Born in NC, Raised in NC, Pinball in NC

By JWS64

August 25, 2011

6 years ago

JWS

JWS64

Inactive member

6y 20k 659

I was born in Charlotte NC, grew up in Mint Hill NC and have lived in NC most of my life.

I grew up in the late 60's early 70's on a diet of tv shows like Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants and Star Trek. I loved comic books, superheroes, and saturday morning cartoons.

My summers where the time when I was exposed to pinball. I would go down to Myrtle Beach SC with the family that lived across the street, and they had a camper at Ocean Lakes Campground. It was here that my best friend and I would hit their arcade at the pavillion area armed with a pocket full of quarters. The machines of that time were the old EM's, and then in the later 70's machines like Evel Knievel, Six Million Dollar Man, Gorgar, KISS, and others.

After 30+ years the love of pinball is still there.

I purchased my first pin, Bally Star Trek in June 2011. Never thought I would own a pinball machine, and have one in my house. The dream is now reality.

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Comments

6 years ago

DEY

absocountry2

Inactive member

Wasilla, AK

6y 68k 7,417 27 72

welcome

5 years ago

GEM

Silverballer

Pinside member

7y 74k 2,921

Great story. Saturday morning cartoons and trips to the local arcade were the best!

5 years ago

III

singlebanana

Pinside member

Summerfield, NC

6y 50k 585 11 139

Spent a lot of time on the old baseball machines in that Pavilion. Good times!

5 years ago

DWL

Bellztoll

Inactive member

Chesapeake, VA

5y 10k 13

Hey there former Neighbor; not literally, but i grew up right down the road from ya, in Indian Trail, right across the Union County Line. Spent alot of my childhood around Mint Hill, at the Ice Cream Shop on 51. And Myrtle Beach? Oh yeah, the Pavilon, Ripleys, and later the Bowery. Really a sad sight to go to the strip these days. All thats left of those magical days of youth is an open, empty lot where the Pavilion once stood. But, Fun Times Arcade is still there, and still has the Baseball Machines for banana. Still got the coldest beer on the boardwalk right next to it.