Mark Fischbach, a YouTuber and filmmaker also known as Markiplier, came to the rescue last week for the premiere of his movie, “Iron Lung.” He put out the call to his internet followers to descend on Shankweilers Drive-In Theatre and shovel away the snow so the drive-in could play the movie as scheduled.
As reported by WFMZ, the Lehigh Valley’s News Leader, Shankweiler’s owner Matthew McClanahan was surprised to see the response on the drive-in’s Facebook page. As WFMZ’s video showed, a couple dozen shovelers, a snowblower, and a couple of pickup truck plows cleared the way for the show to go on.
As I read the lengthy article, I started to notice that it was getting fuzzy, and not in good ways. It described the available snacks as “all the classics you crave, from buttery popcorn and candy to hot dogs and sodas” without mentioning its signature pizza. The admission price “is typically charged per car or per person” which didn’t really say anything. And I was sure something was wrong when the article described “the rows of speaker posts” for patrons. As you can see in my photo from 2023 (above) or a Google Street View from 2014, the Fort Union’s speaker poles haven’t been available for a very long time.
I asked Google about that publisher, and its AI told me, “Dailywise is an AI-powered app designed to improve personal productivity, health, and skill-building through habit tracking and coaching.” (Yes, I can see the irony here.) The Dailywise home page looks like AI-generated click bait.
So the result was a fake article about a very real place to visit. I highly recommend the Fort Union, which was also nice enough to let me use it on the cover of Drive-Ins of New Mexico. But I think I’ll skip future articles from Dailywise. I don’t think I can trust them.
The Sage Crest Drive-In in Yerington NV has been closed since 1995, but it still attracts attention. The dry desert has preserved so much of the place, including most of the panels from its original screen.
KTVN, Reno’s News Leader, visited the old Sage Crest site a week ago for its Nevada Backroads segment. This YouTube video is a great way to see how well the drive-in is holding up despite 30 years of inactivity. Check it out!
