Before the Computer Age when we weren’t perpetually mesmerized by screens linking us to the universe, we were busy pursuing fun activities outside during the warmer months. One such endeavor was to cram as many teens as possible into a vehicle for the “carload special” at the Skyway Drive-In.

Although it’s tricky to remember what movies we might have watched there, it is relatively easy to recall plentiful trips to the price-inflated snack bar and the barnyard scented ladies’ room.

One distinct movie memory that comes to mind is the night my friend David K. and I watched “Soylent Green” at the Skyway Drive-in. Why is this particular double-feature so predominant from my tender teen years? Because it was such an outrageously gross concept for my teen brain to want to comprehend.

I also remember working myself into fitful state of laughter watching the first “Naked Gun” movie, and reveling in Prince’s strains of sounds in “Purple Rain” at this popular night spot.

Rewinding the memory tape further back, there was the night mom and dad packed the family station wagon with all five of us unruly kids and took us to the Skyway. I remember a funny sensation while sitting in the car, mingled with a bizarre sound I had never heard before.

The sensation was the feeling of someone lightly rear-ending the 1960 Chevy wagon, and the racket was the sound of the car-to-car contact. The had driving a little too far forward and their car front found our car back and the rest was history.

If you have any fond or even not-so-fond memories of the Skyway Drive-In Movie Theater in Erie, Pennsylvania, feel free to share in the comments.