C.O.C.A. Times
Issue: 2012-November - Vol 18 Num 3 - Page 27
our envisioned business venture. We had often thought we would like to display the machine at the Swinging
Door, but we couldn't capitalize on this attraction in California due to past Governor Earl Warren. In 1950, he
championed a state law creating a $500 fine for each slot machine in a person's possession, plus their confisca-
tion. In contrast, Nevada was the last and only state in 1958 that allowed ownership and furthermore legalized
the operation of these devices. If we are going to capitalize on the original Liberty Bell slot WE MUST MOVE
TO NEVADA!
ONCE COMMITTED WE NEEDED MORE MEMORABILIA TO MAKE IT A MUSEUM
At the same time we were opening as a saloon and museum, our dad, was simultaneously closing his four-
decade old coin- operated machine business. He had a large, two-story shop where he invented, repaired and
stored numerous very early and desirable arcade collectibles. From this gold mine of stored antique classics we
were able to obtain more coin operated machines, including a 1905 Roovers Educated Donkey, a 1908 Caille
Uncle Sam Strength Tester, a cast iron 1909 American Biographic Clam Shell Mutoscope, a 1928 German
Rooster and Hen Egg Vender, and there was the kids favorite, a 1926 Caille Fortune Ball Gum Vender.
THE VENTURESOME MOVE
To finance our new enterprise, Frank and I each sold our residence realizing an equity of $13,000. Then came
the challenge of transporting two households of furnishings and all the museum pieces. I contacted a moving
company and they gave an affordable bid to move our household goods, but a ridiculous high price to move the
extremely hefty collection. Making the move a little more arduous, we had acquired a second, extremely heavy,
Mills Violano Virtuoso for $100 (shortly after arriving in Reno we traded the machine (selling today for about
$40,000) for a new 4-reel Pace slot. We have felt this was a good move for the revenue earned from this popular
slot helped save us from possible bankruptcy. The best affordable solution was to have the moving company
transport our furniture and move the weighty museum pieces by renting U-Haul open-box trailers and tow the
museum pieces ourselves. The heavy and bulky loads required three slow, tiresome journeys over the Sierra
Nevada Mountains on old Highway 40.
THE FINAL FAREWELL
On September 10, 1958, after waving goodbye to friends and relatives, I was off with my young family and
the second trailer-load headed for Reno to start a new life, I was accompanied by Shirley, my bride of only
eighteen-months along with our eight month-old son, Augie, who was slumbering in a bassinet placed on the
back seat of our seven year old Ford Crown Victoria (recently purchased for $150). After crawling down from
the steep, curvy Sierra Nevada mountain on the old road with the overloaded trailer, we proceeded to Donner
Lake. Here, a little past midnight, one of the tires on the rented two-wheel trailer went flat. Forced to stop, I
detached the trailer from the car, jacked it up and removed the wheel. Along with my wife and baby, I drove
on to Truckee to have the tire repaired. I could not leave my young family standing alongside the trailer in the
middle of the night. Instead, I would have to abandon the trailer, containing one third of the items essential to
our business, and leave it unguarded. Fortunately, when we returned to the trailer, crammed with "goodies,"
nothing had been touched. To the average person passing by, the piled-high contents of the deserted trailer must
have looked like it belonged to the local junk dealer.
After the long tire delay and completing the remainder of a very tiresome journey we finally arrived at our
newly rented house in Reno during the early morning hours. To our dismay we found our furniture had not yet
arrived and the three of us slept on the floor without the benefit of bedding. This proved to a climactic begin-
ning before attempting an unknown future.
Frank, leaving his fiancee in California, arrived the following day with the final trailer load of our collection.
As there was no U-Haul trailer depot in Reno at that time, we placed one trailer in the other and Frank towed the
two back over the mountain to San Mateo.
continued. ..
27
Door, but we couldn't capitalize on this attraction in California due to past Governor Earl Warren. In 1950, he
championed a state law creating a $500 fine for each slot machine in a person's possession, plus their confisca-
tion. In contrast, Nevada was the last and only state in 1958 that allowed ownership and furthermore legalized
the operation of these devices. If we are going to capitalize on the original Liberty Bell slot WE MUST MOVE
TO NEVADA!
ONCE COMMITTED WE NEEDED MORE MEMORABILIA TO MAKE IT A MUSEUM
At the same time we were opening as a saloon and museum, our dad, was simultaneously closing his four-
decade old coin- operated machine business. He had a large, two-story shop where he invented, repaired and
stored numerous very early and desirable arcade collectibles. From this gold mine of stored antique classics we
were able to obtain more coin operated machines, including a 1905 Roovers Educated Donkey, a 1908 Caille
Uncle Sam Strength Tester, a cast iron 1909 American Biographic Clam Shell Mutoscope, a 1928 German
Rooster and Hen Egg Vender, and there was the kids favorite, a 1926 Caille Fortune Ball Gum Vender.
THE VENTURESOME MOVE
To finance our new enterprise, Frank and I each sold our residence realizing an equity of $13,000. Then came
the challenge of transporting two households of furnishings and all the museum pieces. I contacted a moving
company and they gave an affordable bid to move our household goods, but a ridiculous high price to move the
extremely hefty collection. Making the move a little more arduous, we had acquired a second, extremely heavy,
Mills Violano Virtuoso for $100 (shortly after arriving in Reno we traded the machine (selling today for about
$40,000) for a new 4-reel Pace slot. We have felt this was a good move for the revenue earned from this popular
slot helped save us from possible bankruptcy. The best affordable solution was to have the moving company
transport our furniture and move the weighty museum pieces by renting U-Haul open-box trailers and tow the
museum pieces ourselves. The heavy and bulky loads required three slow, tiresome journeys over the Sierra
Nevada Mountains on old Highway 40.
THE FINAL FAREWELL
On September 10, 1958, after waving goodbye to friends and relatives, I was off with my young family and
the second trailer-load headed for Reno to start a new life, I was accompanied by Shirley, my bride of only
eighteen-months along with our eight month-old son, Augie, who was slumbering in a bassinet placed on the
back seat of our seven year old Ford Crown Victoria (recently purchased for $150). After crawling down from
the steep, curvy Sierra Nevada mountain on the old road with the overloaded trailer, we proceeded to Donner
Lake. Here, a little past midnight, one of the tires on the rented two-wheel trailer went flat. Forced to stop, I
detached the trailer from the car, jacked it up and removed the wheel. Along with my wife and baby, I drove
on to Truckee to have the tire repaired. I could not leave my young family standing alongside the trailer in the
middle of the night. Instead, I would have to abandon the trailer, containing one third of the items essential to
our business, and leave it unguarded. Fortunately, when we returned to the trailer, crammed with "goodies,"
nothing had been touched. To the average person passing by, the piled-high contents of the deserted trailer must
have looked like it belonged to the local junk dealer.
After the long tire delay and completing the remainder of a very tiresome journey we finally arrived at our
newly rented house in Reno during the early morning hours. To our dismay we found our furniture had not yet
arrived and the three of us slept on the floor without the benefit of bedding. This proved to a climactic begin-
ning before attempting an unknown future.
Frank, leaving his fiancee in California, arrived the following day with the final trailer load of our collection.
As there was no U-Haul trailer depot in Reno at that time, we placed one trailer in the other and Frank towed the
two back over the mountain to San Mateo.
continued. ..
27
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).