Playing and Restoring since 1971

Lake Tippecanoe Indiana on a vacation trip in 1971. Instead of spending my allowance on hot dogs and pizza slices,  it was instead dropping a bunch of quarters into a Gottlieb Roller Coaster EM.  Although I had played a few arcade games when I was younger, this was my first foray into figuring out how to win on these larger than life flipper games; something about those beautifully lit and adorned pop bumpers, alluring playfield features and backglass art put pinball at the tip top of my fandom, to the pure disdain of my parents from time to time.   But that was it... after winning my first game on score, and having someone explain what a "match" was and actually htting on one, I was hooked and have been playing, repairing, restoring and collecting ever since. My collection hovers up and down, but basically between 15 and 20 games with a majority of them being 70s EMs, although I do own a few SS classics. I enjoy playing and fixing EMs, as well as searching out "for sale' ads, yard sales and auctions from time to time. This year, I completed a '72 Williams Gulfstream for a great friend's 40th wedding anniversary. I'm always learning something new in the hobbby. Whether experimenting with playfield clearcoat pop bumper surround repair techniques or perfecting cabinet webbing, there's always something new to learn.  I try to attend and bring games to share at several shows each year (Allentown and York PA shows). One of the greatest things about the hobby is that it attracts folks from all walks of life, keeping it fresh and fun.