Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

A Couple’s Million-Dollar Cinema Romance Rescue

When Lauren McChesney handed her ticket to Matt McClanahan at a drive-in theater in 2018, neither expected that simple transaction would lead to a million-dollar love story and the rescue of cinema history. Their romance blossomed over shared road trips visiting both operational and abandoned drive-ins across the country, originally planning to build their own theater until they learned that Shankweiler’s Drive-In—the world’s oldest operating drive-in from 1934—was about to be sold to developers. McClanahan, who had grown up attending Shankweiler’s, had the perfect lightbulb moment: “Why are we spending so much time trying to build one when there’s one literally down the road from our house that’s for sale and is like the most important drive-in?”

The couple pooled their savings and secured a $1 million loan to purchase Pennsylvania’s first drive-in in 2022, with McChesney even leaving her stable corporate healthcare job for this leap of faith. Now they operate one of only 283 remaining drive-ins in America, down from over 4,000 in the 1950s, hosting everything from summer blockbusters to Valentine’s Day screenings of “The Notebook.” Their success story came full circle when they got engaged in August, with McChesney joking that they kept doing other things instead of getting married, “like starting businesses and buying movie theaters.” Their love story proves that sometimes the best relationships are built on shared dreams, calculated risks, and the magic of movies under the stars.

PrevPreviousThe 4-Year Mission To Save Frogs So Small You Can Barely See Them
NextThis Perfect Match Between Two AmputeesNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

What Fishermen Are Seeing On Beaches Will Blow Your Mind

October 12, 2025

Early morning fishermen along Gujarat’s Saurashtra coast are witnessing something extraordinary as massive paw prints appear in the wet sand and lions emerge from nearby scrub, making the Arabian Sea shoreline their new home. The latest 2025 census records 891 Asiatic lions across India, including 134 now living along the

Read More
Happy News

The New Law Inspired By One Sleeping Baby

October 12, 2025

California just became the first state to ban those ear-splitting commercials that blast through your speakers during streaming sessions on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and YouTube, finally extending protections that have existed for broadcast television since 2010. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the groundbreaking legislation into law, forcing streaming platforms to

Read More
Happy New

How Bob Ross Is STILL Helping PBS

October 12, 2025

Thirty original paintings created by beloved artist Bob Ross are being auctioned off to help small and rural public television stations that are reeling from devastating federal funding cuts totaling $1.1 billion. The paintings, which span Ross’ career and include his signature serene mountain vistas and lake scenes, were mostly

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.