C.O.C.A. Times

Issue: 2011-March - Vol 15 Num 1

37 12 W. SCENIC AVE., MEQUON, WISCONSIN 53092
Phone: (262) 242-3131 OR E-mail: Bedvibr8or@ao l. com
In this Issue.·
The first year of my term as COCA President ended on January 1, 2011 and J would I ike
to thank our directors, officers, committee members and volunteers for all they have
contributed to that year a great success. In addition, I would like to provide our members
with a report on the progress that our association made during 20 I 0. In my first Presi-
dent's Letter one year ago, I set forth the following goals for 20 IO and 2011 :
• Modify and add to the web site as necessary to make it more useful and of greater value
to our membership and to enhance the appeal of the hobby to the general public.
• Work with the board of directors and officers to formulate and begin execution of a
strategic plan to "market" our hobby to the public.
• Work with the officers on our various corporate affairs, including but not limited to
financial management, records, insurance and IRS non-profit status.
I am happy to report that we made significant progress toward those goals during the
past year. We now have a commercial property / casualty insurance program in place to
protect the association 's assets . Former COCA President Bill Petrochuk has organized a
committee of member volunteers that is now working on a revamping of our web site to
make it more valuable and user friendly for our members. Our membership approved up-
dated by laws that are broader in scope and more defining than the original version. Last
but not least, the Internal Revenue Service granted us federal tax exempt status as a social
club under IRC Section 501 ( c) (7).
The association also held its annual convention in wonderful North Carolina this past
summer. It was a tremendous success, thanks to Bill Petrochuk and his dedicated
convention committee. Plans are now underway for the 2011 convention, to be held in
Houston, Texas on September 16 - 18, 2011. If you haven't already registered for the
2011 convention, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. The association has blocked a
limited number of rooms at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel and those who register
before April 11 , 2011 will save $20 per person on their convention registration fee. In
addition, breakfast is included with the room rate and we have some special Texas treats
planned for Friday and Saturday. You can contact the hotel directly at (713) 974-1000.
Craig and Doreen Bierman are working hard on the convention and are very excited
about C.O.C.A. members coming to Houston .
Our next association meeting will be held on Friday, April 8, 2011 at the Hilton Garden
Inn, St. Charles, IL. Registration and the cash bar will open at 5:30 p.m., with dinner
at 6:00 p.m. and the association meeting at 6:30 p.m. Our guest speaker will be Roger
Hildin of Crow River Trading. He is going to discuss the history of the ABT Coin
Machine Company and also his company. Roger will have a Power Point presentation
with photos of some rare games. Please email Marsha Blau (foxsnake@aol.com) if you
have any questions regarding the meeting. Don't forget to book your room at the Hilton
Garden Inn St. Charles as soon as possible. Remember, breakfast is included with every
room night at the Hilton and booking your room there helps the association as well.
When you book for the spring show, consider booking for the fall show as well - we'll be
going to Jasper's again in November.
If you see me at the show or out and about at the convention, please don't hesitate to say
hello and let me know what we can do to improve our coin op experience. You can also
contact me via email or telephone at any time and I will respond as quickly as I can.
Erick Johnson,
COCA President
602.370.6775
erickjohnson@cox.net
• Days Late in Deadwod
( cover story)
by Johnny Duckworth ............ 4
• November Chicago land
by Jack Kelly .......................... 6
• School Days
by Bill Petrochuk .................. l 0
• Frank Zygmunt Thank You
by Rich Penn ........................ 12
• Paint
by John Peterson ................. 14
• Paramount Scales
by Jim & Meryln Collings .... 16
• Collar Button
by Roger Smith ................. 20
• Mills Skill Stop Mechanism
by Sam Mazzeo .................... 26
• Rare Vending Machine
Found at Flea Market
by Jack Freund ..................... 28
• Story of Sleeping Sam
by Bill Howard ..................... 30
• COCA 2011 Convention
Houston Texas Registration 32
DEADLINE FOR
NEXT ISSUE:
MAY 9, 2011
3
DAYS
1AT£1N
DEADWOOD
by Johnny Duckworth
Chasing old coin operated machines really gets the heart
pumping and I can never get enough. Just to get a little
excitement, I will even sift through the old coin operated
magazines from time to time. I have chased several leads
from the pages of the old Coin Slot and Loose Change
magazines but never had much luck. However, about seven
years ago while reading an article out of a 1990 Coin Slot
magazine there was an interesting photo of a very nice Mu-
sical Victor. The machine was pictured in the old town hall
of Deadwood, South Dakota and incorrectly named a Cail le
Victor. My mind began to race, wondering if the machine
could still be there years later. Unfortunately, Deadwood
was 750 miles away and in the middle of no where, so there
was not a whole lot I could do with this information.
Now fast forward to 2007, as my wife and I decided
that we would go to bike week, better known as ' Sturgis'
with my cousin and his wife up in South Dakota. However,
I didn't think nearly as much about riding bikes in South
Dakota that week as I did about trying to find this old floor
machine. Deadwood is located only fifteen miles from St-
urgis, so I dug the article back up to try and find any clues
that might help me track this elusive machine down .
We rode our Harleys into Deadwood on a sunny August
day, and it was like going back in time. Main street has
changed very little over the years; The old red brick street
remains with beautiful Victorian buildings standing tall on
each side. Large hotels from the tum of the century are still
in use with much of the same decor. Saloons and casinos
line the street filled with customers just like in the days of
the gold rush. You may recall that Wild Bill Hickok was
shot there in 1876 at the No. 10 saloon .
We started the search off for the machine at the old train
station which was now a history and infonnation center.
After about the third person giving me a strange look when
trying to describe what I was looking for, we made a break
through. I began talking to this elderly man who couldn't
quite remember the machine, but he did remember the old
town hall which had been sold years ago along with all its
contents . He was able to give me the buyer 's first name as
"Blake", and said some of the contents had been moved to
other locations in town which Blake owned.
After making several unsuccessful stops searching for
this machine my time was starting to run short as everyone
with me would rather catch butterflies than look for some
silly old slot machine. Sensing their impatience, I decided
to make our final stop at a little old casino at the bottom of
Main Street. I walked through the double doors and into
this very quaint one room casino. I was headed towards the

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