LOCAL HISTORY MEMORIES OF FAST FOOD JOINTS AND DRIVE-INS

With the opening of another popular national chain in Paris, I can’t help but reflect on the days when the only national chain in Paris was the KFC that originated here at the Whitehorse DRIVE-IN. Yes, I said Drive-In. I know most people today don’t think of “DriveIn” as a term used for anything but watching a movie from inside your car, we had those too In fact, we had three in this area the Sunset, the Breezes and the Oxford. We will reminisce about those “Drive-Ins” as well! But first let’s remember the restaurants where one could drive in with a car for full service. At a drive-in restaurant customers would park their vehicles, and would either be served by staff who walked or roller-skated out to take orders and returned with food, or customers would order at a window and then go back to their car and wait for their name to be called over a loudspeaker at which time you would go and retrieve your order, get all your fixings and then go back to your car to eat your food. The first drive in restaurants were started in the 1920s but after WWII the automobile was the most popular mode of entertainment, dining and recreation. Everything was a “Drive-In” or so it seemed. Even restaurants with full-service dining rooms such as the White Horse, would offer Drive-In options to keep on trend If you really wanted to live like us older locals did, try avoiding the drive throughs and have a stop in at some of the last Drive-In restaurants still standing - such as Johnny B Goods on Hwy 2 towards Brantford or Jim’s Lunch on Hwy 2 West at Princeton. Paris (just like today) was a popular place to stop and get a bite to eat and cruise the “DriveIn” circuit in your muscle car Some of the most popular stops in my teen years were at the junction of Hwy#2&5 such as the Kalico Kitchen, Kings Drive-In, The Charcoal Drive-In, The White Horse, The Trading Post, but there was also The BBQ Pit downtown and some of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life were from David Grays up at the Junction! My first real job in Paris was at the Kalico Kitchen Drive-In and we had a way of making a footlong hotdog taste delicious and snap in your mouth! We fried the hotdogs in butter! Hahaha, I think you might be arrested for doing that today!? Continued on page 13