Owner John Friewald, who will soon turn 92, and his wife Karen are trying to rebuild their business, even selling old audio speakers that clipped onto vehicles and a vintage projector to raise funds for the screen’s repair.

Hurricane Milton’s winds destroyed the plywood screen, measuring 64 feet wide and 28 feet high, and the utility poles that supported it. The Friewalds have created an online fundraiser, which has received some business support.

While the couple has successfully secured new plywood to build the movie screen frame, the poles that hold up the screen are more difficult to come by. They’re now looking for donations of poles and the labor needed to set them in the ground to support the screen.

John, who started the drive-in business at an early age, doesn’t want to give up the business. “His birthday, April 16, is also the anniversary of the drive-in,” Karen told Fox 13 News.

The Friewalds are hoping more people can help so that they can bring back the drive-in for another season of entertainment. If not, this Ruskin legend may be only a memory of what existed before the storm.