Haar’s reopens with digital projection

Line of cars waiting to get in at Haars Drive-InWe’ve got two sources for the great news that Haar’s Drive-In of Dillsburg PA is reopening this weekend with its new digital projection system. We had already written about its conversion efforts, and it’s great to see that they’re ready to go.

The York Dispatch ran an article with a photo of Haar’s workers unloading the projector crate. The article quotes owner Vickie Hardy as saying that the digital upgrade might not boost attendance. “I don’t think the format is why people come. I think they come because it’s a cheap night of family fun,” she said. That would be my guess as well. (Of the three news sources I’ve seen so far, the other two spell the owner’s name “Vicky”. But the Haar’s site matches the Dispatch’s spelling, so congrats to the Dispatch for getting it right. But I digress.)

The Patriot-News of Mechanicsburg also wrote about Haar’s reopening, and correctly points out that its technology investment is “proof positive that ‘we intend to remain here for quite a while,'” Hardy said. There’s also a cute file photo of a couple kissing at the drive-in, so go read that article too, even though it (probably?) misspelled the owner’s name.

More drive-ins in MI, PA commit to digital

Getty Drive-In marquee

photo by MichiganDriveIns, used by permission

Here are a couple more notes that support what, thankfully, looks like a growing trend. The Lehigh Valley (PA) Morning Call ran a happy note about Shankweiler’s in Orefield and Becky’s in Berlinsville, which have both switched to digital projection.

Not only is Shankweiler’s indisputably the oldest active drive-in, it appears to have been only the second drive-in ever built when it opened in April 1934, according to the book Drive-in Theaters. Becky’s isn’t quite as old, it opened 12 years later, but it’s always nice to hear of another drive-in making a successful conversion.

Over at Mlife.com is a similar story of the Getty Drive-In (Muskegon MI), except that it hasn’t quite made the transition yet. The story says that the Getty’s general manager, Kevin Sims, wasn’t sure exactly when it would happen, but it could be as early as June. “Luckily, we have a great company that backs the drive-in,” he said. For the full story, plus a photo of the film projector, go check it out!

Two more PA drive-ins ready to go

Update: Hours after I posted the following, I saw that WHP, Harrisburg’s news leader, had also posted a story about the season opener of the Cumberland Drive-In. We do love our embedded video, so there you go, along with my previous little post, which starts right now…

The Sentinel of Cumberland County PA ran an article this week profiling the owners of two nearby drive-ins. Vicky Hardy is looking forward to installing a digital projector at Haar’s Drive-In (Dillsburg) later this month, and Jay Mowery sees the “necessary evil” of converting the Cumberland Drive-In (Newville) this fall.

Haar’s and the Cumberland were opened “months apart” in 1952. Mowery’s father built the Cumberland. “Our house was on the property,” he said. “Our whole life, growing up, couldn’t be separated from it.”

Hardy is the granddaughter of Vance Haar, a guy who might have preferred to join the circus, “but with a family, he couldn’t have kids and go after that,” Hardy said.

That’s just a quick taste of a lengthy, well-written article about two family-owned drive-ins and their different approaches to inevitable digital conversion. It even includes a few photos. Go read it!