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.
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| 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 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.
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| At the Holiday with mt siaster Linda and my dear Fred |
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.
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.
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.
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.
