Photo courtesy of Midway Drive-In Theatre
An aerial view of the Midway with cars lining up to watch a film.

MIFFLINTOWN — With a number of new-release films going almost straight to video-on-demand, one forgotten area of the film industry is thriving.

At least in Mifflintown. Welcome back to the drive-in.

“We’re both from Juniata County, and we know the history behind it,” said Penny Cleck, who has owned the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Mifflintown with husband, Michael, since November 2020. “We wanted to make sure it stayed open.”

In preserving the drive-in, which opened in 1950, the Clecks have kept the drive-in theater, box office and concession stand the same. The snack bar menu is the same from the 1980s: popcorn, hot dogs, ice cream, soda pop and candy.

The clunky vintage speakers, which provided audio to movie-goers, have been replaced by FM radio transmission.

“We wanted to run it to show movies and run the concession stands,” she explained. What the Clecks didn’t expect was drawing large crowds.

“We’ve had a really good season,” Cleck said. The theater is open from April through October. “We’ve been able to get most of the latest movies that are currently out there. There have been nights were there wasn’t an empty spot in the whole field.”

The Clecks also own the neighboring River’s Edge RV Park. Getting into the drive-in theater business wasn’t something that they anticipated doing, but they average 200 to 300 vehicles for their Friday, Saturday and Sunday night movies. Moviegoers can enjoy a double-feature, starting at dusk.

According to DriveInMovie.com, there are 29 drive-in movie theaters remaining in Pennsylvania, which ranks second in the United States only to New York’s 30 theaters.

Shankweiler’s Drive-In, located in Orefield, Lehigh County, about 15 minutes south of Allentown, opened in April 1934 and is the oldest operating theater in the country.

Within 10 years of Shankweiler’s Drive-In opening, another 50 drive-ins opened around the state. A single screen drive-in theater, the Midway Drive-in has a capacity for 500 vehicles.

A “Name The Drive-In” Contest was held in December 1949, according to newspaper clippings. Ike Berney, owner of the Pastimes Theater in Lewistown, and son, Irvin, wanted an appropriate name for their new outdoor theater and they got one. Midway came from the fact that the theater was to be built between Mifflintown and Lewistown.

The Berneys awarded $25 to Mrs. Earl Freet, Lewistown, first to postmark the name ahead of 13 runners-up. Those 13 received complimentary tickets during opening weekend. The grand opening was held on May 17-18, 1950.

At their peak, there were more than 180 drive-ins in operation in the late 1950s. Since then, more than 85 percent of drive-ins around the state have closed.

In Mifflin County, the Burnham Drive-In Theater was first located where the Greater Lewistown Shopping Plaza is today, on 22 acres along Logan Boulevard, opening on June 30, 1950. Humphries Theatres and Stanley Rothermel built the theater. In 1966, following a dispute with Burnham Borough over the showing of movies on Sundays, the theater was moved to the top of the hill in Yeagertown, where it operated for many years.

Another dispute over a Derry Township ordinance banning movies between 2 and 7 a.m. resulted in the closure of the theater in September 1982.

The Clecks hope the Midway will be around for years to come.

“We’re having a lot of fun with it,” she said.

And their patrons are thankful the drive-in is open for business.

Movie night Is family night

Once or twice a year, Courtney Graham of Port Royal and her family head to the Midway Theatre for movie night. She packs up her kids — Kierra, 13, and Karsen, 5 — along with comforters, pillows and snacks.

“I love the fact that we still have a drive-in theater to enjoy with the kids,” Graham said. “To be able to sit outside and watch a movie on a Summer evening tis one of our favorite things to do.”

The same is true for the Becca Good of Mifflintown and her family.

“We go two to four times a summer depending on the kid movies being shown,” Good said. “I grew up outside of Philly and I thought the drive-ins were just something you saw in the movies.

“When we moved here and I found out there was a real one, I was so excited,” she added. “I just love all the all-night event. We go ahead of time, and we tailgate, and the kids play games then we bring all of our own snacks and can sit in our own chairs wrapped up in blankets and watch the movie.”

Good and her husband, Ethan, have seven children plus three more they are fostering.

“Plus, you get two movies for the price of one, if you feel like staying,” Good explained.

“It just a fun even for the whole family,” she said. “It brings the community together and you get to visit and chat with lots of people.”

John Cvejkus of Lewistown has been going to the Midway to watch movies since the 1990s when he attended East Juniata High School. Now, Cvejkus goes with his wife, Elizabeth, for date nights.

“We’ve taken our son for the kids’ movies, and when Midway did the Garth Brooks concert, we took my mom with us,” Cvejkus said of the county music singer’s live streaming event during the pandemic.

“In high school, we were there for all-nighters,” Cvejkus recalled. “It was the place to go and hang out back in those days.”

He recalls sneaking in friends in the back of his large Chevrolet Suburban.

“No one watched the movies, of course,” he jokes. “It’s great to be able to share the drive-in experience with my kid.”

There’s nothing like a large tub of freshly popped popcorn and movie under the stars for Tracy Roe of Thompsontown and her family.

She and husband, Bill, take their teenage sons at least once or twice during the summer.

“Typically, we go with our neighbors right down the street as a family outing,” she said. “We like going to the drive-ins because it’s a unique experience.

“There are only a few drive-in experiences left and we are fortunate to have one in our neighborhood,” she added. “We also like going because we can see two movies for less than the price of a movie theater experience.”

Chasitty L. Willow first went to the Midway when she was 13 years old. More than three decades later, the Richfield resident, now age 44, is still parked at the Midway and awaiting the start of the latest blockbuster.

“When in season, I got at least two weekends a month, depending on what’s playing,” said Willow, who usually goes to the movies with family and friends. “My absolute favorite thing in the world are books and movies.

“Movies allow us to step back from real life and allow us to step into a different world for a while,” she said. “The drive-ins are fun, affordable and a great experience. It is seriously one of my favorite places on Earth.”