It’s Day 354 of my virtual Drive-In-a-Day Odyssey. I-80 is still there and I got to see more of it this day, driving over an hour and a half from the Super 322 Drive-In Theatre in the unincorporated community of Woodland PA to the Pike Drive In Theatre in Montgomery PA.

The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reported on Oct. 30, 1952, “Three city men have started construction of a modern, 800-car theater on the Montgomery Pike. They are Harry J. Miele, Harry L. Nixon and Benjamin Pulizzi. Mr. Miele said the theater being built at an estimated cost of $135,000, will open about April 1. Clearing work on the land, about 12 acres, started last week.” It opened on April 16, 1953, showing Son of Paleface.

Strange that he wasn’t mentioned in the 1952 newspaper article, but Billboard magazine reported a little after the fact on April 18, 1953, “Charles Collins and his partners are about ready to open the Pike Drive-In near Montgomery, Pa.” Both the Theatre Catalog and Motion Picture Almanac during those times listed Collins as the first owner.

After that, the only ownership information I could find was in those MPA annual lists. John Shade was listed as the owner in the 1961 edition. The Sportservice Corporation, which ran at least a couple dozen drive-ins in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, owned the Pike in 1976-82. Somebody named G. Tomka was the listed owner in 1984, and J. Farruggio closed out the MPA lists in 1986-88. That was probably Joe Farruggio, known to have owned the nearby Point and converted that drive-in from one screen to three.

According to the official history page at the Pike Drive-In web site, it also expanded from one screen to three “in the 1990’s”. HistoricAerials.com photos suggest that happened in the early 1990s, so maybe that was more of Farruggio’s work.

From that point, I’ve got nothing until the current owner arrived. According to his LinkedIn page, Joe McDade bought the Pike in March 2006. In 2014, he started showing retro horror movies to raise money for digital projectors for his three screens, a story described by the embedded video of the day from WNEP, Scranton’s News Leader. That station also had a nice video report in September 2016 about the positive results of the digital conversion, which had covered two screens by that point.

The Pike closed for the season in October. I’m glad it promised to reopen next spring.

Miles Today / Total: 93 / 39406 (rounded to the nearest mile)

Movie Showing / Total Active Nights: dark / 200

Nearby Restaurant: The Station House in Montgomery is another good example of an unassuming small-town restaurant, across the highway from the railroad tracks, with good comfort food. I stopped in for dinner and had a couple of grilled pork chops with veggies and a baked potato. What a friendly place!

Where I Virtually Stayed: Google said the closest hotels were just up the road in Williamsport. Just to prove I’m not a slave to the Hampton Inn, and to save about $35, I chose the Comfort Inn in town. There were cookies and coffee waiting at check-in. My comfortable room had all the modern amenities. Breakfast included meat, eggs and waffles. And best of all, I still had that extra cash in my pocket when I left.

Only in Montgomery: Just south of town in Allenwood is Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, a specialized zoo that has what you would expect and more. The room full of parakeets is an interesting attraction, as is the chance to feed a tortoise. There are komodo dragons in an extensive habitat. And there’s original art for sale, painted by the creatures on display.

Next stop: Point Drive-In, Northumberland PA.

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.