It’s Day 299 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. It was another day of back highways through the forest as I thread the NY-PA border. This time it took over two hours to drive from the Elmira Drive-In Theatre, just west of Elmira NY, to the Garden Drive In, up the road from tiny Hunlock Creek PA and just across the Susquehanna River from Nanticoke PA.

This drive-in actually opened as the plural Gardens Drive-In Theatre (named for Hunlock Gardens) in July 1952. It was said to have room for 325 cars. It became the singular Garden in February 1954. I wonder whether the name change had anything to do with its amazing neon marquee, which looks about that old.

The drive-in was built by a group of investors headed by Theodore Roosevelt Cragle, who died of a heart attack in December 1955. His son Arthur took over the Garden.

More details emerge from Ronald Hontz’s sweeping History of Sweet Valley PA, written around 2003. Arthur Cragle ran the drive-in until 1986, when he sold it to Nelson and Diane Fey. They operated it until 1990 and passed it down to their daughter, Kimberly Barbacci, and her husband Doug. They’re still the owners now.

Current manager David Hudzik had been the Garden’s projectionist since 1979. Hontz wrote that Hudzik “has been the source for most of the info you read herein.” In 1986 the drive-in converted from in-car speakers to AM radio; they added FM in 1990.

Adjacent to the river, the Garden floods frequently. In June 1972, Hurricane Agnes caused extensive damage with water over the roof of the concession stand. Hontz wrote, “Following that event, Hudzik has gotten the removal of equipment down to a science. A team of five guys can now remove all the valuable items in three hours.”

Hontz wrote that the Garden added a second screen on the southeastern corner of its property in 2002. (The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, writing much later, said it was in 2000.) At any rate, the drive-in added a second marquee to hold more movie titles around 2004. The main screen area holds about 450 cars now, and the second has room for another 250 or so. They’ve made the change to digital projection, and I’ll bet Hudzik knows how to get that away from flood waters on a few hours’ notice.

The video of the day is from WNEP, Moosic PA’s News Leader. It celebrates the Garden’s May 2012 reopening after a September 2011 flood that was so powerful it ripped the roof off the concession stand.

“We were uncertain after that last flood about what we were going to do,” Doug Barbacci told the Times Leader years later. “It was really folks we got messages from on the internet and on the website or who called and said ‘Hey, if you need any help, we’ll come down.’ People were willing to help shovel dirt and move stuff. Whatever we needed help with, they were willing to do it. It may sound incidental but it was something that made a difference.”

I look forward to seeing that gorgeous marquee lit again, but for now, it’s closed for the season.

Miles Today / Total: 101 / 33971 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 182

Nearby Restaurant: On the way back to Nanticoke but still north of the Susquehanna is a place that’s been around even longer than the Garden, Stookey’s Bar-B-Que. The secret homemade sauce wasn’t what I’m used to, but the meat was as tender as any other good barbecue joint. The pork ribs dinner with baked potato and baked beans was better than many I’ve eaten at twice the price.

Where I Virtually Stayed: The closest hotels to the Garden are a few miles downriver in Wilkes-Barre. The top-rated hotel there according to Trip Advisor is the Hampton Inn. No one has to twist my arm to visit another nice hotel with dependable, if predictable, amenities. There were cookies at check-in, a clean, comfortable room, and the very good standard breakfast. No surprises, no problems.

Only in Hunlock Creek: On the outskirts of Nanticoke is Concrete City, a square of 20 double houses built in 1911 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad for a few of its workers. Everything including the outhouses was built entirely of concrete. ExplorePAHistory.com reports that despite measures to inhibit moisture absorption, eventually the interior walls dripped with condensation, and Concrete City was abandoned in 1924. The buildings were too tough to easily demolish, so they’re still there now.

Next stop: Mahoning Drive-In Theater, Lehighton PA.

It’s Day 297 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. Driving along twisty highways into the heart of the Allegheny National Forest, it took me over an hour and a half to drive from the Sunset Drive In just southeast of Waterford PA to the Family Drive In Theatre east of Kane PA.

The drive-in started as the Ideal in June 1952. It was built by Clyde Piccirilo, Joseph Farrell, and Harold Prosser on the former Larson airport field. The Kane Republican wrote that at 2200 feet, it was the highest drive-in in Pennsylvania. The field held 400 cars, and the screen was constructed of concrete blocks. According the Family’s Our History page, that sturdy screen still stands.

Less than two years later, during the 1953-54 offseason, the drive-in was sold to Waldemar “Wally” Anderson, who ran several theaters in the region. He was the one who renamed it the Family before the 1954 season opener. At the time of the sale, he announced that, “A new concession will be added, a modern playground, rides of all types, a new sign, (and) moonlight lighting.”

Anderson sold the Family to Clifford Brown and the Holmes Poster Advertising Company in July 1957. In 1969, Fred Holmes became the projectionist for the theater. During at least some of the following years, the Family showed a mixture of family and not-so-family movies, though not on the same bill. Brown added AM radio sound in 1975.

In 1983, Fred purchased the drive-in and continued to run it, along with his wife Mary and their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. In 2013, the Holmes family upgraded to a digital projector, then Fred passed away. The drive-in was dark for most of 2014, then Lowell and Jackie Watts bought it and reopened in it April 2015. “This is an icon of the community,” Lowell told the Bradford Era. “No matter what we do, we can’t lose the drive-in.” Tracy Smith is in the mix there too, sometimes called a collaborator, sometimes co-owner.

The Family has embraced digital projection to the point where there’s a nice little video of somebody playing Pac-Man on the big screen. They also have an annual Squatchfest concert including a “Sasquatch call” contest in which participants compete to see who’s best at luring Bigfoot.

The YouTube video of the day is a long aerial view that goes all over Kane, but the part we care about starts around 6:45. For as bright as it is, for the lot to be as full as it is shows just how popular the Family can be. And although the Family is still open on weekends, that didn’t help on the last Tuesday before Halloween.

Miles Today / Total: 79 / 33740 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 182

Nearby Restaurant: It’s been around for over a century, so I had to eat at the Kane landmark Texas Hot Lunch. (Hint: Don’t go to the Urban Dictionary on this one. Just don’t!) In a nod to its Greek heritage, I chose the gyro burger, topped with gyro meat, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce. In lieu of dessert, I also ate a true Texas Hot, which is a hot dog in special sauce. Good stuff!

Where I Virtually Stayed: There aren’t any chain hotels in Kane, but there is the Kane Manor bed and breakfast. My room had a separate bath (in consideration of other guests) and was quiet and comfortable with wifi, a TV, and an old fireplace. Breakfast was very good with meat, cooked-to-order eggs and plenty of coffee. Lots of history in a unique setting.

Only in Kane: Just a little east of town is Kinzua Bridge State Park, a monument to man’s hubris or nature’s fury. The bridge, or railroad viaduct, was 301 feet tall and 2052 feet long. It was first built from wrought iron in 1882 then rebuilt with steel in 1900. During restoration efforts in 2003, a tornado struck the bridge, collapsing half of it. The state repaired the remaining portion and added a new observation deck and visitor center to showcase the ruins still in place underneath.

Next stop: Elmira Drive-In Theatre, Elmira NY.