Super 322 Drive-In standing the test of time

By Andy Stine

astine@altoonamirror.com

WOODLAND — A drive-in movie theater is an old-school way to see the latest that Hollywood has to offer. In many cases in today’s world, it’s also a bargain compared to a normal movie theater.

The Super 322 Drive-In in Woodland is still running today after over 75 years of service, with Bill and Barb Frankhouser owning the theater since 2001. Before owning it, the Frankhousers worked for the previous owners for 20 years.

“There’s a lot of nostalgia involved in it,” Bill said. “Drive-ins are starting to come back.”

“There are less drive-ins now than there were even 10 years ago,” Barb said. “Some are closed and gone, but we’ve just hung on and it’s difficult to keep it going.”

The Super 322 Drive-In opened in 1950, and needless to say, the movie theater business has changed immensely in over 75 years.

Bill quite literally grew up in the business. His father was a union projectionist, and he trained Bill, who went on to work in theaters in Clearfield, Altoona, and State College.

While Bill was a foreman for PennDOT for 30 years and Barb worked in the Clearfield County Controllers’ office for 37 years, the couple were saving to buy the movie theater one day.

“It’s a labor of love,” Bill said.

In order to acquire different movies, the Frankhousers work with their booker, who lives in Ohio. The booker makes arrangements with the studios, and books the movies, and then ships them on a hard drive to Woodland.

The Frankhousers, who have been in four documentaries pertaining to drive-in movie theaters, have hosted people from all over the world to come to the drive-in. They have met people from the Czech Republic, China, Germany, France and England, among others.

“People come here on a vacation and they make sure to come to the drive-in,” Barb said. “A lot of people don’t have a drive-in anymore. It’s a treat.”

The Frankhousers are close friends with many other owners of drive-in movie theaters throughout the area. In fact, most of them work together.

The drive-in has had extensive renovations over the years. They have a new marquee. The ticket booth was replaced in 2010, the concession stand was added on in 2012, and the theater was opened for digital production in 2014.

“We kept everything nostalgic. We added a lot of neon,” Barb said. “I think people really like that.”

Super 322 is opened for the season on Fridays and Saturdays through Memorial Day, and will also be open on Sunday evenings from Memorial Day through Labor Day. After Labor Day, it will go back to Friday and Saturday evenings before closing for the season in October.

For more information and movie listings, go to their website at super322drive-in.com or visit their Facebook page.