The twilight zone

MENDON -- Twenty years ago, Sue Swanson drove past the drive-in movie theater in her hometown of Mendon and noticed something new: a "For Sale" sign. She had watched "Old Yeller" there as a girl, and for nostalgic reasons she didn't want the grassy, 19-acre site to become a shopping center or gas station. So she bought it for $150,000, tacked posters of pink Cadillacs to the walls, and quit her thriving Mexican-food catering business to become a drive-in theater operator.

Today the Mendon Twin is one of four remaining drive-ins in Massachusetts and 19 in New England. Two decades ago, there were 20 in the state and 51 in the region. With property values booming and more people watching movies at home, these old-timey land hogs are difficult to run profitably. Every time a Blockbuster cash register chimes, drive-in owners wonder whether they're hearing the death knell of their industry.

"I'd hate to see the demise of the drive-in," said Paul Geissinger, president of the United Drive-In Theater Owners Association. "But it has to be a labor of love. The land is worth more than the business -- there's no doubt about it."

So who's keeping the last drive-ins alive? As it turns out, most outdoor theaters in New England are operated by people like Swanson who purchased or inherited their theaters decades ago. They make profits, but not big ones -- especially if they're near megaplexes. But they take pride in sustaining communal, outdoor entertainment in an era of YouTube and video games.

"We've seen such a decline in affordable family entertainment," Swanson said. "The average family can't afford to go to ballgames any more. Big cinemas are too expensive." Most drive-ins charge $15 or $20 per carload as opposed to $8-$10 per person at megaplexes.

Other owners keep the reels rolling to uphold a family tradition. Mitchell Shakour's father purchased the site of the Northfield Drive-In in 1953 and built the screen straddling the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. "I remember being 3 or 4 years old and being told to fill up Cokes," he recalled. "Back then, there was no baby sitter. I was told I was the 'playground manager' when I was 5 years old."

Shakour has kept the theater in business despite waning attendance, acting at times as trash collector, projector operator, and snack-bar cashier. "When you're born into the business, you want to do it for more reasons than money," he said.

Since 1990, only 40 new drive-ins have opened in America -- none in New England -- according to the drive-ins association. In Shrewsbury, the Edgemere Drive-In reopened in 2002 after a brief hiatus, but closed in 2004. Indoor cinemas stole too many customers, said Chuck Morneau of the Boston Culinary Group, which owned the 36-acre property. "It's a tough situation. Business has fallen off," said Bob Scharmett, owner of the Milford Drive-In Theater in New Hampshire. "Building a drive-in today -- you just can't do it."

Even some owners with healthy profits and family traditions are calling it quits. Dave Fedeli, whose father built the Tri-Town Drive-In in Lunenburg, plans to convert the 10-acre property into 204 apartments as soon as next year. "There are always going to be loyal customers. But it becomes a matter of dollars and cents," he said. Although his grandfather ran a theater in Worcester and he has owned four cinemas during his life, Fedeli does not think he'll be nostalgic for the business. "I'm excited about doing something else with the property," he said.

Shakour can relate. "It gets harder and harder when you're older to stay up until early in the morning," the 53-year-old said. "There's part of me that hopes the dinosaur will die, so I can finally do something else with my summer. I've been working every week of the summer for as long as I can remember."

Attendance at indoor theaters has declined four years in a row as film fans turn to services like Netflix for flat rates on mail-order DVDs. But drive-in theaters -- which play fewer movies and close once the summer ends -- have been particularly hard hit by the rising popularity of home rentals.

In order to survive, drive-ins have shifted focus. Instead of romantic teenagers and old horror-movie fans, modern drive-ins target families. "Ratatouille" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" are popular options this summer. Some drive-in patrons beg for classics like "Grease," said John Vincent, president of Wellfleet Drive-In, but new blockbusters always take in more money. If theaters don't buy popular current films they can't compete with megaplexes.

On a recent weeknight, Ellen Angus drove her 8-year-old niece, Samantha Curnane, to the Mendon Twin. They popped open the hatch of her station wagon, nestled under a blanket, and watched "Ratatouille" with several hundred other moviegoers. "I haven't been to a drive-in since I was her age," Angus said, gesturing to her niece. "When I grew up, this was a common thing to do. But until we came here, I didn't realize there was still a drive-in around."

Several cars over, the Davis family piled into the bed of a pickup with their schnauzer puppy, Max. It's a summer ritual, said Mark Davis. "We've got two kids and a dog now. As long as we can all fit in the same car, it doesn't get any more expensive to see a movie," he said.

Inside the Mendon Twin's concession stand -- a crowded diner covered with "I Love Lucy" license plates, dime-operated jukeboxes, and other 1950s kitsch -- Swanson cooked burgers and hot dogs with co-owner Kathy Gorman. Drive-in operators are jacks of all trades, balancing budgets during the day and serving customers at night. "It's definitely a hands-on job," she said.

The drive-in season ends whenever the temperature drops, usually in September or October. Many owners juggle second jobs during the year. Shakour publishes a free weekly newspaper in Northfield. Scharmett and his sons run a string of carwashes. Geissinger, the association president, works as an electrician in Orefield, Pa., and estimates his two jobs produce 80-hour workweeks in the summer.

Swanson concedes that running the theater is exhausting, but she's not ready to sell. "The whole idea is still intriguing to me: sitting under the stars and watching a movie," she said. "You want to talk about ambience. How neat is that?"

Robbie Brown can be reached at jbrown@globe.com.