Category Archives: 2017 Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey

This is the virtual tour that will imagine what it would be like to visit every North American drive-in theater in 2017 by visiting one or two every day. While the drive-ins, restaurants, and hotels are real, all the events in this section are fiction. But it’s fun to dream!

Dec. 19: Super 322 Drive-In Theatre, Woodland PA

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It’s Day 353 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Thanks to the miracle of I-80, it took me less than an hour to drive from the Moonlite Drive-In Theatre just west of Brookville PA to the Super 322 Drive-In Theatre in the unincorporated community of Woodland PA.

After a few weeks of drive-in web sites with inaccurate history pages or limited history pages or no history pages, it was so nice to find the Super 322. Its history page is fairly thorough, and every detail I’ve found independently checks out. Here’s what it says, along with my parenthetical comments.

The Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was opened on May 26, 1950, built by the Theodore Grance Outdoor Theatre Co. Ownership changed hands a few times (although Grance was still listed as the owner in the 1966 Motion Picture Almanac) until being bought in the 1970s by Royer and Favuzza from the Bellefonte area. (Probably Frank Royer and Joseph Favuzza, both linked to the Midway Drive-In in Mifflintown.) They made improvements including AM radio; the Super 322 was Pennsylvania’s second drive-in to add an AM radio sound system. The removal of external speakers increased capacity (from 600 cars, according to old reference books) to about 650 cars. In the 1980s, FM stereo sound capabilities were added.

After working for over 20 years at the theatre, Bill Frankhouser, together with his wife Barb, purchased the Super 322 (from “Mr. Favuzza” in 2001, according to a 2013 article in GANT Daily). They have also made improvements including a new marquee complete with a colorful neon sign. In 2001, the Super 322 Drive-in Theatre was granted eligibility to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the Pennsylvania Museum Commission. In 2005, one the original neon signs was back in use after being restored. It features pink neon. The entrance lights have been replaced as has been the entire fence at the back of the field. The ramps have all been graded and re-shaped so you can enjoy the best view of the big screen. The ticket booth was replaced in 2010. The Super 322 opened for the 2014 season in digital, having the projector holding the record for the brightest light on the planet!! (End of self-history.)

I wish that every drive-in’s history page was as thorough as the Super 322’s. A 600-car lot was unusually large for a rural drive-in in the 1950s; I wonder why Grance and company built it that big. Also, there were a surprising number of “Super” + Highway number drive-ins listed in Pennsylvania. I wonder what was up with all that?

The Super 322 closed for the season in September. I’m glad it promised to reopen next spring.

Miles Today / Total: 48 / 39313 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: The closest restaurant to the Super 322 is Gio’s BBQ, and it would be worth visiting even if it weren’t so close. I had a platter with chicken and pork, but I especially enjoyed the BBQ baked beans. And the French fries were an excellent way of transferring more dipped sauce into my mouth.

Where I Virtually Stayed: Google said the closest hotels were in Clearfield, and one of those was a Hampton Inn, so that was the end of that deliberation. There were cookies and coffee at check-in, and possibly all day. At some point, I had to go to my king bed room, which had all the modern amenities. Breakfast in the morning was the typical high Hampton standard. Same old (good) stuff.

Only in Woodland: Over in Clearfield, Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub has a tradition worthy of Roadside America. Pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with little publicity, Denny’s has “the World’s Largest Burgers”. In 1998 Denny Liegey introduced “Ye Olde 96er,” which is nine pounds altogether, six of it beef. Guinness calls it the “largest hamburger commercially available,” and their certificate hangs prominently in the dining room. Competitive eaters have another name for it: “the Holy Grail of the burger world.”

Next stop: Pike Drive In Theatre, Montgomery PA.

Dec. 18: Moonlite Drive-In Theatre, Brookville PA

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The Man Behind the Screen from psucommedia on Vimeo.

It’s Day 352 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. After all the tiny trips I’d been taking last week in northeast Ohio, the hour and a half I drove this day seemed longer than it should have. But that’s what it took to get from the Elm Road Triple Drive-In Theatre on the northeast side of Warren OH to the Moonlite Drive-In Theatre just west of Brookville PA.

The early history of the Moonlite comes in glimpses, like walking past a picket fence. The drive-in opened on July 2, 1952, owned and operated by J. E. Hollobaugh, as it was spelled by the Brookville Jeffersonian Democrat at the time. The Theatre Catalog listed the owner as O. A. Holobough.

In April 1955, the newspaper said that strong winds or lightning (?) knocked over the screen for “the second time in less than a month”. The concrete screen supports had just been repaired from the first collapse. “The Moon-Lite (sic) Drive-In will begin showings tomorrow night with a temporary screen, but plans are to erect an entire new structure of three walls to provide additional supports.”

Some time in the 1970s, ownership changed to R. Neff, according to the Motion Picture Almanacs of the day. The kinds of movies the Moonlite was showing in the 1970s (Swedish Fly Girls was one of the tamer examples) led the local Brookville American weekly newspaper to stop carrying its ads in 1977.

At some point, probably in the 1980s, the Moonlite died. It fell off the MPA list by the 1986 edition.

The happier, later history of the Moonlite began in 1996 with Jim Lipuma, who we met earlier this month because of his efforts in reopening Vandergrift PA’s Riverside, then called the Galaxy. After that worked well, Lipuma bought the old Moonlite, according to ExploreClarion.com, “after the flood in 1996″. It’s unclear whether that devastating flash flood of July 19 just marked the date or made the old drive-in a better purchase. At any rate, Lipuma reopened on May 2, 1997.

Lipuma had been sweating out the conversion to digital projection, but that arrived in November 2015. In addition to the actual equipment, the work included improving the projection room to prevent dust, and that included new doors. “The old door was here when I bought the theater,” he told the Jeffersonian Democrat. “I got 20 years out of it so I guess it paid for itself.”

This year, he told the Jeffersonian Democrat how the conversion almost didn’t happen. After avoiding donations, Lipuma “had tried to set money aside to prepare for the switch, he didn’t anticipate it happening so soon. As the deadline approached, they were coming up short.” At the last minute, he got a loan from an anonymous “little angel” so he could order the equipment.

The Moonlite closed for the season in November. I’m glad it found everything it needs to open again in the spring.

The embedded video of the day is The Man Behind the Screen, a wonderful short shot in 2015 by Jack Tumen all about the Moonlite and especially Lipuma. Enjoy!

Miles Today / Total: 99 / 39265 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: It had been much too long since I’d eaten at a buffet, which is why the sign for Plyler’s Buffet & Family Restaurant brought me right in. Plenty of salad to stay healthy, then meatloaf, chicken, and other indulgences to keep me full on a chilly day. And the pies for dessert were homemade; I could really taste the difference.

Where I Virtually Stayed: When the best place to stay in town is a Super 8, that’s usually either a reflection on the other choices (if any) or how great this location is. In this case, it was some of both. The price was great, the typically spartan room actually had all the modern amenities, and the location, adjacent to a McDonald’s, meant that the continental breakfast served as a gateway to more substantial fare next door.

Only in Brookville: Scripture Rocks Heritage Park is a tranquil setting showcasing and commemorating the works of Douglas Stahlman, who was declared insane a couple of times. In between, he carved biblical and other messages into over 100 rocks while living in a nearby cabin. After a century of wear, those carvings have faded, but the Jefferson County History Center has all their information available.

Next stop: Super 322 Drive-In Theatre, Woodland PA.

Dec. 17: Skyway Twin Drive-In Theatre & Elm Road Triple Drive-In Theatre, Warren OH

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It’s Day 351 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Two weeks to go! It was just a little above freezing as I drove just a bit more than a half hour from the Midway Twin Drive In Theater, halfway along the road between Kent OH and Ravenna OH, to the Skyway Twin Drive-In Theatre on the northwest side of Warren OH. Then I continued on an extra 10 minutes to the Elm Road Triple Drive-In Theatre on the northeast side of Warren, one of the very few cities with two active drive-ins.

I just can’t find out a whole lot about the history of the Skyway. From all accounts, it opened in 1949. Industry lists suggest it was run by Herbert Horstemeier’s Ohio Theatre Service Corp. for its first couple of decades. By 1978, the owner was listed as S. Doane.

Vindy.com wrote that on May 9, 1977, Trumbull County deputy sheriffs raided the Skyway to confiscate an X-rated movie, Russ Meyer’s “Up,” and arrested the theater’s owner, Steve Doane. Sheriff Richard Jakmas said the theater had been under investigation since January, when a complaint was filed.

Slightly stale corporate records indicate that the Doane Theater Corp was formed in 1966 and owned the Skyway. Its last known president was Stanley Doane. Cinema Treasures says the Skyway added its second screen in September 2010.

Vindy.com wrote in 2013 that Brian DeCiancio had owned the Skyway “for a dozen years” at that point, as well as an indoor complex. He had recently upgraded the drive-in to digital projection. “We planned ahead,” said DeCiancio, when asked about how he raised the money. “We get strong support at our concession stand. Plus having the six-screen indoor theater helps, because it’s a year-round business.”

Turning to the Elm Road, I’ve got a better handle on its early years thanks to a passage in the recent book Historic Theaters of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley by Sean T. Posey. The Elm Road opened in the summer of 1950, built by Stephen Hreno, who had thought to build a roller skating rink before visiting Rainbow Gardens in Pennsylvania. “The town had a skating rink and a drive-in theater,” his son Robert recalled. “We went to look at the parking lots on a Saturday night and there were a lot more cars at the drive-in than there were at the skating rink.”

The drive-in has stayed in the family ever since. Stephen passed away in 1960, then Robert and his mother ran the business. They added a second screen in 1979 and switched to radio sound in 1983. The Elm Road’s third screen went up in May 2005.

Robert and his family installed digital projection in May 2013. By that point, his daughter and son-in-law, Sheri and Mark Hocevar, were running the Elm Road. “We’ve been saving money all along for it,” Robert said. “Digital has been around for 10 years, but they have only made projectors big enough for drive-ins for the past two years.”

I just ran a video of the Elm Road in October, so the embedded YouTube video of the day features the Skyway in the context of a classic car show.

The Skyway closed for the season in September, and the Elm Road closed in October. Both promise to return next spring.

Miles Today / Total: 25 + 5 / 39166 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: They told me the best place in town for barbecue was Cockeye BBQ, so that’s where I went. I started with a cup of Brunswick stew with corn and beans, then graduated to a half slab of ribs with some amazing corn casserole and baked beans. My entree was like the stew but with more bones. Great stuff!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Longtime readers know that the Holiday Inn Express is one of my kind of hotels. It’s efficient, nothing too fancy (or pricey), and with a reassuring sameness and good quality. Warren’s HIE provided all of that. There were cookies and coffee waiting along with a bit of fruit. My room had all the modern amenities. Breakfast was the very good HIE standard, complete with addicting cinnamon rolls. As always, I was glad to choose a place like this.

Only in Warren: As described by Roadside America, the city of Warren has twice honored one its native sons, rock star David Grohl, founder of the Foo Fighters and former drummer of Nirvana. It named an alley after him in 2009, and in 2012 unveiled 900-[pound drumsticks in his honor. After a brief stay at the Warren Amphitheater they were moved to their permanent location, in David Grohl Alley of course.

Next stop: Moonlite Drive-In Theatre, Brookville PA.