Coin Machine Review (& Pacific ...)

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ST. LOUIS
ST. LOUIS (RC )-Consequences of th e
nation's changeover from a nor mal peace·
time to a wartime economy has been such
that everyone in the coin machin e industry
and its allied businesses has felt its de·
mands.
COIH
M ACHIHE
REVIEW
10
FOR
FEBRUARY
1942
The great extent that memb ers of the
industry have gone towards answerin g th e
call to arms is convincingly shown by the
wholehearted support that has been given
to each succeeding development in the
Defense Program.
The coin machine industry has done
much to supply men, machines, and money
towards achieving final victory. Here are
some of the boys who but a short whil e ago
wer e seen on the routes or in the offices of
operators, distributors, and manufacturers
here : Ray Winkler of the J. S. Morris Nov·
elty Co. is now in th e Army ; Charlie Mor·
ris of the same firm is also in the Army ;
Julius Joos of the W. 1. Phonograph Co.
is now one of Uncle Sam's Jack Tars; Bud
Golfan of the Westbrook Novelty is in th e
Army; Virgil Bernsen of Davies Novelty
Co. is at Fort Briggs, North Carolina, sol·
dierin g; Walter Hartwi g who was with th e
Ideal Novelty Co. is with the Army En·
gin eers; Harry P earlstein of the McCall
Novelty Co. is in the Army.
The industry has also given up some of
its best men and women who felt they
would be happier in armament production.
Typical of these defense workers is the
statement that one form er coinman made,
" No, I don' t think that I am any better off
personally but I am not thinking of myself. I
want the good old United States to benefit."
Yes the industry is giving men for the
firin g line and the production Hne but it
do esn't stop th ere ; it is doing its level best
to supply the money that is so vitally neces·
sary for defense. Every operator, distribu-
tor, and manufacturer in town has con·
tributed generously in time, effo rt, and cash
towards the sale of Defense Bonds and
Stamps and R ed ,Cross activiti es. It is good
to see the many window di's plays by coin·
men helping to put over these drives. "In
most cases, our products should be left out
THE LITTLE STORE
witb BIG - I N
BARGAINS
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Rock·Ola Counter Model
Keeney Aircraft Gun s
Cigarette Machines
20 Grip Machines
9·foot Skill Roll - Magic Roll
1940·'41 Mills 1·2·3's
Liberty Bell and American Eagle
Used Phonographs
We will accept Used Records
In Trade.
PERCY SHIELDS
1549 West Pico Boulevard
LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA
FEderal 1919
of the di splay entirely. In gIVIng window
dis play space to the Red Cross or the De·
fense Bonds and Stamp campaign by
all means give the entire window. Let us
not use our country's fl ag or any other
national symbol to' help us in sellin g our
industry's product or services."
The usual pre· inventory lull in coin rna·
chine affairs was abruptly dispelled with
the opening of two new establishments in
F ebruary. One, an arcade located a t 8600
South Broadway, a short distance from
J efferson Barracks, is designed to furni sh
relaxation for soldiers on lib erty. It is
owned and operated by Art Heimke, of the
St. Louis Novelty Co. Art supervised the
interior decor, incorporatin g all the best
features of mod ern arcade arrangement
making the setup a credit to the industry.
The other expansion move was made by
the Ideal Novelty Co. wh en president Carl
Trippe formall y opened a huge roller rink
in South St. Louis.
If one were to judge by the number of
trips taken by coinmen of this area durin g
January you would say they were the trav·
elin gest bunch of humans in the world. Bill
Betz of the W·B Novelty Co. led the pa·
rade with trips to Kansas City, Wichita,
Chicago and Indianapolis; Ben Axelrod
of the Olive Novelty headed fo r the East
wi th stops at Philadelphi a, J ersey City
and Brooklyn schedul ed ; Whitey Lemkuhl
just back from a combination vacation and
busin ess tri'p reports that acceptance of
Panoram and Seeburg equipment is most
gratifying; Earl Holl and di strict manager
for Seeburg was in town for a few days
calling on the trade; Jack Mehl of the
Olive Novelty postcards horn e from Miami,
Florida telling of the nice business enjoyed
by Olive Novelty's Miami branch.
What to do when tires wear out has been
perplexing local coinmen. For one of them
at least the problem has been solved. His
uncle in Montana has pr omised him a
horse, telling him to expect it in a few
days. "It is almost as hard to find a stable
to keep him in as it is to get tires," laments
this troubled brother.
Martin Balensiefer spent a week tryin g
to shake off an attack of chills and fever.
He is down at the salesroom again lookin g
a littl e pale but well on th e way to being
hi s old self again. Mike Luzaich of the
M·L Sales Co. stayed in bed for a few days
runnin g a hi gh fever. He is okay now.
Leonar Osiek of the Olive Novelty Co. is
undergoing a siege of appendi citis. Op·
erated on in late J anuary, hi's condition is
said to have taken a turn for the better.
Shipments of phon ographs have bee n
coming in smoothly despite th e fact that a
black pi cture of things exist in the minds
of not a few operators here. All orders are
being taken care of as quickly as possible
and no one has to be afraid of bein g left
"holdin g th e Bag."
R obert A. Latimer. •
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She: "I want one of those strong,
silent men full of grit."
He: "What you want is a deaf and dumb
ash man."
Pinball Players, Arise!
NEW YORK- If the cops should sud·
denly corne along, ban golf, and confiscate
all para phernalia, would the nation's golfers
take it lying down ? Th at's what H. All en
Smith, syndicated newspaper columnist,
asked in a recent "The Totem Pole" col·
umn-and answers, " Not on your life."
Th en, he wants to know, what's the mat·
t er with the pinball players? Why aren' t
they standin g up in meetin g and howling
"Tilt" for all they're worth ?
Smith is frankly mad that the cops have
been carting the games off to warehouses
without getting a protest from any of his
fri ends and associates whom he now begins
to suspect are "lily.livered." He confesses
with equal frankness that he's a pinball
fi end, and that lots of his friends are fiends
with him. "Once," he writes, "another fel·
low and I went to Canada, crossing by way
of a ferry which threaded its way through
the Thousand Islands. We didn't see over
three of the thousand because we were be·
low deck, busy at a pinball machin e."
Maybe the uproar is -a wartime device to
get needed materials. If ,it is, he demands,
why don' t they say so ? llrW'e pinball players
are patriots. But if they're going to holler
about gambling, why don' t they confiscate
playing cards? Why don' t they confiscate
the Yankee Stadium and Madison Square
Garden ? If they're looking for devices
which might im pel people to make bets,
why don' t they just go confiscate the Board
of Elections?"
Smith says he'll put his ga me up aga inst
golf any day when it comes to exercise.
" We have a rule, in our little clique, that
you can' t touch the machine once a ball is
in motion. Thus we produce some of the
finest free·hand body English ever witnessed
outside of a Javanese ballet company. We
start a ball rolling, then stand back from
the machine. Maybe we sway from side to
side, rise on our toes, rock back on ou r
heels, but the important body En glish goes
on inside. Our innards get the fin est going
over in the world, straining and j erking
with each confounded, unreasonable bounce
taken by the ball. We have no formal med·
ical opinion on it, but we are all convinced
that pinball body English is th e finest body
conditioner this side of F inland.
"There remains the question of art. F ew
of us care much fo r Picasso, Cezanne, Ma·
tisse, and all that. But we do appreciate
th e sheer artisti c beauty of a good pinball
machine. Grant Wood can paint an impres·
sive Iowa farmwoman, but can he fi x her
up so th at wh en you hit a red button she'll
leap off th e barn with a pitchfork in her
teeth , whilst bells ring and a guin ea hen
runs over th e horizon ? Can he do all that,
and in technicolor ? Nope ! But th e pinball
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peo ple can."
ATTENTION!
Now Available to the Trade
•
RELAYS, SWITCHES
ELECTRIC MOTORS
BALL BEARINGS
PARTS & SUPPLIES
Experimental and
Machine Worle:
GENERAL DEVICES CORP,
8851 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles. Calif.
CR. 61408
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