Sherer’s Drive-In
Sherer’s Drive-In opened in 1959 on Highway 78 bypass in Jasper. It soon became a favorite hang-out on Friday and Saturday nights for Walker County teens. By the mid-sixties, two more locations had opened: US 78 in Sumiton and US 45 in Tupelo, Mississippi. All three had the distinctive A-frame with “wings” for car stalls.
Besides being known for its burgers and fries, Sherer’s was locally famous for another reason: behind the large window of the A-frame was an auxiliary radio broadcasting booth for beloved WWWB radio disc jockey Johnny McPoland. On weekdays during the 1960s and 1970s, “Johnny Mack” could be spotted perched in his booth overlooking the Sherer’s parking lot and Highway 78, often flipping the microphone on during a song to bid a hearty “Toodle-Loo!” to listeners waving as they passed by.
After becoming vacant years later, the iconic building deteriorated over time and was torn down. A convenience store now stands on the site where teenagers once cruised around on weekends. 78
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Remember it well, drove my Ford Convertible through the parking lot and ate hamburgers, 25 cents. Would cruse between there and the old Frosty on the old 78 and then to where Deno’s is now.
And in Saturday night the midnight movie at the theater in Jasper or if I had a date it was the 78 drive in then maybe to the walker County lake to watch the Submarine races
Reading this brought tears to my eyes. Wonderful Memories. When I was a little girl, my mom and dad would slow down and tell me and my sisters to wave at Johnny Mack as we passed. We would have his radio station on and he never once failed to wave at us, and we thought it was the best thing ever hearing him say Toodle-Loo!