Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1939 September

Jh t~e
Ptlci(ic
'Jlc,-t~lfleJ t
with
LOUIS
KARNOFSKY
If you have a weak heart and can't stand
a shock, better skip this paragraph and go
on to the next, because we're about to tell
you of one of the most amazing occurrences
in the local coin machine field. For two
years, "Speedboat" Johnny Michael had
28
COIN
MACHINE
lt.EVIEW
MODERNIZE
WOBLITZEB
with
Modern ize your operation s for
greater profit. Trade-in your ob-
solete low earning instruments
for ·big earning Wurlitzer models
500. 600 and 61 under o ur famous
Factory Trade-in Plan . Place these
b rilliant, 24 record phon ographs
in your bes t locations and watch
the receipts increase.
tasted one backwash after another in his
racing efforts. His boat "Floppo" lived up
to its name to perfection. In fact, the only
way the judges knew that all the boats had
come in was when Johnny crossed the fin-
ish line. On August 6, at Anacortes, in the
annual Northwest Speedboat Champion-
ship, Michael won first place in the ama-
teur division, outracing 14 boats to win the
cup. If you think we have exaggerated this
stunning upset, hearken to what Johnny's
work-mates at Western Distributors had to
say about it when they heard the news:
Beulah Boyd, office manager: "I've
changed my mind about miracles. They
DO happen." Howard Serven, head me-
chanic: "Quick, page Ripley! " Jerry Stef-
fan, mechanic: "So Michael finally won a
race after two years' trying, eh? Well, I've
been trying to grow a moustache for two
years, and it's about time Mother Nature
gave me a break." Mel Bantz, all-around
shop room worker: "Mandrake the Magi-
cian must have been riding with Michael."
Kenny Kemp, shipping clerk: "The Speed-
boat Racing Commission better investigate
this one. There's something funny some-
where."
More than 100 operators attended the
Wurlitzer Open House get-together at the
Olympic Hotel on August 28. The ten key
men of the organization who are making
the country-wide good-will tour offered
phonograph men a novel service. They
brought the factory to the operator. In-
stead of the operator writing the factory's
chief engineer, service manager, sales man-
ager, credit manager or chief designer re-
garding his individual problem, the com-
pany's departmental heads visited the op-
erator and amid restful surroundings,
talked shop. The famous Wurlitzer food
and drink service was a pleasant feature.
Besides the many local phono men, the fo l-
lowing out-of-town coinmen made the jaunt
to Seattle for the occasion: E. M. Perry,
W. L. Ferrell, Spokane; R. D. Peck, B. A.
Almvig, Cecil Walrath, Daniel L. Miller,
and E. C. Pagel, Tacoma; G. F . Johnson,
John Loew, Rodney Johnson, Clifford John-
son, and Ben Brashem, Portland, Ore.; W.
R. Olney, Missoula, Mont.; A. F. McFee,
Wallace, Idaho; W. E. Duggan, Mt. Dora,
Florida; E. E. Emery and Don Emery,
Newport, Wash.; L. C. Foisy, Prosser,
Wash.; Royal T. Pinkerton, Cashmere,
Wash.; W. M. Martin, Cornelius, Oregon;
M. E. Hannon, Anacortes, Wash.
Decca's expanding organization took an-
other stride forward last month as the re-
sult of the promotion of Andy Huffine to
out-of-town sales manager. Bill Hunnewell
stepped up from the clerk's rank to assist-
ant manager and city sales head, and Bob
Johnson, formerly in the employ of the
Olympic Hotel in Seattle, joined the ranks
as Les Tobey's shipping mate. Bill Clark
continues as manager of the local branch.
If you see a stork with a tired look on its
Let us give you the whole story.
Drop in and see us, or write,
phiz and wings that flap weakly, chances
are that it's the offspring deliverer that pa-
trols the Coin Row beat, because heavy
business last month caused that bird to
work many an hour overtime. Three boys
and a girl were the total results. The Phil
Shellys, Rudy Petersons and Joe Harts
landed the males, while the Irving Stepts
were presented with a daughter.
A new location and a new manager her-
alded the change at the local office of Inter-
state Novelty Company last month. Fred J.
Shelton, Jr., affiliated with the Thomas
Gum Company- the firm Interstate suc-
ceeded - intermittently since 1930, suc-
ceeded Charley Allen at the helm in Seat-
tle. Shelton announces that the firm here
is confining its activities to operating and
jobbing merchandise machines and scales,
with the heavy accent on penny machines.
Shelton believes in setting the pace in pro-
ducing results. He operates and services
1500 machines in the Pacific Northwest,
which is a pretty good example to set for
any organization.
Beulah Boyd denied romance rumors
several months ago, but persis tent and ag-
gressive Kid Kupid kept !iring away, and
now Beulah is sporting a handsome dia-
mond engagement ring and an even hand-
somer husband-to-be. Collegiate Van Booth
is the lucky chap.
COININGS ON THE CUFF:
Male traffic around Western Distributors'
front office was thicker than mosquitos
around a campfire last month when Beulah
Boyd went on vacation and May Sharkey
replaced her. However, when word went
out that there was a Mrs. in front of her
moniker, and that a husband lurked in the
background, the crowd thinned consider-
ably . . .. Charley Michael. and Morrie Dick-
inson merged their financial efforts and
purchased a new Chevrolet panel truck.
A new personality gal joined the local
ranks last month when Evelyn Plant was
transferred from Moore's Spokane office to
succeed Betty Little .... The mad dash to
Portland went into full swing when the an-
nouncement came through on August 25
that marble games are once again operat-
ing in that enterprising metropolis . . .. Di-
rect from the World's Fair at San Francis-
co, Auto Golf made its debut here last
month. The machine should prove a god-
send to the rushed business man who is un-
able to get out to the golf links.
While tongues on the Row were wagging
madly over Johnny Michael's upset win,
practically everyone overlooked the fact
that Corky Corcoran finished second in the
professional division with his entry "Butch-
er Boy" ... Ed Hogancamp, the playboy
operator, has sold his phonograph route to
Ken Shyvers and is keeping his sights
trained exclusively on diggers ( and
blondes).
Business continues to ride the crest for
Van Booth and Tiger Leamer, one of the
ace opera ting teams in this section. A
month ago each purchased new Studebak-
ers, now it's a pick-up Chevrolet truck.
Bouquet of the Month: To the Portland
coinmen who stuck gamely to their posts
when ill luck befell them and whose cou-
rageous efforts over a period of six months
culminated successfully on August 25. ♦
Tempo King Dies
At the Age of 24
TODAY.
Rudolph Wurlitzer Co.
1025 N. Highland Ave.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIF.
GRanite 4148
"Didn't I tell you if was revolutionary?"
NEW YORK-Only 24 and well on his
way to fame as a leader of swing bands,
Tempo King died here in June. King was
best known for his "Kings of Tempo" band.
He had been in the midst of completing
several new numbers, his latest being
"Why Pretend?" At the time he was
stricken, he was rehearsing a new band. ♦
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com
NEW! 1¢ COUNTER CAME!
- MIDGET BASEBALL
-
THIS NEW GAME HAS BEEN "LOCATION TESTED " AND PROCLAIMED A " WINNER "
BY EXPERIENCED OPERATORS ! IT IS A GENUINE SKILL GAME AND ALSO VENDS A
BALL OF GUM FOR EACH PENNY!

Il. ROBBINS & C0.,1141,R. DeKalb Ave. BROOKLYN,N.Y.

OPERATORS AND JOBBERS -
WRITE FOR DETAILS TODAY
It's a Girl at the
Simmons Home
Phono Ops. Ass'n
of E. Penn. 6 N. J.
By Harry Bartnick
So -little activity has been noticed here
for such an extended period that phono-
graph operators have begun to consider the
local territory a perfect example of what a
strong Association can do to regulate busi-
ness conditions in any territory.
Operators and locations are co-operating
so closely that meetings have been entirely
confined to routine matters, Frank Ham-
mond, business manager, stated. Although
summer business is always a bit dull it is
expected that th e fall and winter will find
collections considerably better.
The Automatic Music Association of
New Jersey, Inc., has appointed James
Hammond business. manager of their organ-
ization. James is a brother of Frank Ham-
mond, of the local group, and has had con-
siderable administrative experience which
well fits him for the responsible position
he now holds. James Hammond spent sev-
eral weeks in the offices of the local Phono-
graph Association learning the routine of
work.
Louis Zayon and Sam Litt, members of
the Coin Machine Association, have joined
this group under the affiliation agreement
existing between the two Associations. ♦
HOLLYWOOD-Billie Jean is the name
of a six-and-one-half year old blonde girl
who has joined the family fireside at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Simmons.
Simmons is the Wurlitzer factory repre-
sentative in Los Angeles.
Mr. and Mrs. Simmons and Billie Jean
left Hollywood September 2nd for Wich-
ita, Kansas, Nashville, Tennessee, and a
visit to the Wurlitzer plant in North Tona-
wanda. They expect to be gone a month. ♦
• •
Tubby-" Pete boasts that his wife
made him all he is."
Heiny-"That's not boasting; that's
apologizing."

• •
Visitor-How many students are there
at your college?
Student-Off hand, I'd say only about
one in every ten.
Brown Gives Views On
Rock-Ola Visit
CHICAGO-Fisher Brown, Rock-Ola dis-
tributor for Texas, visited the Rock-Ola
Manufacturing Company the last of August
on his regular mid-year visit to Chicago.
While Brown transacted his business his
family was conducted through the huge
plant to see exactly how the popular Luxury
Lightup phonographs are made. They ex-
pressed amazement at the activities and ex-
ten t of the big factory, covering around
half a million square feet of floor space,
and at the many modern machines needed
to manufacture the Rock-Ola phonograph.
Brown began his business career in the
coin machine business when it was experi-
encing its first growing pains. He has wea-
thered the storms and has watched its rise
to a first ranking industry. Naturally his
own business has grown steadily and pros-
pered.
In view of his long experience, his ideas
are always interesting and sound. Brown
believes the industry has reached a point
of stabili ty; that the coin-operated phono-
graph is here to stay and that there is a
definite market for the purveyor of coin-
operated music. Recently co-operative ef-
forts have been initiated among operator
groups, between distributor and manufac-
turer, and he feels that this movement to
join forces and work for the good of the
industry as a whole is doing more to estab-
lish the industry on a high reputable plane.
While a t the factory Brown put in an
order for several carloads of phonographs
and stated: "We have had an excellent
business with the Luxury Lightup phono-
graphs. People in Texas are really keen
on these brilliant and colorful machines."

29
COIH
MACHINE
ltEVIEW
Lopez Defends
Modern Sw ing
1
CHICAGO-Vincent Lopez came to the
front in defense of swing, recently, de-
nouncing college professors and anti-swing-
sters with all the enthusiasm that he might
put into a real hot jam session.
Lopez, one of the nation's ranking swing-
band leaders, admitted swing is an escape
-it has been branded as such by several
college professors-but he added, "so is all
music ; all .dancing. And so is art."
The recent events, which helped to bring
on the profuse denunciation of critics by
Lopez, included polls taken at several uni-
versities, purportedly showing that students
on the campuses abhorred swing.
"Golfers are crazier," Lopez claims.
"When you put swing dancing and golfing
together, which is the craziest? A great
big hulking man playing with a little ball
or a couple of youngsters pouring out their
energy to the strains of a swing band?"
Lopez said people should not be fooled
by the song industry's swing toward bal-
lads. It simply means that the sheet-buying
public likes ballads best. America will be
swinging 20 years from now, according to
L~~
• •
"And once

Mabel -
you said you
wouldn't marry James on any account."
Dorothy - "Yes , but at that time I
didn't know it was such a big one in
the bank. "
Sa mmy Rick/in
Al C asse ll
Sammy and Al's slogan is: -
"SEEBURGS perform best, loolc best, produce best results
for · conscientious operators."
California Music C ompany, compo sed of two popu lar and we ll -known operators, Sammy Rick lin
and Al C assell , have grown stead i ly within their two years of opera t ing, and read ily ad mit t hat
:;;'~"oh vbtl/ es~uccess is d ue to their wi se choice of phonographs, SEEBURG 20 r ecord CLASSICS
Al and Sam my, in separab le as " Ham and Eg g5" 1 ha ve f or the past year been exclu5ive
SEEBURG buyers, purchasi ng a ca rload of 20 record SEEBURG phonograph s from Jea n M in-
thorn e, and con st ant ly obt aining new worthwh i le spot s with t he ir SEEBURG eq ui pment.
Says Sammy " .. . J ean says I ' m noi sy- but as long as I' m noisy about the merits of SEEBURG S
he ~ oesn 't ca re" - and Al ag rees. Bot h boys have worked t i relessly to increa se their phonog raph
bu51ne5S, and attribu t e th eir extra vac ation time to th e smooth performance and lack of service
calls with the SEEBURG Phonographs.
E. T. JEAN
,MAPE
MUSIC CO.
MINTHORNE-Branch
Manager
1517 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles
(Watch for October's "Operator of the Month"J
https://elibrary.arcade-museum.com

Download Page 28: PDF File | Image

Download Page 29 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.