Category Archives: Pennsylvania

Video: PA’s Point to reopen for 2023

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Maybe it’s not perfect news, but it’s still good. David Renn, owner of the Point Drive-In in Northumberland PA, had said last year that 2022 would be the Point’s final season. Renn doesn’t own the drive-in’s land, and the landlord was planning to install a solar farm in place of the Point, which had just celebrated its 70th anniversary.

This week, several nearby news organization reported on Renn’s Facebook post in which he said that “the solar farm is no longer happening” and the Point will open again in 2023. I first noticed the story at NorthCentralPA.com, but I’m glad to include a video report from WNEP, Scranton’s News Leader.

What makes this news less than perfect is that the Point’s existence is still tenuous. Renn said he won’t be selling season passes, suggesting that the landowner could change his mind any time.

Any reprieve is worth something. Now the Point’s fans have at least one more opportunity to head over and experience a movie at this 70-year-old drive-in, carved from the woods overlooking the Susquehanna River. And if you can’t go, at least there’s a video to show you how it looks today.

PA’s Midway has new owners

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The Midway Drive-In marquee. Photo from the Midway web site

Five years ago today, one of my last stops on my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey was the Midway Drive-In in Mifflintown PA. There’s been a good bit of news since then, and an important event earlier this month.

At the time, my best guess on the Midway’s owner was Jeff Favuzza. Maybe that was true in 2017. Since then, an article in the Lewistown Sentinel revealed that Michael and Penny Clark bought the Midway in November 2020. “We wanted to make sure it stayed open,” Penny told the Sentinel. They also owned the River’s Edge RV Park next door and hadn’t really planned to get into the drive-in theater business.

The Clarks put the RV park and drive-in up for sale after the 2022 season, and this time the buyers were Timothy and Lacie Wert. They finalized the sale on Dec. 1, but the Sentinel ran its story about it yesterday. Just like the previous owners, the Werts were mainly interested in the River’s Edge. When the Midway’s fans began to get nervous after the sale, Lacie posted to the drive-in’s Facebook page, “You may have heard, the Midway Drive-In is under new ownership, but that doesn’t change a thing! So, mark your calendars now! We’ll be opening May 12th!”

That’s about all I’ve got, but it’s enough. It’s such good news when a drive-in passes from one responsible owner to another. Getting the chance to write about it on the anniversary of my virtual visit is just a bonus. Happy New Year, everybody!

Video: Haar’s Land Is For Sale

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More possibly sad news, this time from the venerable Haar’s Drive-In Theatre in Dillsburg PA. A For Sale sign popped up on the site last week, and now I know that it’s news to the drive-in’s owner. I found out thanks to a news video posted by ABC27, Harrisburg’s News Leader.

Vickie Hardy is the third-generation owner of Haar’s, which was built starting in 1952 and opened in June 1953. She told the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, “Sunday a week ago, we were driving by and seeing someone putting a sign up … it was a sign putting the property we are on for sale”.

The York Daily Record had more information about the landowner, Giant Food Stores. “We regularly review our real estate portfolio to ensure it meets strategic priorities, and as a result we made the business decision to sell the property,” said Christopher Brand, director of external communications at Giant. “It is our hope that if a buyer emerges, they will continue to lease the land to Haar’s.”

All three sources said that the lease contained a provision requiring six months’ notice before changes, and the Daily Record said Brand apologized that Haar’s didn’t get that notice. Hardy told the Patriot-News, “They informed me that yes, they were supposed to tell us six months in advance, and they’re sorry they didn’t do that.”

I find this especially troubling considering the expensive recent improvements at Haar’s. The drive-in bought a digital projector in 2013, a new screen in 2016, and Hardy told ABC27 that they had spent thousands more this year.

I’ve got a warm spot in my heart for the Dillsburg drive-in where I concluded my virtual Drive-In-A-Day Odyssey a couple of years ago. It’s a great example of a family-owned drive-in, the kind that won’t close just because their land has become valuable. But if they don’t own that land, well, let’s just hope that Haar’s can find a way to stay in business for many years to come.