Automatic Age

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Banquet and Ball
Rings Down Convention Curtain
A generous share o f the conven­
tion representatives attended the
banquet and ball held Wednesday
Gening in the Crystal Room o f the
^ e a t Northern Hotel.
It was a social event in itself—
VaStly more than just a “ part o f the
convention.” It was a “ party,” not
JUst a banquet and ball. Perhaps a
A ppier gathering has never graced
the Crystal Room o f this pioneer ho­
tel. It was a glorious climax to the
three big convention days, overfiow-
lll8 in fun, food and frivolity. It had
the dignity inevitably inspired by
charming ladies and by the presence
the industry's leaders— the atmos­
phere o f a carnival, created by freak
and fancy headgear— the spirit o f a
collegiate pep meeting, dominated by
the O. D. Jennings & Company eheer-
section — the luxury o f perfect
cuisine and sumptuous tables — the
beauty effected by danfcing couples,
ai1 augmented orchestra and the in­
terior o f Crystal Room. Nothing was
Peking to make the final hours spent
together by the representatives the
happiest ones o f the convention.
Immediately follow ing the banquet
service, applause was invited by a
^ale comedian and a woman soloist,
■^his entertainment and the orchestra
^as provided by the Peter Swening-
S°H Entertainment Service.
Cheering came next in order, lust­
i l y enough to put to shame the
Jelling usually done in the stands at
a college football game. The repre-
Se*itatives o f the various companies
^oiced loyalty to their employers, and
ater the scattered cheering sections
© International Arcade Museum
united to honor the officers o f the
associations, the only woman opera­
tor present, Mrs. Helena M. Fuller
o f Boston, and the Toastmaster, O.
C. Lightner.
Mr. Lightner then took the gavel,
which was necessary to hush the
merrymaking so that a voice could
be heard. He explained that the pro­
gram included no speech making, as
the sessiqTVS had amply filled the
quota in that respect. In order, he
introduced the officers, Mrs. Helena
M. Fuller and Mr. O. D. Jennings,
and each was greeted b y applause
and cheering.
The awarding o f the A U T O M A T ­
IC AGE trophies fo r the most pop­
ular machine shown at the conven­
tion and fo r the most progressive
operator was made by Mr. Lightner.
He explained that the selection o f
the best operator was a hard one,
and that it might be impossible to
call any one operator the “ best.” He
named Mr. Thomas C. Dickinson, o f
W hiting, Ind., operator o f a great va­
riety o f machines, as the one chosen
and presented him with a silver lov­
ing cup. United applause greeted
Mr. Dickinson before he again took
his seat. The manufacturers’ trophy
fo r the most popular machine shown,
as polled by the operators at the
convention, was awarded to Mr. W al­
ter A. Tratsch, designer and manu­
facturer o f the “ Automatic P ool Ta­
ble.” He, too, received a sustained
hand.
Mr. Lightner explained that not
the intrinsic value o f the trophies
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