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Pictured here is Chris Kelly, a five-year veteran, dishing up popcorn for the waiting customers. Caitlin Sullivan (Washington County News)

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Moonlite Theatre declared historical landmark

A stub more than 20 years old jammed the ticket machine last week at the Moonlite Theatre drive-in.

The face value of the yellow ticket was $2. Still, that was more than what it cost to get into the Abingdon drive-in back in the 1960s, when a 10-year-old William Booker was caught trying to sneak into a show in the trunk of a friend’s car. That stunt earned Booker two weeks of trash pickup duty for a punishment. At the end of the two weeks, Booker, now enchanted by the theater, decided to stay. And he stayed and stayed. Now he owns the place.

There was something else that happened last week, aside from the 20-year-old ticket jamming the machine. That something was less of a reminder of the past, like the ticket was, and more of an affirmation of the past.

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources declared the Moonlite a historical landmark. The theater was also recommended for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Getting on that list, according to Booker, would make the Moonlite one of three drive-ins in the nation to be nationally recognized.

The Moonlite is one of eight still-operating drive-ins in Virginia. Three of those eight are in Southwest Virginia.

Last week’s honor will allow millions of dollars, through the state and tax credits, to be spent restoring the theater in coming years. Booker said he’d like to start by repairing the marquee, fences, refinish the paint and neon lights around the entrance. He also wants to get the radios in working order.

The radios stopped working years ago but movie soundtracks still blare from outside the projection booth and concessions stand, echoing between still cars. The carousel and playground is long gone but still, in the waning light, kids play football on the grass. Their parents sit in lawn chairs, eating their picnic dinners, waiting for Booker to play his customary songs written about the Moonlite and Elvis’ version of “Unchained Melody” to mark the start of the show.

To contact Caitlin Sullivan call (276) 628-7101 or e-mail .