone now. There was no admission price to the park so parents could come in and just enjoy watching the kids run around.  Tickets for rides were sold at various booths around the park and it seemed like you could spend all day without spending much more than $5.00.  I always enjoyed riding the bumper cars but my favorite ride was a small roller coaster called the Mighty Mouse; it had one turn that made you feel like you were going off the cliff, pretty exciting.

     Now we have Six Flags and all the rides are free once you pay the $40 to $50 admission fee per person, even Grandma and Grandpa.  So for a family of 4 you should plan on spending upwards of $200 for a family day of fun. 

     I’m sure some old amusement parks still exist but the only one I can vouch for is the one in Green Bay, Wisconsin called Bay Beach which we stumbled upon a few years ago, check it out if you are every in Green Bay.

     Schools still have end of the year picnics with rides but these are usually held on the school grounds with those temporary travelling carnivals rides.  I’m sure the school kids have a great time and love every minute but you will need a little luck and a keen eye to find any Firefly’s.