Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

Issue: 1946 April

COIN
MACHINE
REVIEW
94
fOR
APRIL
7946
Honolulu.
SAN FRANCISCO
Golden Gate Novelty Co. has on display
(Continued from Page 92)
a new pinball machine designed by Harry
the new models will prove a revelation.
Williams, Chicago, which is eliciting "very
He said: "Operators haven't seen any·
favorable comments from operators," ac-
thing until they see the new AMI phono·
cording to Al Armos, jobber and distribu-
graphs with the many new ideas incor-
tor. AI's kid brother, Ed, has just returned
porated."
after serving with the Medical Corps for
Nona Gates, office manager of M. S.
Wolf Distributing Co., had a birthday three years, and is operating now his own
phonograph route. Edward Heinle, formerly
anniversary on the 6th, and the whole
staff conspired to give her a surprise party sales manager of Golden Gate Novelty
Co., is now vacationing with his home
with. birthday cake and, all the trimmings.
folks after serving for 3 and a half years
MISS Gates will leave next month to
in the finance department of the air corps.
take charge of office detail in the new
He will soon rejoin Golden Gate Novelty
Portland branch but expects to be here
Co.
during the two· day showing of AMI.
Many distributors are commuti'n g between
According to Johnny Ruggiero, Jack
R. Moore Co. manager, "THIS is the here and Chicago in order to get the latest
information. Lou Wolcher, owner of Ad-
month. 's' month I" If things shape up as
vance Automatic Sales Co., recently re-
they seem to be at present, it will be
turned from Chicago, and is preparing to
again a Seeburg "first." This time in de-
liveries. Johnny hopes to sample operators leave again within the next few days. Hank
Maser is in Chicago and will return to-
before the month is out. Distribution will
ward the end of the month, when renova-
start as soon ' as all established accounts
tion of the building and installation of the
can be sampled simultaneously.
assembly plant will get really under way,
Another "winner" is Surf Queen, Bally's
new 5 ball novelty table which is creating \ according to J. D. Cox, manager.
E. M. Dutton, head of Viking Specialty
a sensation among operators. Orders are
Co., Inc., stated that Northwestern vending
pouring in so fast that Johnny is anchored
machines are now being received in fair
to the telephone. (We have witnessed it in
quantity and operators are very much
person). As deliveries are to be made in
pleased with the new equipment. There
the sequence orders have been received,
a careful tabulation is kept not only of are more regular shipments of Phonette,
too. The shop is being remodeled and a
the day but the hour and the minutes.
new parts department is being built down-
Surf Queen has taken the trade by storm
and operators are so anxious to have some stairs. T. F. Tower, Marysville operator
dropped by and expressed his great satis-
that they not only clamor but pledge their
faction with Phonette which is a recent
good faith by substantial deposits. Deliv-
venture for him. He has built his own
eries will start by the middle of this month.
studio and gives 24 hour service. Tower
Fred Langan is a new-comer to Jac'k
said that location owners are delighted
R. Moore Co., and to the coin machine
industry. Just out of the Army, after 5 with these measured music boxes, as for
himself, he continued, "I think it's the
years of service, Fred was looking "for
best thing I've seen in a long time."
the right field for a young man," and
Nobro Novelty Co., owned by the Noto
found the answer in the coin machine in-
brothers Carl and Joe, prides itself that the
dustry. When we spoke to Fred he had
personnel is composed one hundred per
been in it for only 5 days but was already
cent of war veterans. This is the line-up:
convinced that he was just in the right
Carl Noto served in the infantry, Joe in
spot. He said: "I'm very, very enthused
the air corps; Fred Nelson, manager, air
about the products here. Jack Moore is
a grand company to work for." While Fred corps; Leonard Rudnick, navy; Max
("Sonny") Maron, ordnance department,
did not have the scope of the industry, he
and Johnny Meckoff, ("the Count") army.
had already evolved some pertinent obser-
The Noto brothers have extensive plans
vations. "There is so much elbow-room I
It is a new industry and there is a chalice for the future when new equipment be-
comes plentiful. Here too the place is being
for a young man to grow with it."
modernized. There is a vast selection of
Clark Distributing Co., exclusive distri'b-
reconditioned games. Joe called special
utor for Wurlitzer on the West Coast, held
attention to some Rapid Fires in excellent
a two-day meeting at the Sir Francis Drake
condition.
Hotel for branch managers, representatives
Exposition Games Company is doing a
and factory representatives. E. R. Wurgler,
large business in its parts department and
general sales manager of Wurlitzer's North
in rebuilding machines in their shop ac-
Tonawanda Division, was the star guest.
cording to Johnny Wilson, owner.
'
Other news conveyed by Kenneth W.
We heard from Dick Parina that there
Popkey, manager for Clark Distributing
will be an NAMA membership meeting
Co.: Don Clark is leaving for Honolulu
on the 22nd, held at the Palace Hotel.
on the 26th. A two-motored airplane has
Clint Darling, executive secretary of
been acquired which will be used for
NAMA is expected here on the 18th, and
speedy transportation between coastal
he will stay over for the meeting. Dick
branches. Needless to say that Don Clark
is moving to his new location at 68 Page
will 'have more luxurious transportation to
Street. Tony Parina will occupy the entire
premises at 156 9th Street which formerly
he shared with Dick.
H. G. Walters Co. has acquired the
Lamp
four $tory building at 1301 Sansome St.
No. Base
Amps. Baxl101 Per100
and expects to move there in about 60
40 Screw
0.15
S5c $4.95
44 Bay
0.25
55c
4.95
days. The place is now being remodeled
46 Screw
0.25
55c
4.95
and a lot of new machinery has been
47 Bay
0.15
55c
4.95
?rdered for the factory. H. G. Walters Co.,
50 Screw
1 C.P. 65c
5.50
IS a large operator of bulk vending and
51 Bay
1 C.P. SOc
3.85
55 Bay
2 C.P. SOc
3.85
candy vending machines. Under the name
WRITE FOR PRICES
of Wright Popcorn and Nut Specialty Co.,
ON OTHER SIZES
it is the manufacturer and distributor of
many popcorn and nut confections.
The McCarty brothers, Peter and Paul,
were visiting here from Ukiah, looking for
equipment.
Frank Marty, owner of Acme Novelty
Co., San Jose, was here,' accompanied by
PAUL A. LAYMON
his technician EJJj'ott Wiesinger. Marty
announced that they just got through erect-
ing a new building comprising show room,
offices and shop. Wiesinger said : "Ex·
pansion of Acme Novelty Co. is progress-
ing very satisfactorily. We have some very
good locations lined up for the time when
new merchandise arrives. Everybody wants
something new."
Both Marty and Wiesinger are recent
benedicts. Marty got married in December,
Wiesinger in November.
The California Music Operators Associa-
tion recently gave a lavish dinner-dance
at the Claremont Hotel's Spanish Room,
Berkeley. It was attended by almost five
hundred people. The ma,yors of Oakland,
Berkeley and Albany were present, the
district attorney and several judges. There
were about 70 grand door prizes donated
by the various distributors and jobbers.
Lou Wolcher, owner of Advance Automatic
Sales Co., gave a brand new game; Johnny
Ruggiero, in behalf of Jack R. Moore Co.,
contributed half a dozen pairs of gorgeous
nylon stockings; Associates gave two elec-
tric Magna clocks. All the record com-
panies gave a large assortment of record
albums, and there were even two radios
donated; and many other worthwhile items.
George Miller, president, introduced Bill
Varley, secretary-manager of the Associ-
ated Music Operators, Inc., giving him
a very nice build-up, then delegated him
to draw the lucky tickets for the prizes.
There was a magnificent floor show, fol·
lowed by a hilarious auction. There were
so many activities that dancing didn't start
until past midnight. The opinion is unani-
mous that this, the eleventh annual "Ladies
Night" of the California Music Operators
Association was a truly notable event.
Clem Stetson was chairman of the enter-
tainment committee.
Gi.ela Ney
Salt Lalae City
The Rainbow Distributing Co. will be
moving into spacious modernistic new quar-
ters at 1475-77-79 South Main Street within
a few weeks, it is announced by Manager
R. L. Holt, the new building having been
under construction for the past 5 months.
This company has the H. C. Evans and
Co. line; Victory Vendors; Exhibit; Chi-
cago Coin; J afco; Amusematics; Williams
Mfg. Co.; Packard Manufacturing Corp.;
Pace Manufacturing; Amusement Enter-
prises and the Compas, Inc., line of re-
placements.
E. W. Coombes of the Victor Ball CO.
states that all of the G.I.'s seem to be going
into the coin machine business, inasmuch
as there are about 20 new operators in the
past few weeks and it looks to him like
the business might be over done. Most
of the new companies are marble and
music businesses. Coombes also states that
equipment is coming in much more satis-
factorily.
UNOBTAINABLE PARTS
MANUFACTURED
Bring In Iket~h or old part
for pre~lslon dupli~atlon
LIGHT MACHINE SHOP WORK
TOOL & DIE MAKING
MODEL MAKING
Prompt Servl~e • Reasonable Rates

la-Mol Machine Shop
1151 Venice Ilyd.
Los A_geles 15, Cal.
DRellel 4044 or WAlnut 5452
Tom Douglas, manager of the Yellow-
stone Specialty Co., is just back from Los
Angeles, where he has been on a business
and pleasure trip for the past month.
Flo Winewriter, formerly with Yellow-
stone Specialty has returned from Service
and is planning on taking up some Gov-
ernment-schooling before returning into the
business.
John Davies is also back after 2 years
in France and Germany and has taken
over charge of the City Service Department
for the Yellowstone Specialty Co.
They are receiving some Mills equip-
ment from the factory for delivery but
the quantity is small, Douglas states, and
the variety is not very great as yet; just
2 or three items, so far, but better delivery
is expected within the next thirty days.
However, they are now able to obtain
any type of parts for Mills machines, that
may be desired, which is a relief to say
the least after such a time of scarcity. Tom
Douglas leaves again within a few days
for Los Angeles for a short stay.
Sid Stewart of Stewart Novelty Co., is
on a combined vacation and business trip
to Wyoming and Colorado, it is reported.
This company is reported to have been
burglarized recently, entrance having been
gained through a balcony window. A heavy
iron grill normally covers the window but
it had been removed a few days previously
by electricians making repairs. A safe in
an office on the balcony had been tam-
pered with but the prowlers were unable
to open it. The door to the basement office
was forced by a bar after the lock had
been drilled out with a brace and bit.
The thieves ransacked the office looting
Manager Stewart's desk and forcing open
a steel cash box containing $771.82 in
cash. Then they evidently returned to the
main floor and broke into display cases, ob-
taining a good deal more loot.
H. E. Moran, manager of the local Rowe
Cigarette Service Co., reports they have
enjoyed a splendid winter and that cigar-
ettes are coming in good now.
John Moser of the Heminway and Moser
Co. has been recovering from a bad heart
attack, at Palm Springs, California this
winter, and is expected back home within
It's Terrific!
BIG TIME
by Exhibit
In Earning Power
In Player Appeal,
In Location Longevity
Every Way You Lo ok
This Nove lty Game!
A~
Come In Today!
-
SEE-'
PAUL A. LAYMON
DI STRIBUTOR
a few weeks now, well on the way to re-
covery. Sales Manager Fred Murphy is on
a sales trip into Idaho currently.
Milo Nichansky, manager of the Canteen
Service of Utah, reports that his brother
Albert, recently returned from service
over-seas, just married Florence Kunkel
and the pair has left on a honeymoon
to Seattle.
Gene Gale, returned Veteran from the
Navy, and formerly with Canteen Service
here, returned and is taking care of the
Canteen service at the Naval Depot just
out of Salt Lake. Milo Nichansky is leav-
mg for a business trip to Los Angeles for
a couple of weeks stay. I;Ie reports also
that business has been very good excepting
for the lack of merchandise.
Milo's son Dwayne was recently inducted
into the Navy. He was in the shop here
for the past two years, and Mr. and Mrs.
Nichansky will visit him in San Diego
during their trip to the Coast this month.
R. F. Vogt of the R. F. Vogt Distributing
Co. is enthusiastic about the rush of busi-
ness that appears certain when some of
the new equipment arrives, which is sup-
posed to be very new in idea; even sensa-
tional, in fact. Several blind orders have
already been booked and as soon as sam-
ples are received it looks like tremendous
business, according to Rudy.
Viola B. Hutton
Seattle
Two eras: a study in contrast. Ft. Le'Yis
Reception Center, December 1942-The
country was building the greatest war
machine the world has ever known and
£rom the moment a rookie stepped off
the bus they didn't allow him to forget it
for a moment. There was more snap arbund
camp than in a pre-war elastic garter.
At 4:30 or 5 A.M. a punk corporal who
acted like God Almighty had ordained
that he should be Master of Men hauled
. the rookie out of bed, and before the new-
comer had a chance to completely awaken
he was being rushed through a long brisk
routine. Ft. Lewis was a beehive and the
little privates buzzed or got stung.
Ft. Lewis Separation Center, February
1946-This is still the Army, all right,
but not the same one. The dischargee
still hurried to wait but now he grinned
because this was the last mile to freedom.
The bustle was no more. Enlisted men
compiled their points and length of service
for the nth time, stared at · the calendar
with the same concentrated intensity that
a woman surveys a mirror, and went about
their chores with about as much enthusiasm
as a prisoner-at-hard-Iabor assaults a gran-
ite rock. Rows of empty barracks attested
more clearly than words that the "heat"
was off. For the dischargee, the irksome
details had disappeared. The stiff military
brush was now a soft mushy pulp. The
saluting, the marching, the rigors of camp
life-gone with the atom.
Even the Orientation Offiper caught the
spirit of changing times and unlaxed suffi-
ciently to mix generous slices of humor
with his talk. Example: the louie was
talking about life insurance, and the cost
of funerals and about the expense of a
vault. "These vaults," he said, "are made
to keep out worms and water. Which re-
minds me of the story of the two romantic
worms. One of them said to the other:
'Let's make love in dead Earnest.''' And
again: "I don't want you men to hold
grudges against your first sergeant after
you get out. I know a chap who was
being processed for discharge, and his
top kick said: 'I guess you dislike me so
much you'd like to spit on my grave.' Said
the dischargee: 'Hell no. After I get out
I don't want to stand in line for any-
thi!lg.' "
* * *
From North, from South, from East,
from West they came to Western Dis-
tributors-in time for the Aireon curtain
raiser. Two color-spangled phonographs,
flown from Kansas City, occupied the
center of interest. While the new models
tempted the order pad, succulent roast
beef and ham tempted the appetite. A
check-up of the guest book showed A. C.
Carlson of Port Alexander, Alaska as the
visitor farthest from home.
She said, "I do," and he said, "Me,
too," and then they were pronounced man
and wife. Decca's Marion Waham walked
the fateful steps with Emil David on
March 2.
Manufacture of Ken Shyver's multiple
and multiphone music units are going at
top speed, but it will require two and
one-half years before production meets
demand. Ken is not selling his new prod-
ucts but merely turning out enough to
cover his spots. Scarcity of speakers and
motors in the U.S.A. is not stopping the
wily inventor, who is importing quantities
of material from London.
Down from Victoria, B.c., Vic Little
hi-spotted The Row in the hope of un-
covering some pin tables and phon os.
The Better Business Bureau stepped
in and called a halt to the sharpers who
wljre dumping vending machines on un-
suspecting veterans. The fraudsters adver-
tised modern machines on location but af-
COIN
ter the contract was inked, the vet found MACHIHE
they were neither on location nor modern,
REVIEW
but a cheaply assembled variety that no
one would want cluttering his basement.
Remember Mickey Hannon, the ex-pug
who made good in Anacortes? Mickey is
now guiding light for Hannon Distributing
FOR
Co. of Los Angeles and blankets the Sun
APRIL
State for Gay Games, Inc.
1946
After more than three years in the
Army, Ron Pepple and Northwest Sales
are picking up lost ground-but swiftly .
Two sure-fire lines-Hart Novelty's Master
and Junior Changers, and Mills Novelty-
have catapulted volume into pay propor-
tions. Omar "Putt" Kincaid,: an ex-Marine
is traveling Washington, Idaho and Mon-
tana for the firm.
To break tpe monotony of his face
and to filter pure air into the recesses
of his mouth, Bob Walker has been grow-
ing four-day mustaches.
Discovered: the reason for that drooly
look on the faces of the phono ops when
they pass Clark Distributing. The first car-
load of Wurlitzers · has arrived, but to
prevent imminent outbreak of civil war,
E. J. Horiskey is leaving the first ship- -
ment untouched until such time as enough
machines arrive to allocate the boys more
than l/lOth of a unit each.
If you hear anyone around Puget Sound
Novelty say, "By George," it is not an
exclamation but the credit line for an-
other coin chute built by Ancel George,
the new shopman. Ancel hails from Stock-
ton, Calif. where he sheet-metal-worked
for Fraser Furnace Co.
Vern Preston merely smiles wryly when
someone advocates putting his best foot
forward. Neuritis, an aftermath of the flu,
settled in Vern's left foot when he took
off for Kansas City. On returning, the
pain switched to his right foot. Now he
has to think twice to decide which Size
11 is the best one to put forward.
All candy ops still puzzled as to what
happened to a little item known as stock
are requested to see the new OP A film
release "What's Happened to Sugar." In
a couple of years there will probably be
a sequel titled, "What's happened to the
95
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