THE RIVALRY S URROUNDING THE
''FREE PLAY BELL RINGER VENDORS''
by the late Ken Rounds
To begin with, Hawkeye Novelty of Des Moines,
Iowa and Northwestern of Morris, Illinois were the only
manufacturers of the "Free Play" vendors. T.A. Wittern,
Hawkeye president, in 1938 produced the first "Free
Play" vendor and it worked on the following principle. A
notched ratchet both above and below the vending wheel
turned until released to ring a bell on the 9th vend. Then
the mechanism released for a free vend. Northwestern
attempted to compete with their own version of the NW
39 Bell. They discontinued manufacture shortly thereaf-
ter when as the story goes, Mr. Wittern entered North-
western offices with a sledge hammer. This was his way
of persuading them to stop production.
The photo shows the 2 vendors. The Porcelain Hawk-
eye is on the left of the Northwestern. These are in my
collection and both work fully as intended. The "Free
Play" varied somewhat with the machines. The Hawk-
eye did not return the coin, but gave a free vend. The
Northwestern returned your penny on the 9th play giving
you a choice of removing it or running it through again.
In conclusion, Mr. Wittern promised retailers to buy
back the machines if they did not outsell the other ven-
dors in merchandise. He claimed that he never had to
pick up a machine!
People liked to gamble on ringing the bell. They of-
ten emptied a machine in one evening. Two examples of
American ingenuity. These vendors are fairly tough to
find in full working mechanical condition. The Porcelain
Hawkeye
with
original decal and
"Bell
Ringer"
mechanism
in-
tact is virtually
unobtainable in
today's market-
place of vendors.
Try locating one.
The Porcelain Hawkeye is
on the left of the Northwestern.
VENDING GLOBES AND PARTS
New Globes:
1 QO/o DISCOUNT
Acorn 6, 8, 9, 11 pound .......................... $30
Advance Small Football. ........................... $40
Advance Large Football ........................... $40
Bluebird Large ......................................... $55
Climax 10 ................. ............................... $75
Columbus #8 with Star ............................. $45
Columbus #8 No Star. .............................. $50
Columbus #9 with Star. ... ......................... $50
Columbus #9 No Star. ........... ................... $55
Grandbois Cylinder .................................. $35
Hamilton ................................ $55 ea., 2/$95
Lucky Boy/Bloyd ...................................... $40
NW 33 Frosted ..................... $40 ea., 3/$100
NW 33 Gum ball ....................................... $40
Regal Cylinder ......................................... $35
Regal Pear ................................................ $40
Silver King ...................... ......................... $40
Simpson Large ......................................... $55
Victor Cylinder ......................................... $35
Victor Square ........................................... $35
ON
12
OR MORE
Mix or Match OK
We also have Original Globes available
Call us for:
• Globes • Parts • Decals
If you don't see it - ASK!
Always Buying and Selling
Contact:
Dan Davids at djdavids@earthlink.net
(310) 349-2082 - or -
Phil Cunningham at (818) 845-4964
30