08/04/2026
Thank you for all of the support - it is sincerely appreciated. Trust me, we miss all of you as much as you miss us - we have made memories over all these years just like you have, so this summer has been left with a void -not knowing exactly what to do or where to be on the weekends when we would have been at our drive in, so we understand how you feel.
To anyone who may still not be aware, I did NOT own the property - never did - some of my family members were the owners, but not me. Back in 2014 when Hollywood was forcing the digital mandate on theatres, the owners decided not to spend the large amount of $$ to convert, which I completely understand. However, I did NOT want to see the Auto Vue go dark, so along with my daughters, a lot of community support, our own fundraising means of selling items, quarter auctions, etc, along with taking out a personal sizable loan, I asked the property owners if I could lease the property if I did the conversion 100% - no $$ from them. They agreed so for the next 11 years the Auto Vue continued on up until last October, when the property owners decided to sell the land. I could not afford to buy the property - 10 acres in today's world is not cheap. I did not receive proceeds from the property sale nor should I have - it was not my land.
Now to today's DREAM: I am looking at leasing 5 acres at the Sidney Airport (corner of 25-A and Sidney-Plattsville Rd) just next to the taxiway that leads to the hangars. The active runway is actually the newest one to the north of the airport.
There is a cornfield that is right next to 25-A, and that would remain. The 5 acres is between that cornfield and the taxiway. I am looking at 2 smaller screens, with a central concession/restrooms. Planes would be able to fly in and be outside the fence of the actual drive in field.
To answer some of the questions asked: The screen has endured decades of nature's elements so it is most likely not structurally sound to be disassembled, moved and put back up. That is why it was left behind. In talking to people who have dealt with this scenario, most likely there is rust, and the screens typically don't go back up easily to be reused.
When we had to vacate the premises last October the usable items were removed and are in storage, waiting for a new home.
The priority would be the car population. Planes would be an added bonus. To anyone who doesn't understand the plane attraction - if you talk to any pilot (I have pilot friends), a pilot works and gets their license for one main reason - to be in the air. It doesn't matter as much where they go, as long as they get to fly. Pilots will fly out of state to grab a meal, etc - they just want the air time - which makes total sense. And they have already mentioned this idea to some of their aviation groups and friends and the response they have received has been very positive - we would be, as far as I know, the only drive in/fly in around, which would make us a "destination" beyond just a drive in. That would be a win-win for the drive in and the Sidney Airport - why would anyone not want that!!
There would be other potential opportunities to combine the drive in and airport outside of movies, so we are definitely excited to make this a reality.
Anyway, hope this helps answer some of the questions. I have to head out, but will stay in touch, I promise.
Teresa
