Coin Slot Magazine - #054 - 1979 - August [International Arcade Museum]
Now an antique, the
Chocolate Bicycle
brightens the Gay
Nineties decor of the
Manistee County
Historical Museum.
left and the old A. H. Lyman Com
pany drug store at the right, with
their tin ceilings, balcony walk-
around, walk-in vaults and all,
latest omate soda fountain out of
sions and depressions put Manis-
Dubuque, beautifully carved count
tee's booming business and riotous
ers
and
past behind it. The population
Chicago, and the finest array of
dropped in half, and levelled off at
out
of Grand
Rapids
cigars and sundries in town, made
less than a third of its heyday tally.
City Drug a plethora of Victorian
Factories closed, stores were shut
splendor. Soon, to keep the boys
tered, and empty homes, hotels and
happy, and to cater to their sport
commercial buildings stood useless
ing instincts, Hanselman added a
for over two generations. City
counter novelty that the old timers
Drugs held on, but it wasn't the
in town remember to this very day.
same old crowd. It wasn't the older
It was a coin machine with a per
crowd at all, for by now the cus
fectly scaled replica of the latest
tomers were mostly children. But
sporting fad encased in glass; an
in their eyes the glass-boxed bicy
honest to goodness toy bicycle.
cle was a wonderment. It wasn't
The metal frame, wooden wheels
long before the venerable old trade
spoked to the axle, rubber tires,
stimulator had a new lease on life.
handlebars and leather seat all
At a nickel a play, a child got a
looked real, but tiny. Around the
hefty Wi ounce Hershey bar with
edge of the two tires, one at each
every spin. The lucky ones got two,
space between spokes, were num
or three, or ten to fifteen cents
bers. There were no blanks on this
worth of candy of their choice.
mechanical marvel. All you had to
That old bicycle ran on for years
do to play it was do just what the
and years. Steve Harold, director
instructions said: "Drop a nickel in
of the Manistee County Historical
the slot. Turn the lever full sweep
Museum, says that "there's hardly
to the right and release. Add to
a person in town over the age of
gether the numbers to which the
sixty that didn't play that machine
indicator points and get the above
for chocolate bars when they were
rewards." The nickel hit a bell, and
young." One charming guide in the
with a press of the lever the wheels
Museum, bright of eye and eager to
spun. No number combination paid
talk about ner town's history, re
less than one cigar. The hard-to-get
members the crowd of children that
combinations paid off in two, or
collected around the device "be
.com
even three, cigars. The fun of it all
fore 1920." m
:
u
m When
e renaissance in Manis
s the
kept the wheels spinning, and kept
mu
d fro de
-
e
the cigars moving over the d counter
tee's
historical
to roll
a not too long ago, past the began
oa in town.
l
c
r
n
faster than anywhere
else
town
looked
a
.
ow end.
ww After around and found its museum
Then it all D
came to an
w
/
/
:
buildings right on River Street. The
1905, Western Michigan
http was all but old
and empty Lyman Building at
logged out, other salt mines were
discovered, and a series of reces
425 River with its book store at the
were waiting for occupancy. So the
Museum staff moved in, re-created
the shops and styles of a lively
past, and even installed a complete
Gay Nineties drug store and gen
eral
store.
And
there
on
the
counter, for all to see, is THE
BICYCLE, its aged and tempered
nameplate proclaiming its origin as
"Manufactured by The Sun Mfg.
Co. " Under glass, in an adjoining
cabinet, is one of the big old choco
late bars that crossed the counter
with every nickel play. Down the
street, barely a block away, is the
old original Ramsdell Building lo
cation, now the glittering 1888
Victorian Restaurant, an eatery
distinctive for its attractive Vic
torian decor.
Some may wonder if a Victorian
gambling machine is a fitting ex
hibit for a museum. Yet this me
chanical gem of the past is deeply
rooted in the minds and hearts of
the elder citizens who have lived,
laughed, suffered and prospered in
a jewel-like city that now glows
with communal pride. THE BICY
CLE shows us, and will show the
future, some of the same human
joys of a pleasurable past. Its pres
ence is a human touch that most
museums miss with their concen
tration
on
heroic
events
and
prudish pursuits. But in Manistee,
Michigan, there's a museum that
can tell us how people really lived
and played, with a treasured old
slot machine to prove it. THE
BICYCLE is not only fitting; it's
faithful.
May/June 1979
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/