St. Louis
VACATIONS HEAD OPERATOR ACTIV-
ITY .. . PHONOGRAPH OPS SIGN NEW
IBEW AGREEMENT
. . HACKMAN
CHAMPION SQUIRREL HUNTER
PINBALLS RUNNING HEAVY
- - - - B y ROBERT LATIMER:--- -
I
ST. LOUIS (RC)-The end of summer
found the majority of St. Louis coin mach-
ine men breaking away for belated vaca-
tions, despite the fact that business is at
peak season. Cool weather, larger tourist
volume and renewed interest in every type
of amusement device eliminated the slump
common to midsum-
mer business.
Fred Pollnow,
Missouri's largest
music operator, is
touring Michigan
with Mrs. Pollnow.
The Pollnows have
set something of a
record for the indus-
try as the most trav-
eled pair in coin
machine circles .
Wisconsin lured Bill
Marks, Wurlitzer op-
Robert Latimer
erator, for a com-
bined fishing and
hunting trip. Through early August, Bill
ran up a string of huge bites and numer-
ous nibbles which nevertheless totaled to
no fish whatsoever.
One of the largest events of the vaca-
tion season was a party of six touring the
eastern seaboard. Dewey Godfrey and his
wife head the group which includes Mr.
and Mrs. Lou Morris, Morris Novelty Com-
pany; Harry Davies of the Davies Novelty
Company. On the roster were stops at
Washington, D.C., New York and Buffalo.
Godfrey is legal counselor for both the
music and pinball fields. Lou Hormonn,
having disposed of his famous Big Apple
Tavern, has spent August in the South with
Mrs. Hormonn, and is sending enthusiastic
postcards to fellow operators from the Gulf
Coast. Betty Balensiefer, whose father is
one of St. Louis' most prominent Wurlit-
zer distributors, spent the summer at Rol-
linsville, Colorado, where she won prizes
in equestrian and marksmanship. Pressed
for time, Jack Beckman flew to California
in August and spent his vacation "on busi-
ness".
Long range tours seemed to be the major
issue when a bit of time from route man-
agement could be found; for example, Clay
Stewart of National Amusement Company
realized a lifelong ambition when he vis-
ited Yellowstone Park and the Black Hi1ls
of South Dakota. Bill Illig, Manchester
Sales Company copartner, was likewise ful-
filling a wish when he announced his Aug-
ust address at northern resort spots.
Most important meeting of the summer
for the Associated Phonograph Owners of
St. Louis was the August get-together, a
smoker held in the Statler Hotel on August
19th, when a new working agreement be-
tween the city's phonograph route operators
and the !BEW union was discussed and
accepted. The entire membership turned
out for this significent activity, for the first
time this year.
Concerning rates and records of !BEW
electrical service the agreement eliminates
1111 objectionable features of the old work-
fog arrangement, and incorporates new
terms which make it more permanent and
agreeable to both. Electrical service men
and owners have met, it was reported, on
the idea of service costs gauged in propor-
tion to the worth of the machine on loca-
tion. Principal speaker for the union was
A. L. Wegner, international representative
of !BEW, who gave an interesting dis-
course on the special features of the new
agreement. Over 75 persons listened to the
talk, which was followed by sandwiches and
other refreshments.
Ed Kroetter, Morris Novelty Company,
was a guest of operators in New Orleans
recently, touring the French Quarter and
other picturesque New Orleans spots. Fred
Lehmkul of W. L. Amusement Company
spent a few weeks at a resort in northern
Wisconsin, where he relaxed from a 16-hour
daily working stint over the past six
months.
Bill Rowland, formerly manager of Ad-
vance Phonograph Corporation, has gone to
. Poplar Bluff, Missouri, to join the firm
operated by George Rowland, his brother.
Bill and George are veterans in the phono-
graph industry in St. Louis, and the asso-
ciation will miss them in the future.
Ed Hackman, Hackman-Hertel, i's receiv-
ing a lot of publicity these days because
of his unusual hobby- squirrel hunting.
Recently when an attack of rabies caused
squirrels in Carondelet Park in St. Louis to
bite 13 people in one week, Ed had a field
day of disposing of the rabid squirrels with
the city's blessings. O,espite the novelty of
the hobby, Hackman · is as serious · as if he
were hunting gorillas.
Gene Bartnick left St. Louis for three
weeks on the Atlantic seaboard in Septem-
ber-; reportedly his first vacation in many
years. Mr . . and Mrs. Martin Balensiefer
were among those who chose the quiet
Ozarks for their summer vacation spot,
spending some time in fishing and hunting
and Martin's "tarnal" bridge.
A pleasant response to the article -on the
origination of the abhorred title of "juke
box" for coin operated phonographs which
appeared in three St. Louis newspapers has
greeted operators during August, it was re-
ported. The article, appearing in full in the
August COIN MACHINE REVIEW, has
brought the interest of thousands of people
to coin merchandised music, Martin Balen-
siefer pointed out, and stimulated music
sales tremendously in every section of the
city.
Phil Hanna, East St. Louis operator who
dabbles in politics, considered placing tiny
Willkie flags on his phonographs during
July, then changed to the simple idea of
both Roosevelt and Willkie banners. Now
everyone is pleased, he reports. Hanna is
seeking an aldermanic office for the second
term.
In the pfoball field, the remarkable fea-
ture of the month of August was an unpre-
cedented demand for any and all types of
skill games-which set a record for the
month, according to Olive Novelty Com-
pany and Ideal Novelty Company, the two
amusement machine centers closest to the
center of activity. In August Carl Trippe
of Ideal Novelty found his orders double
the amount of machines it was possible to
buy, to the extent that remodeled stocks
were cleaned out in a week. Pinball play
has redoubled in many locations, it was re-
ported, and the fact that new machines are
becoming more in trend with timely events
such as the European war has stepped up
collections.
Music sales are steadily growing in vol-
ume. Two reasons were advanced by Mis-
souri Amusement Machine Operators' As-
sociation in a recent group letter. First is
a dearth of popular new songs, which means
revival of old time favorites which always
pull in nickels above even the best-loved
new tune. Many phono ops are playing
a straight selection of 20 revivals with
profitable results. The second reason ad-
vanced was the fact that radios today are
drowned with political discourses and stale
war news, to the extent that people are
seeking their music from the ever-enter-
taining phonograph.
The midsummer meeting of the East St.
Louis Phonograph Operators' Association
was a highlight of the month, held in the
Davy Jones restaurant in Collinsville, Illi-
nois, during August. Memhership is com-
posed of operators in the industrial Illinois
area opposite St. Louis, and includes a
number of southern Illinois operators in
small towns to Cairo, Illinois. Fifty mem-
bers attended, under guidance of Hardy
Schneider, perennial president of the group .
A community sing, dancing, movies, and a
presentation of new phonograph accessories
were on the "menu".
Gene York of Fairfield, Illinois, was a
visitor in August, buying new Rock-Olas,
and planning his 1941 music activities.
Back from vacation are Fred Harris, St.
Louis County operator, who went to Guate-
mala duri'ng the Peace Conference, and
Jack Rose, Ideal route manager, who saw
Hot Springs for a few weeks. Ir! Hum-
phries, phonograph operator, was a fisher-
man in the Ozark mountains early in Aug-
ust, and was one of the few to bring back
a fish to prove his stories.
Harry Mack of New Orleans brought the
plaudits of Louisiana coin machine men to
St. Louis in early September, when he
moved his family to this city. Mack sold a
string of 140 machines when he left the
Long capital for St. Louis.
Kermit Maxwell of East St. Louis, well-
known cigarette merchandiser, was married
to Emily Rathbun in Collinsville on August
August 31, and left for a honeymoon in
Montana that evening.
With the upholding of the Missouri Su-
preme Court of the St. Louis two-cent ciga-
rette tax constitutionality, President Abe
Jeffers of the Missouri Cigarette Merchan-
disers Association has disbanded the group.
Machine price is now 17c in St. Louis, with
three pennies inserted in every popular-
brand pack.
♦
61
COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
Jones to Make
Southern Trip
LOS ANGELES-James P . Jones is leav-
ing Los Angeles shortly on an extensive
vacation and business trip through the
South, Southwest and as far east as Flor-
ida. He expects to contact operators
throughout the territory.
Jones has been manager of the South-
western Vending Machine Company for
some time past and any courtesies extended
to him on his southern jaunt will be appre-
ciated by Southwestern Vending as well as
Jones.
♦
• •
"John, I found this letter in your coat.
You were supposed to mail it a month ago."
"Yes, dear, I remember. I took that coat
off for you to sew a button on and I'm
still waiting."
♦
• •
Visitor: "Well, Buster, what are you go-
ing to give your little brother for his birth-
day?"
Buster: "I dunno. I gave him measles
last year."
♦
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