Cheers & Jeers
Courtesy of Skyview Drive In
The Skyview Drive-In sign is among the items up for auction.
Courtesy of Joe R. Pyle Auction
Dining booths are part of the Skyview Drive-In online auction.
Courtesy of Joe R. Pyle Auction
A wooden refreshment sign from Skyview Drive-In is among memorabilia up for auction.
Cheers: The Herald-Standard was pleased to share the news this week that the Fayette County Cultural Trust will again bring The Wall That Heals to Fayette County later this year. “This is the area’s opportunity to pay respects and reflect on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in a familiar setting being Fayette County,” said Daniel Cocks, cultural trust executive director, noting that 49 service members from Fayette lost their lives during the war and 693 from surrounding counties perished. The fee for a community to host the wall is $11,000, and so far, $7,500 has been donated. The Wall That Heals and its education center will be at Penn State, The Eberly Campus, from Oct. 12 to 15, and will be open 24 hours a day and is free to the public. Anyone interested in donating can email the Fayette County Cultural Trust at fcctrust@zoominternet.net.
Jeers: A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has some bad news for Pennsylvania – it’s one of the leading states in the dissemination of white supremacist propaganda. According to the report, there were 413 incidents reported in Pennsylvania in 2022, with 6,751 incidents nationwide. The ADL report says there was a 38% increase from the year before across the country. The report stated, “As in previous years, extremists used fliers, posters, stickers, banners and graffiti to share their antisemitic views.” It also said, “Propaganda campaigns allow white supremacists to maximize media and online attention for their group and messaging while limiting the risk of individual exposure, negative media coverage, arrests and public backlash that often accompanies more public activities.” Remember how after the horrific Tree of Life killings almost five years ago there was a proliferation of “Stronger Than Hate” T-shirts across the region? Sadly, it seems those remain as relevant as ever.
Cheers: Long before the movie industry was upended due to COVID-19, drive-in theaters were vanishing off the American landscape. They were done in by everything from the proliferation of multiplexes, home video and even the value of the land the drive-ins occupied. The Skyview Drive-In in Greene County hung on a lot longer than most of its counterparts, but it too closed in 2021. Now, patrons who frequented the drive-in and other movie buffs can bid on items from it online through Tuesday at 6 p.m. The auction includes arcade games, restaurant equipment, speakers, projectors, antique reel holders, vintage posters and the marquee sign. Bids can be placed at https://bid.joerplyeauctions.com/ui/auctions/96859. So far, more than 100 bids have been placed. Auctioneer Jordan Kiger said, “We’re expecting the list (of bidders) to continue to grow. I feel a lot of people will be participating in this auction to grab their last piece of their childhood memory.”