The first manager for the Charro Drive-in Theater was Marshall Nichols who shared these photos over twenty years ago for an article I wrote for one of those Studies in Brownsville History..." books published by UTB/TSC. The photos were not printed in the book. Marshall is seen here on the scooter he used to get around large parking lot for everyday maintenance tasks to make sure drive-in would be ready for each night's double-feature. His first day on the job came on May 5th, 1949. These photos were probably taken in the early 1960s after he had been manager a number of years.
Theater Managers were always expected to find creative ways to promote their theaters and Nichols came up with plenty of ideas using local businesses. He met Will Cabler, a retired Texas Ranger with land up the street from the theater on Paredes Line Rd. Cabler had a bunch of burros he was willing to sell so Nichols had special giveaway promotions so the animals were given away as prizes. Keeping burros was a bigger chore than say, small monkeys in a cage so he brought a bunch of small monkeys from William Abraham "Snake" King who was a wild animal farmer who had been selling animals from around the world since the 1910s.
Marshall Nichols daughter with burros. The family lived in a home that was built-in the screen tower. Theaters provided swing sets for kids which was a great idea at the time. It allowed kids to spend their energy on the playground while the drive-in filled with cars as the sun went down.
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