Thursday, May 31, 2018

Reminiscing: The Skyliner

I had to do a story on the spiking price of gasoline just before Memorial Day.  We chose the Pilot Travel  Plaza in Pittston Township for the location.  I like it there.  We set up in an elevated parking lot across the street.  It's well lit, with plenty of traffic, even at 4:30 in the morning.  Pretty pictures.

You might remember that this was the location of the Skyliner Diner and truck stop.  Plenty of parking for rigs in the back.  Service, area, mechanics, diesel fuel, etc.  The diner, one of those silver car deals, was in the front.  Good food.  Open 24 hours.

Back when I was on the radio, Skyliner ran commercials from midnight to 2 in the morning.  It made sense.  People out, traveling, listening to the radio, looking for a bite.  The audience was there.  Remember, there weren't a lot of 24 hour places back then.  I think we had Denny's, a few diners in Scranton, another couple in Wilkes-Barre.  Nothing in between.

I vividly remember the commercials-- a couple of guys, speaking in Arab accents, raving about this all night oasis called the Skyliner.  Creative.  Effective.

Think it could get made today?

It wasn't an offensive commercial, but in retrospect, I could see where some wouldn't like it.

The Skyliner closed years ago.  The diner was trucked to Moosic, to replace what the 1999 fire at Terry's Diner destroyed.

I'll always remember the Skyliner for a special late night dinner with a friend, and a creative commercial that would never make air today.