SEPTEMBER 2008 CONVENTION
NEWYORK
by Sandy Lechtick
H
ats off to all the New Yorkers who made the
C.O.C.A. trip so memorable. Ken Rubin and
Eddie Mazolla planned this better than Ken's
blitzkrieg buying spree at the Smith Auction in 1994.
In fact, these two just about had all the traffic lights
synchronized to perfection. Thanks to two more "old-
timers," Mel Getlan and Bob Pellegrini for their par-
ticipation as well. Interestingly, not one reproduction
machine could be found all weekend.
I must say that Ken and Eddie really knocked them-
selves out. The venues were terrific and everything
flowed nicely, no minor feat in hustle bustle New York
City. Busses were on time; the Belvedere Hotel was
within financial reach, and under normal circumstances,
could have been a lot more expensive. The restaurants
that accommodated the 65 C.O.C.A. members and their
significant others were quite enjoyable. In fact, I don't
think I've ever eaten so much great food in four days
time . Serving after serving after serving - there was no
end in sight. I couldn't figure out if New York restau-
rants simply keep the plates going or - if Ken and Eddie
picked places that could feed half of Manhattan.
Kenny, author of Drop Coin Here and clearly one of
coin-op's most knowledgeable connoisseurs displayed
his awesome collection of over 240 machines. Rare ar-
cade machines included Lung Testers, such as the Mills
Hats Off, Lion, and Balloon, the Caille Rubber Neck,
The Beverly Strength Tester, famous Coochie Coochie
Automaton, and the super rare Mills Sibille Fortune
Teller- his latest arcade addition. Also on display were
a Double Oak Violano and coin-op music boxes, Caille
Roulette and Eclipse Upright, plus 162 of the finest
Vending Machines of all kinds, including over two
dozen cigar venders.
The overall presentation was superb. The manner in
which he displayed his collection - all the machines plus
carousel ornaments, chewing gum advertising, circus
and amusement posters, and stained glass, demonstrat-
ed his appreciation for style, presentation, "grouping,"
and contrast. It is obvious that in a land of inches, he
has put a lot of thought into what goes where and why,
with an appreciation of historical significance.
Ken's fiance Kathryn ( or by this printing, his wife)
was one hell of a tour guide as she gave a casual five-
block walk to the waterfront and its panoramic view
of the harbor. She described the underground tunnels
used by thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses, the history
of Brooklyn Heights, the first suburb in the country, and
its brownstones. Methinks Kathryn may have missed
her calling!
Although Eddie's house was under construction,
with his anxiety level higher than his three-story roof,
he too amazingly pulled off an outstanding display of
great machines. In fact, it was only a few days be-
fore the showing that he had taken his machines out
of eight-year storage, which he started collecting 14
years ago. He had almost forgotten some of the cool
machines he had squirreled away. He had an excellent
display including a nice Cleveland Grandma, Regina
Hexaphone, Seeburg Shoot the Nazi Rat Rifle game, a
beautiful Mills Punching bag and Quartoscope, Cail-o-
Scope, Seeburg KT, Symphonium Music Box, Chester
Pollard Football and Golf, Mills Panorama, Madame
Zita, Cleveland Grandma, Cupid Post Office, 193 7
World Series, Evans Ten Strike, and a Paces Races.
And what's amazing is that both those guys had ca-
tered breakfasts for one group, and then hired different
caterers who proceeded to host lunch for the next round
of C.O.C.A. members. With so many great lunches,
breakfasts and dinners - few left New York hungry.
Bob Pelligrini, who moved part of his collection
from Long Island to Brooklyn, had a terrific display of
coin-op machines, automatons and toys. My wife Sumi
really liked his early 1890s working models, a Colum-
bia Steamboat, which also had music, and a Smith Lo-
comotive. Bob had a very cool looking trio of English
floor model cast-iron arcade machines, a great looking
Cupid's Post Office, Donkey in the Gold Mine Fortune
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