Page last modified on: 02/08/2007
The Early Years (1970-1980)
Pinball machines have been an interest for me since the early 1970's. My first exposures to pinball came while on vacationing with the family. I would run across pinball machines in the recreation halls of campgrounds or resorts that the family was vacationing at. My interest in the game increased dramatically at age 12-13 when the nearby drug-store installed a Williams "Little Chief". This was the first pinball machine where I gained enough skill to win games consistently. The next step towards "enlightenment" occurred when I discovered the nearby University of Oregon had a recreation center filled with pinball machines. I quickly became addicted to playing a Bally "Night Rider" they had there.
Gaining Experience (1981-1990)
During my college years, my summers were spent working in the casinos in Reno Nevada. All the casinos operated arcades for the under 21 crowd. It was here that I got introduced to the maintenance and repair of pinball machines.
I bought my first pinball machine soon after finishing college (1986). The game was a Gottlieb "Joker Poker", one of the first generation solid state games. I found the game in a classified add for $70 bucks (non-working) . I shopped the game out completely and repaired the damaged circuit boards . My pinball collection was now underway.
In 1987, I stumbled into a deal for a bunch of 1970's era electro-mechanical pinball machines that a retired game operator had stashed away in his garage. The games were filthy and broken down, but the artwork was all in pretty good shape. I paid him $75 a piece for the six games he had left. It took several months to shop out all the games and get them all working reliably. I was now ready to become a pinball route operator.
I placed four of the games into service in some fraternities at the local university. The machines were set up for 25¢ per game. I split the take 60-40 with the house. The income from the four games netted me $150-200 a week for the better part of the school year. However, collecting the money and making service calls took a considerable amount of time each week. I was just starting a real career position and did not have much time to spare running my "mini route". The final conclusion to my time as an operator came after three of the games were severely damaged by unruly partying at the fraternities. The back glasses were shattered on two of the games and the third game was crushed by 250 lbs football players using the top of the game as a diving platform (? !!!!!). I had a contract with the fraternities for a "you break 'em - you buy 'em" policy so I was able to collect a more than reasonable settlement for each of the games. End of my time as an 'operator"
The "Dark Years" (1990-1999)
My interest in pinball went into dormancy for a few years (1990 - 1999). Career interests took priority, I moved around a lot. not enough space, etc. I sold off most of the pinball machines to lighten the load and raise some cash. The remaining games went into storage. Time to hibernate...
Recent History (2000 - ?)
Move ahead to January 1999. I was traveling on business and had stopped for lunch at a restaurant that adjoined a bowling alley. They had an interesting pinball machine called "Medieval Madness" that looked pretty fun. I gave it a try and became quickly HOOKED !. The pinball machine state-of-the-art had made a lot of progress in my absence. That chance encounter with "Medieval Madness" rekindled my interest in pinball machines. I pulled some of the un-shopped games that had been sitting in my storage unit for years and quickly got them cleaned up and running again. I began to explore pinball resources on the Internet and was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of information available and the community of collectors that had developed.
Today, my passion for "all things pinball" has moved well beyond previous levels. I regularly review the newsgroup rec.games.pinball, peruse the classifieds adds in local papers, and surf the Internet for pinball related sites. For me, the most enjoyable aspect of this hobby is in the repair and restoration of the machines. I've developed a very complete workshop to support my pinball and wood working hobbies. My own pinball machine collection has grown considerably. My games range from the mid 1930's to the late 1990's.
I continue to look for pinball machines out working on route to play. My lunch hours are usually spent playing pinball. My work requires considerable travel in the Northwest United States and Alaska. I have made a point to seek out places to play pinball in all the places that I travel.
Current News (February 2007)
Kisha (my wife) and I bought 4 acres of country property in 2004, about 20 miles SE of Portland. The property has a manufactured home on it and a 3000 sq ft shop building. The plan is that we'll be building a custom log home on the property in 2008 (and then remove the manufactured home). Of course, the big selling point for me was the 3000 sq ft shop building. My pinball collection has a home !... Though not quite yet.
The shop building is relatively new construction, but its not ready for pinball habitation yet. The building needs the insulation finished, 1/2 the floor needs to have concrete. The whole space needs heating. I've got a ton of work to do during 2007.
As a result, my pinball machines are either farmed out to friends homes (some), or in storage (most) until the shop building is ready. I do have a few games set up there to play for my own sanity.
