SAINT LOUIS
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ROBERT LATIMER
ST. LOUIS (RC )-March was a mo nth
of pleasant business fo r most of St. Louis'
phonograph opera tors, as a pickup in play
was registered in almost every section of
the city. Contributing fac tors, say such
"analysts" as Ed Fisher, executive manager
of the Associated Phonograph Owner's
Association, was warm weather, political
activi ty in the city vo te which caused more
people to get out fo r evenin gs in their
favorite taverns, a wider choice of popul ar
pieces on the discs offered.
Co ndolences were extended to the fa mily
of Morris Schwayder, phonograph operator,
on th e death of his fa ther ea rly in the
month. Th e Schwayders wer e fa miliar
fi gures on th e routes in So uth St. Louis,
and had only r ecently mo dernized their
phonogra ph line.
The Associated P honograph Owners of
St. Louis met for the regular monthly get·
together March 19th , with several im portant
matters on the docket. Roy Haas, phono
operator from Overland , Missouri, won a
$20 attenda nce prize, including $10 carried
over from th e F ebruary meetin g, wh en th e
lucky member was not present to collect it.
"We're trying to keep every member on tap
a t every meeting," said John LaBan, presi-
dent of th e group, "and we have found the
attendance prize does just that." It was
pointed out that association numbers at
each convocation have grown.
Th e membership took up a collecti on to
aid William Firk, dean of St. Louis service
men, who is seriously ill in a St. Louis
hospital. Fink entered the automatic phono-
graph fi eld almost simultaneo usly with their
invention , and was for many years with
Wal-Bil Novelty Com pany, pioneer distri-
buting firm , now handling Wurlitzer phono-
graphs under direction of P ete Brandt. His
family will be looked after while Bill is
und er the weath er.
A serious note was inj ected to the meet-
ing by mention of a new bill in progress in
the Misso uri state legislature which hints
A quartet spotted at
the special Seeburg
Sho wing at the Hotel
Roose velt in Ho lly-
wood when the E. T.
Mape Music Com-
pany played host to
Southern Califo rnia
operators upon the
first showing of the
Seeburg line fo r '4 1.
Standin g alongside
the HiTone Symphon-
ola are Van ce and Ed
Map e and the other
two gentlemen are
the Bringas Brothers.
b roa dly at banning automatic music from
any type of location in which liquor is sold.
Operators are confident that the bill, spring-
ing fro m the late Mayor's Conventi on in St.
Louis, will be vetoed early. It is pointed out
by promin ent fi gures in th e fie ld that al-
mos t no sti gma is now attached to the use
of automati c music in taverns, despite so me
argum ent from th e bill sponsors tha t it
creates too mu ch famili arity without
thought between tavern patrons. "Natu r-
all y, there are so me arguments agains t
music in night spo ts," Mike Lazaich, pro m-
inent junior operator says. "It is possible
that music might stimulate men to dance
with oth er men's companions, etc., under
encouragement of music and liquor-but if
the phono graph is blamed for such occa-
sions, it is closely following that there
should be no liquor sold anywhere in the
country."
A fi ght agai'nst the bill by the phono-
graph association and the St. Louis tavern
association looms in the futur e as a r esult.
Dewey Godfrey, legal counselor fo r th e
group, and Lou Morris, past president, both
left th e meeting with an injured air-be-
cause no poker or pinochle decks ap peared
for th ese inveterate pl ayers.
Joe Morris, of J . S. Morris Novelty Co m-
pany, is confined to h i's hom e with an at-
tack of influenza, which is still lingering
about th e St. Louis environs aft er almost
si x months of epidemi c proportions. It is
What is said to be the largest remote control installation in Denver is that at the "Brass Rail" ,
at 15th and Champa Streets, where no less than 3 1 Wurlitzer Wall Boxes, t wo Bar Boxes and a
Wur litzer Stroller are available to permit patrons' operation of the Wurlitzer phonograph.
surprising, Bill Betz of W. B. Novelty Com•
pany pointed out, th at so few operators who
min gle with crowds nightly have been
both ered.
Harry Davies has postponed his reported
tri p to Florida. An ardent vacationist,
Davies has spen t more ti me in seeing the
United States during the last year than he
has on his route, one of the larger strings
of the city. Lee Turner, however, found a
chance to make a trip to the west coast and
Califo rnia coin machine headquarters.
William Betz and Martin Balenseifer,
pop ular new managerial team of W. B.
Novelty Company, are receiving congratu-
lations on their steady spread to other parts
of the middlewest with the W. B. coverage.
Opened last month was a new branch in
Wichita, Kansas, and another is doing an
excellent business in Kansas City in the
luxurious P laza district. W. B. is doing an
outstanding selling job wi th the new See-
burg phonograph.
Red-eyed and tired each Thursday is the
bowling team of Automatic P honograph
Co rporation, hea ded by Fred P ollnow. Up
to the hilt in league leadership, the P oll-
now group has been playing all night at
Stein's Bowl, from 9 until 2 :30 or even
later in th e morning.
Seen "sneaking" into night-school typing
classes with .his hat pulled down and collar
up was J ack Beckman, lon g-term operator
of St. Louis who has finally gotten around
to using a typewriter to make out his
phonogra ph record title slips. " Never knew
there was so much to operating a type-
writer," he laughs.
Otto Grief, popular younger opera tor , has
bought a new home at 7 Wilshire T errace
in Webster Groves, Missouri. He welcomed
a numb er of friends out for a housewarm-
in g a few days after the furn iture was
moved in.
Harry Schwab is pridefull y giving away
cigars on th e acqui sition of his fo ur th
daughter since 1930. "All girls" seems to be
his slogan.
Operators are wai ting with quite a bit of
curiosity fo r an announcement by Walter
Gummerscheimer as to what phonograph or
automatic music line he will handle during
la te 1941. Gummerscheimer, who has for
some time operated the Public Sound Sys-
tems Company is givin g up that field to re-
turn to the ranks of coin-equipment di stri-
butors in St. Louis-and operators are mys-
ti fie d as to what line he will handle. Th e
announcement is scheduled fo r some time
in May.
A party of Memphis, Tennessee operators
headed by Arch Kai n were visitors around
St. Louis durin g March. Th ey visited such
prominent distributorships as Arrow Nov-
elty Company, Olive Novelty Company and
W.B.
P ointed out as one of the most swiftl y
growi ng fi rms in St. Louis music circles is
COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
49
FOR
APRIL
1941
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