Menu Favorites
Hand-Cut Fries
 ("I know, I 'pushed' a ton of 'em.")
"Homemade" Root Beer
 Pork Tenderloins
Good Rings

The Adobe Drive-In by all appearances was located at 3550 Cedar Avenue South,
on the northwest corner of Cedar Avenue according to John Edmunds, RHS '63, who worked there one summer. 
He said the drive-in was owned by a Minneapolis police officer, but that he can only remember his first name, Chris.
The menu items above were provided by John. 

"The name of the Minneapolis police officer who owned the Adobe was Chris Hanson", according to Jerry Polkinghorne, RHS '55.  Thanks Jerry!

If anyone has a photo or photos of this drive-in, it would be nice to have a visual image to jog our memory.
According to John, "At this time (circa 1963), the Adobe Drive-In was flat-roofed (kinda Spanish architecture, but with a Scandinavian flair - - - that
Eric the Red, he got around!!).  There was a trailer rental place next to it or nearby."

In later years, the establishment was remodeled, renamed the Quarterback Club, and a huge vertical football became part of its architecture. 
"I know that Fran Tarkenton had a chain of drive-ins with that unique architectural feature" John tells us.

A to Z Rental occupied the building that I believe housed the Adobe Drive-In in years past.  It had been in business at least since the late 1970s. 
The trailer rental place was adjacent to it and probably was part of this same business which, in August, 2009, expanded half that block.

Well, things have changed since A to Z Rental . . .

 Things have changed since August, 2009 and it is now November 1st.  Yesterday, I drove by this area and the entire half block on the
west side of  35th and Cedar has been leveled.  I wonder what they plan to build now!

A year later, in November, 2010, I again drove by the area.
  A one-story structure can be found on the northwest corner and not too far to the north of it is a Holiday Station.

It is now April, 2011 and the corner building is called the Holiday Pantry.  The building to the north is, indeed, a Holiday Station.  Gas is $3.57.9!!!  I remember when it was 26.9 in 1959.

     
      Holiday Pantry          Both establishments         Holiday Station       View of both buildings

Photos taken:  4/3/11


Apparently, there was an A & W on this corner in 1940.  Sandra Ashley's (RHS '62) mom was a car hop there!

ADOBE NAME ORIGIN
"Ray Truelson, who with a friend, Warren Nelson, started a root beer stand at 35th Street and Cedar Avenue South, in Minneapolis called the Adobe.  They sold it, and in 1949 opened the Flat Top Drive-Inn on Lake Street, but Truelson later sold his interest to start Porky's."  I find this interesting.  Also, Ray Truelson was also a Roosevelt graduate!   Source: Truelson's obituary

 

Airloha Drive-In

~ The Airloha Drive-In was located at 58th Street and 34th Avenue South, PA9-9457 ~
The popular Airloha, owned and operated by the Elman Lemley family featured the famous "Stratoburger", which was a burger with two patties
 with melted cheese in between, two strips of bacon and lettuce and tomato, a first! 
Sons, Travis and Roger both attended RHS in the early '60s.



Travis Lemley
(1/26/44 - 12/23/07)


~ More Airloha History ~

Menu Favorites
Stratoburger Baskets & Chicken
French Fried Shrimp
Grilled Pork Chops
Onion Rings & French Fries
"Best Cheese Burgers in town"
Sesame seed buns
Hot Dogs
"Best Slaw in Town"
Tacos with the Spicy French Dressing, huge with lots of cheese
Great Chocolate Malts & Ice Cream & Purple Cow Malts
Milk Shakes flavored with Coconut, Papaya, & Mango
Frozen Whipped Cones
Cinnamon Cokes! *
Root Beer & Bee Bops

  * "They were made with cinnamon extract and sold as 'Hot 'n Tots'. 
They were good, but very strong.  The extract would cling to the ice, so when finished, it provided an extra rush."
Steve Hanson, RHS, '69 & Geoff Moore, RHS '66

What were "Bee Bops"?

The Gutzke family's mom and step-dad, the Petersons, purchased the Airloha Drive-In from the Lemleys and owned it for 17 years. 
Robyn, Tom, and Terry Gutzke were the kids.  According to Robyn, "There was many a good time there.  Do you remember the Homecoming dances when we had the bands on the roof?  Our grandmother prepared the batter for the chicken and also made the hand-dipped onion rings.  Grandfather worked the fryers.  It was a whole family affair."  Eventually Mrs. Peterson retired and sold the land.  The Drive-In was torn down.

  "I worked at the Airloha drive-in when I was sixteen.  The lady that made all of our onion rings was the grandmother of John Dyjak '62"
~ Nancy Smith Boston, RHS non-grad '62

"There was an A & W car hop drive-in located across the road (now the Crosstown Highway), still on the west side of 34th Avenue S.,
the same side as the Airloha.  The A & W was next to the Cummings' large dairy farm and was also built by them.  The DePonti* airplane hangar and
Wold Chamberlain Field, which was the old Airport on 34th Avenue, were kitty corner from the Airloha," on the southeast corner of 58th Street E & 34th Avenue S.  "Eventually the airport bought out the farm.  Does anyone remember the huge Christmas tree bonfires out there that were held after
Winter Sports Day festivities?"

* Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame link for Angelo "Shorty" De Ponti, 1908 - 1991 

Prior to the Lemley ownership, "the Sander family owned the land on which the Airloha was built.  They didn't want a drive-in close to their home, so they declined selling it to Mr. Lemley for a couple years.  Apparently, Mr. Lemley had another man buy the land, saying he was going to build a house. 
At any rate, the Sander family spent a lot of time at the Airloha too."

"I loved the Airloha.  I remember their sesame seed buns.  And those darn palm trees."
 ~ Andrea Szalay, RHS, '78 ~

Best tacos around - for that time, anyway.  Huge, lots of cheese.
~ Rita Silver, RHS '70 ~

"Dick Peterson was the manager he was almost as much fun as the kids who worked there.  
I remember cars being lined up all the way back to the Legion on 34th Avenue on Friday nights and Sundays.  
I got a raise after one of those Sundays from Lem. 
Oh, by the way, the drive-in across the street (A & W) was Don's; and Lem's Aunt Juanita ran it.  I worked there before I worked at the Airloha."
~ Iris Dybwad, RHS, '58

"My family's phone number was the same as the Airloha's except two digits were transposed.  The Airloha number was PA 9-9457. 
Occasionally we would get wrong number calls for the Airloha.  I got a call from a guy wanting ten burgers with fries, six chocolate shakes and four strawberry shakes to go.  I told him he could pick them up in 10 minutes.
I've often wondered what happened that night!"
~ JaRene Strand, RHS, '64 ~

"I worked there in '56!  I remember when Lemley himself, was called back to the airport,
because a plane coming in for a landing (It was called Wold-Chamberlain then.) went down and crashed into several homes on M'haha Pkwy,
a few blocks off of Cedar Avenue. Anyone remember that?"
~ Sharron Stevens, RHS, '57 ~

"I don't remember that crash, but I remember the one that took out four houses on 58th and about 46th Avenue. 
I also remember a small plane crashing into Morris Park school."
~ Geoff Moore, RHS, '66 ~

"If I recall that accident, wasn't it closer to 38th or 39th Avenue South between 56th & 57th Streets?  Forty-sixth Avenue is next to the V/A Hospital. 
The plane that hit Morris Park school was a Navy TA4.  That's a trainer for an A 4 aircraft."
~ Dale Gordon, RHS, '67 ~

"Airloha with it's speakers was really something.  Still remember it whenever we pass that corner before crossing the Crosstown Highway 62 on the way to the Air Force Reserve Base. 
I flew on the military version of the Stratocruiser (HC-97) with the AF Rescue Service out in Hawaii in the '60s."
~ Jerry Sacre, RHS, '55 ~

Pinky

Remember "Pinky" the little delivery vehicle that Lemleys used?  "Pinky" was an Isetta car.  The entire front end was a door! 
Some employees got in trouble for driving it on the sidewalk; it was that small. 
Many customers would buy ice cream at the little window next to where they parked the little delivery car.
"Rumor has it that Pinky is alive and well living in Bloomington.  Pinky grew up to be a Street Rod."

I read somewhere that the Airloha had multiple pink Isettas making deliveries around the neighborhood. 
Could someone confirm that?


"Pinky" facsimile

Source:  Online entries from Roosevelt and South High alumni
 

~ Interesting Email Messages ~


I received a series of emails from an interesting woman named Anne Kerr, who recently happened upon our web site seeking information about the Airloha Drive-In. 
She knew Captain Elman F. Lemley, father of Travis and Roger Lemley, owner of the Airloha Drive-In and a pilot for NWA.
 
Her research at the NWA History Centre in Bloomington reflects the following:  "Capt. 'Lem' Lemley had the first drive-through 'radio ordering system' in the Twin Cities at the Airloha.  
He got the idea from a drive-in in Billings Montana, when he was flying a schedule from MSP to Billings.  They started the business in 1948 and the radio ordering system probably went in about 1958 or 1959.

The Stratocruiser was a double-deck Boeing B-377 airplane with a cocktail lounge on the lower level accessed by a winding staircase just aft of the main cabin door. 
That's what inspired Lemley to call his double-deck burger a Stratoburger.

I found your web site because I googled Airloha Drive-In.  I googled Airloha Drive-In because I am writing a book about the Stratocruiser
and Northwest Airlines in the 1950's when I was a stewardess for four years."

Anne (Billingsley) Kerr graduated from Southwest High in 1952

~ Excerpts from Anne B. Kerr's upcoming book ~
'Fujiyama Trays and Oshibori Towels;
Recalling a time when passenger flight was an adventure and the Stratocruiser ruled the skies' 

"Ever the innovator, Lemley also installed the very first drive-in radio ordering system in the Twin Cities area. 
The system was so new that business suffered slightly when it was first installed because folks not familiar with it were hesitant about trying it out. 
'All you do is come in the 58^th Street entrance and pull up next to one of the radio microphone stands.  In a normal voice from inside your car you simply give your order.  By the time you get to the drive-in window, (approximately 3 minutes) your order is ready,' Lemley explained. 
'Customers can either eat on the lot or drive away with their food.  Plates, spoons, trays, cups – everything is throwawayable,' he said. 
He picked up the radio ordering idea in Billings, Montana when he discovered it at a local drive-in on a layover."

"The Airloha offered root beer, French fried shrimp, malts, frozen whip cones, and hot dogs in addition to the burgers. 
California Stratoburgers and Strato-California Cheeseburgers completed the delicious series of gastric takeoffs on the hamburger offered at the Airloha. 
NWA employees, Lem said, were highly complimentary of the Stratoburger series, 'but because of that big, red Stratocruiser on my sign, the gang from Western, Capital, Braniff and North Central give me hell! 
They’re some of my best customers, though'."

"Captain Lemley retired from NWA in 1980 after a 36 year career. 
After retirement he became SCUBA certified, diving Truk Lagoon in the Pacific where he sat in a Japanese Zero fighter, 97 feet underwater,"
like the kind in the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, which he survived. "He died July 25, 2005 in Naples Florida at the age of 84."

~ Patrick A. (Pat) Corcoran, RHS '55 ~
8/25/09

Roosevelt High School lunch was 50¢ and soybean hamburgers were 50¢ extra.
 
I played in the 120 piece band, and swing band.  I used to pick up Dick Ramberg (clarinet and sax) for swing band.  He was great back then. 
He and his mother would sit at home and memorize all the music.  I guess it paid off. 
Our band director, Oren Henning, claimed that he had yellow fever during the war and that's why he was a little shaky.  I don't know.  We loved him.
I played in the Woodrow Wilson Grenadier Band (trombone and drum major).  I also played in the Minneapolis Police band ten years.  I had my own band for 15 years.  Now, I have a piano bar in my garage in the summer. 
The neighbors come over to sing and dance.  Great times.

At Lake Nokomis one summer we had to stay out of the water because of the polio scare.

My friend Byron H. and I welded two bikes together and went down the steep hill by the little beach. We got going so fast that we were passing cars along the road.  I'll never forget that day. 
There were no such things as bicycle helmets back then.

My mother, back in the 50s, had chicken every Sunday. 
She would put the chicken in the pressure cooker and she would blow the top off of the cooker.  Steam and crap would blow all over the kitchen ceiling.  What a mess. 
We never had much money but we never went hungry.  My uncle, a religious fanatic, would come over for dinner.  He would go on and on with the grace.  I thought we'd never get around to eating.

I still have two small unopened cans of Gluek Stite from the good 'ol days, and the big wooden root beer barrel with a spigot, I think, from the Richo Drive-In. 
I bought it for $30.00 at a garage sale in Richfield about 20 years ago.  We use it for a TV stand in the basement. 
I could go on and on, but that's enough for today."

~ Lloyd Washburn RHS, '57 ~
3/11/10

~ Summer of '53 at the Airloha ~

~ Fun Times at the Airloha:  '57 - '59 ~



Your drive inn site really brings back a lot of good memories. 

I was a fry cook at the Airloha from 1957 to 1959.  I graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1959, and then went into the Navy. 
We really had a good time at the Airloha, because all the kids from high school hung out there. 
I worked there with Jack Jensen, Mark Madvig, Mike McMillan, Iris Dybwad, Elaine Gertsen, and a lot of others I can't remember right now. 

We really had fun with the front room girls.  Like food fights when Dick Peterson or Lem Lemley wasn't there.  One time we cornered Elaine and squirted whipped cream down her bra and the back of her pants. 
Memories, Memories.  I have a lot of them but if I wrote about all of them it would turn out to be a book.

~ Jerry Salhus, RHS '59 ~
2/14/11