In the not so very distant past, the local drive-in brought to mind the entertainment days of the AM Radio and 45 RPM records. It was 1933 when the first drive-in was created in Camden, New Jersey, initiated by an enterprising movie fan and sales manager named Richard Hollingshead, who noticed his mother found it difficult to sit comfortably in movie theater seats. His idea proved extremely popular, and within twenty-five years, there were over 4,000 drive-ins located throughout the United States.

But from that peak in the late 1950s, the number of drive-ins began to decline, to the point where there are less than 400 in the entire United States today, with 27 located in Pennsylvania. And then out of nowhere, the COVID restrictions suddenly made the drive-in a viable alternative for a meeting place. Throughout the country, these blast-from-the-past movie venues became the hottest ticket in town.

This is what happened to Lycoming County’s last remaining drive-in, the Pike Drive-In on Route 15 near Montgomery. The owner and director, Joe McDade, has noted that he has been swamped with requests for everything from church services to high school graduations in the past couple of months. For a number of different reasons, he had to turn away almost all requests but did consent to host the Montgomery Area High School graduation tribute held on Friday, June 5th.

How the Pike Drive-In has survived when 90 percent have closed is itself a tribute to the ownership of this county icon. Opened on April 16, 1953, with a showing of the film “Son of Paleface” starring Bob Hope, the Pike became a very popular entertainment venue for several decades. But change was necessary, and change costs money, which is why many drive-ins began to die off. Management of the Pike, however, chose to make the investment. In 1991 it meant replacing the original concession stand with a new building and replacing the original wood screen with two new screens. In 1996 a third screen was added, and all three of these have been repainted in recent years.

But despite continual improvements to the infrastructure, a drive-in needs movies to show. In 2012, the movie industry realized that they could save millions of dollars on shipping costs by transitioning from celluloid to digital prints. Instead of a film that is the size of an automobile tire, they now are about the size of an external hard drive. (Which is actually, in fact, what they are). It required specialized projectors to utilize this new format, which was extremely expensive. According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, 75 percent of the drive-ins in this country are privately owned small businesses. For many of these low margin drive-ins, this was the final straw. The Pike Drive-In was as cash-strapped as others and tried running a fundraiser for the new projectors. Though it only brought in modest funds, it was a symbol of a vote of confidence that caused the management to take the plunge and make the financial investment to keep the Pike alive.

Another secret of the Pike’s survival has been the commitment of the employees. Obviously, all are part-time workers, but the crew of eight that keep the Pike Drive-In running are amazingly loyal, most have worked there for many years. They know that the experience is more than just watching the films, so they work hard to keep the grounds clean, the grass cut, and made as safe as possible.

The Pike has adapted their venue to the family market, as the most loyal customers are those with children who enjoy being able to watch a kid flick together, and then when the little ones fall asleep, the adults can watch another film more their age. It is actually quite a bargain for family entertainment, especially with free admission for age five and under.

Like many small businesses in these uncertain times, however, the future is in the balance. Besides the variability of weather (not just rain, but even tornado watches can cancel viewings), there is even the viability of the movie industry itself, especially with the world’s largest movie chain, AMC Theaters, announcing recently that they may have to file for bankruptcy. A film like “Wonder Woman 84” is a sure hit, and was scheduled to come out in June, but its release keeps getting pushed back. It isn’t easy to draw a crowd without something to draw them.

But for all that, the Pike Drive-In has been a survivor and hopefully will hunker through these trying times. Lycoming County is fortunate to have such an iconic symbol of the past, and as we recently learned, sometimes the past is what we need to make it through the present. (For more info, check out their website: pikedi.com).