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First Posted: 9/26/2012
Just a few short hours before Weekender graphic designer and photographer Amanda Dittmar and I traveled to Dickson City last week, staff writer Rich Howells recalled his previous attempts to interview the owner of the Circle Drive-In.
The chance, for one reason or another, was lost after a few attempts when he and I worked for Go Lackawanna.
“There’s no way I’ll see him, either,” I thought to myself about the fabled 91-year-old operator of the attraction just north of Scranton.
We were heading there to interview cast members and organizers of the Circle’s new haunted attraction, which we’ve highlighted in this edition.
But when we finished our stroll through the grounds – taking in the amazing Carnival of Fear and witnessing the horrors along the Hayride of Torture – Mike Delfino was there, much like he has been in the decades that he has owned the landmark.
Smiling nearly from ear to ear, he recalled how he and his wife, Gwen, introduced flea markets to the region years before the Circle of Screams was even a glimmer in his eye.
Delfino, who admittedly doesn’t like horror movies and still recalls the first showing “High Noon” he held when the drive-in became his own, probably wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else in Lackawanna County, including his hometown of Carbondale where he still resides.
He looked more at home seated near the concession stand or walking behind its counters than many others would have – especially at age 91.
I hope, whatever I’m doing if I’m lucky enough to reach that age, that I still have the guts to invent new things for people of all ages to enjoy like Mike has.
We should all be so lucky.
Enjoy this week’s edition, and thanks for reading.
– Christopher J. Hughes, Weekender editor