A GENTLE GIANT

Fred Baum was a dear friend. He could be stubborn, cantankerous and offensive ... but in the end, all would be forgiven and forgotten, and his big heart would shine through. And his death on May 29, 2007, was as much of a paradox as was his life ... a shock, but not an unexpected surprise.

His obituary in the Hamilton newspaper read, in part, as follows:

"Fred Baum made movies his life as the owner and operator of several theaters in Butler County, most recently the Holiday Auto Theatre on Old Oxford Road, the very place where he began his career at age 16.

A native and life-long Hamilton resident, Charles "Fred" Baum died in his home Tuesday morning. He was 64.

Baum's career included owning and operating several movie theaters in the area and building the first multi-screen cinema in Oxford.

In the 1980s, he sold all of his operations and retired from the business, but not for long. In 1995, he purchased, restored and renovated the Holiday Auto Theatre for the nostalgia of it, he told the Journal News.

 

The 66 Year Old Entrance Sign at the Holiday Auto Theatre

 Last year, Baum put the Holiday Auto Theatre up for sale at a list price of $650,000. Calling it "the end of an era," he expected that it would be sold and used for other purposes.

 

The Holiday Auto Theatre

Baum was also known for a fleet of vintage buses that he collected. Many of the restored buses are on display at the drive-in.

 

One of Fred's prized buses -- The New York Trade Center Coach

Memorial services will be held at a later date."

But he was so much more than all that!  Fred first came into my life as the host of the afternoon movies on a local television station. He would introduce each film, give trivia and little-known facts about each one, and astound everyone with his vast knowledge old Hollywood classics. I was a teenager then, enchanted and maybe even a little in love with this bigger-than-life character. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would one day count the famed Fred Baum as one of my closest personal friends.

But it happened! Many years later, I was married and my husband Steve was looking for a job. One day, while checking out what was playing at the local movie houses and driveins, he saw that the Holiday Auto Theatre was hiring. He applied for the position of "consession stand worker" and ended up becoming the manager of the drivein! And my dream of meeting the incomparable Fred Baum became a reality. We became fast friends.

Eventually I also became part of the Holiday "family" (office manager and later consession co-manager to Steve). Some of my best memories will always be listening as Fred shared HIS favorite memories from his life and career ... in particular, about his personal friendship with the late, great Kate Smith.

We shared many things in common, besides our love of drive-in theatres and movies! We were each extremely patriotic flag wavers; we both loved traveling to Maine and lighthouses; we both adored cats (how he LOVED his Sylvester, Katie, PG, Chessie and Calie) and we shared a love for cooking and kitchen gadgets. And we were both pretty much set in our ways, which caused us to occasionally butt heads! But we both knew how much we cared for one another, and I will miss my daily (anywhere from five to ten) phone calls from Fred, and exchanging recipes with him. I'll miss grillouts at his house, and spending every Christmas afternoon with him, which became a tradition for us.

 

At the Holiday with mt siaster Linda and my dear Fred

The great voice is silenced now ... never again to be replaced, because Fred Baum was truly irreplacable!

Goodbye, Fred. I always wanted you to realize how much you were loved ... now I wish you could know how much you are missed.

"Please don't weep for me,
for I no longer worry about what tomorrow brings,
For me it brings a much needed rest ...
a rest forever"

Popcorn

Do you love movie theater popcorn? We do! It’s almost a requirement to  get it when you go to the movies. The buttery microwave kind is just not the same.

Movie theaters use butter-flavored oil, which has a lower water content than butter so it makes popcorn less soggy. Real clarified butter (also called Drawn butter) has the same effect.  And that was the only thing Fred used on his popcorn.  To make it, melt 2 sticks butter in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Let sit for a few minutes; the butter will separate into 3 layers. Skim off the top layer of foam, then slowly pour the clarified butter into a heatproof container; discard the bottom layer of milk solids. Use 3 tablespoons hot clarified butter for 10 cups popcorn; refrigerate the rest.   At room temperature clarified butter is in a more solid state, but when heated turns to a beautiful, golden liquid.  The rich, nutty flavor of the clarified butter takes your homemade snack to a whole new level when drizzled over top and tossed with a bit of salt.

All you need is a 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels and a lunch size brown bag.
1/4 cup popcorn kernels yields approximately 5 cups popped corn
*Put 1/4 cup of the popcorn kernels in the bag.

*Fold over the top of the bag 2-3 times and put it folded side down in the microwave.

*Press the popcorn setting on the microwave.  Let it run until popping slows or microwave finishes.

The second, more secret ingredient is flavacol. What is flavacol? I have no idea. It’s some kind of seasoning salt that is unbelievably delicious. No other seasoning salt holds a candle to flavacol.  And that’s what we used at the drive in.  And I believe you can get it at Sam’s Club. 

Add the flavacol to your popcorn according to your own tastes.

Soft Pretzel

4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon white sugar

1-1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees)

5 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 1/2 cup baking soda

4 cups hot water

1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in 1 1/4 cup warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two more tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Grease 2 baking sheets

In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in 4 cups hot water; set aside. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda-hot water solution and place pretzels on baking sheets. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake in preheated oven until browned, about 8 minutes.

Cotton Candy

5 cups granulated sugar
Scant 1 1/3 cups light corn syrup
1 cup plus 2 T. water
Flavored oil
Food color paste
Vegetable baking spray

To make this recipe at home, you will need a pair of wire cutters and an old inexpensive whisk. Cut the round ends off an inexpensive whisk. Arrange the tines so they are evenly spaced. You will also need an open space to make the cotton candy. At home, slit open a garbage bag and cover the floor area. Wedge 2 long wooden spoons under something heavy so they extend off the edge of the counter.

Place the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook the sugar mixture until it reaches 320 degrees F, what is known as the hard crack stage (the sugar becomes brittle when it comes in contact with a cooler surface). Remove from the heat and carefully pour into a medium-size microwaveable glass bowl. If you leave the sugar in the pan, the sugar will continue to cook and turn dark brown. A glass bowl will hold the temperature of the sugar. I put a towel under the bowl to keep the bowl from tipping over and to protect my hands from the heat of the glass. (The sugar will stay liquid enough to work with easily for about 10 minutes; after that it will start to thicken. If this happens before you are finished, just pop the bowl in the microwave for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the sugar is liquid enough to work with once again.) If you are going to color and/or flavor the sugar, add those drops now.

Dip the tines into the hot sugar. Allow the sugar to drain off for 1 to 2 seconds until the draining sugar strands are relatively the same consistency. Then wave the whisk over the extended wooden spoons and allow the sugar strands to gently drift until they are resting on top of the spoons. Make sure you are about 12 to 18 inches above the spoons. Use broad long strokes and work quickly. Gather the cotton candy and roll onto paper that you've rolled into a long, thin cone, like cotton candy is served in at the carnival or serve as is. If you need to store the cotton candy for a few hours, place it in an airtight container. The delicate sugar will melt in a humid environment.